The Incredible Machine (film)
Encyclopedia
The Incredible Machine is a 1975 documentary film
directed by Irwin Rosten
and Ed Spiegel. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
. E. G. Marshall
narrated the film, which was produced by Rosten, together with Dennis B. Kane and Alex Pomansanof.
The Incredible Machine, which included some of the first pictures taken inside the human body and presented on film, using some of the earliest film that medical researchers had taken inside the human digestive tract and bloodstream. It ranked as the most-watched program in Public Broadcasting Service
until 1982, when it was overtaken by The Sharks. Rosten's collaborator Nicholas Noxon described the "extraordinary impact" that the film had as a National Geographic special, noting that it was "groundbreaking for its time" and "opened people's eyes to what could be done with a documentary". The New York Times
reviewer John J. O'Connor
cited the film's ability to allow PBS to compete with the major networks, saying that "commercial television should now be reeling from the success of [the] National Geographic documentary", which garnered 36% of the total television audience in the New York City area when it was shown on WNET
Channel 13.
Rosten was criticized by some for using film that had been taken inside monkeys and rabbits. The New York Times noted criticism that viewers had been led to believe that the film was composed entirely of shots taken inside the human body, while nearly 5% was actually taken inside animals for details of the lungs, blood circulation and the reproductive system. Rosten had used film of human subjects wherever possible but that when "it was impossible to get inside the body we used film of mammals that would be exact representations of what we wanted to show". The National Geographic Society had been informed by Rosten that animal footage was included, but a disclaimer was not included in the film.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Irwin Rosten
Irwin Rosten
Irwin Rosten was an American documentary filmmaker who also produced several hour-long documentaries for television. He is best known for his 1975 film The Incredible Machine. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award and won an Emmy Award for the documentary Mysteries of the Mind.Rosten was...
and Ed Spiegel. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
. E. G. Marshall
E. G. Marshall
E. G. Marshall was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in the 1970s...
narrated the film, which was produced by Rosten, together with Dennis B. Kane and Alex Pomansanof.
The Incredible Machine, which included some of the first pictures taken inside the human body and presented on film, using some of the earliest film that medical researchers had taken inside the human digestive tract and bloodstream. It ranked as the most-watched program in Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
until 1982, when it was overtaken by The Sharks. Rosten's collaborator Nicholas Noxon described the "extraordinary impact" that the film had as a National Geographic special, noting that it was "groundbreaking for its time" and "opened people's eyes to what could be done with a documentary". The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer John J. O'Connor
John J. O'Connor (journalist)
John J. O'Connor was an American journalist and critic.One of four sons born to Irish immigrant parents, he earned his bachelor's degree from City College of New York and his master's degree from Yale University....
cited the film's ability to allow PBS to compete with the major networks, saying that "commercial television should now be reeling from the success of [the] National Geographic documentary", which garnered 36% of the total television audience in the New York City area when it was shown on WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
Channel 13.
Rosten was criticized by some for using film that had been taken inside monkeys and rabbits. The New York Times noted criticism that viewers had been led to believe that the film was composed entirely of shots taken inside the human body, while nearly 5% was actually taken inside animals for details of the lungs, blood circulation and the reproductive system. Rosten had used film of human subjects wherever possible but that when "it was impossible to get inside the body we used film of mammals that would be exact representations of what we wanted to show". The National Geographic Society had been informed by Rosten that animal footage was included, but a disclaimer was not included in the film.