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9/10
Marvellous depiction of early science
peter-w1 January 2007
Simon Callow shines in this excellent NOVA production. It is very sympathetic to Galileo's struggle to construct a scientific view of the universe. We hear from modern experts and follow his progress towards the observation that the earth revolves about the sun, thereby coming into conflict with the political power of the time, the dreadful roman catholic church, which maintained that the sun revolved around the earth. This lead to his downfall as the faith bound church slapped him down.

It is clear that Galileo was not backward in coming forward, so we see him also as a tireless self promoter. We also learn about the alternative models of the solar system prevalent at the time, which the telescope clarified, proving the Copernican view.
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This documentary could have been a major motion picture in some ways. Awesome!
peachtreebuilders24 September 2015
This documentary is absolutely one of the best I have ever seen. The acting, the sets...and even the music stand out. The narration is top notch and well timed, inserted at appropriate events in the film. Everything....perfect and flawless. In this doc, we learn the basics of how early telescopes worked, how Galileo greatly improved these 'toys' into useful practical instruments. We learn who Newton leaned on to form his theories of motion. We learn about 1600s Italy and the political network the church had in Italy. But, we learn of these things in such an entertaining way! The author of the book that this doc is based on, Dava Sobel, has delved into the mindset of Galileo's daughter, based on his daughter's letters to her father. She is masterful, truly. To be honest, just being a regular Joe, I never really watched much of a NOVA program before, thinking that they must be dry or boring. Boy, was I wrong! 5 out of 5.
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