History of the World in 2 Hours [2011] (x264 / MKV / Blu-ray / 720p / Scene / 3D Half SBS / (23h56m left) ) OnTab

History of the World in 2 Hours [2011] - Synopsis History of the World in Two Hours, traces the story of us and this stone we inhabit in space from the time of the Big Bang to the dawn of life, from the Precambrian through the Mesozoic eras and up to what we know as human civilization today. And it will all unfold in a minuscule 120 minutes. Every beat in the story will present a connection from the distant past to our world as we know it today, connecting us and the world we feel we’ve made to the history that has helped shape all of it, and us. Told in a thrilling, fast-paced style, the film hits the highlights of our planet’s widely varied story, examining the Big Bang, the birth of our solar system, the emergence of life, the downfall of the dinosaurs, the rise of primates, the epic journey of Columbus, the invention of the steam engine and much more. But most importantly, it will show how so many of these events are improbably connected, from the 50-million-year-old seashells that now make up the Great Pyramids of Egypt to how grass was responsible for the primates learning to walk upright. From The title is catchy, but if you take away the commercials, History of the World in Two Hours actually weighs in at a little under 90 minutes. Not a lot of time to present what’s billed as “the whole story“ of the past 13.7 billion years, but while this documentary is predictably short on detail, it’s still pretty comprehensive. Proceeding from the Big Bang, the event that started it all (in the process creating space, time, and gravity), we rapidly review through the major developments of the universe’s first six or eight billion years, helped along by a variety of talking heads and a kinetic parade of very deft visual effects. Those developments include the first atoms and elements such as hydrogen, helium, and iron, the birth of stars, the formation of the Earth (and, just as important, the Moon), the earliest signs of life, the evolution of plants, the emergence on land of oxygen-breathing amphibians, the separation of Pangaea into different continents, the age of dinosaurs, and so on… all of it leading to the appearance of primate-like hominids some seven billion years ago. About half of the program is devoted to human history, which, though it occupies but a small fraction of those 13.7 billion years, has seen our species disperse across the globe, harness fire, learn to use tools and language, invent farming, learn to think symbolically as well as practically, fight wars, foster massive empires, become largely monotheistic, transform civilization with the Industrial Revolution (leading to electricity, flight, the automobile, and so much more)…. It’s exhausting merely to recount it, let alone stay focused as all of this information comes rushing by. It’s also true that with little or no time to back up all the facts and figures offered here, those who remain skeptical of science and hew to a more “creationist“ viewpoint are unlikely to have their opinions swayed. Still, History of the World in Two Hours is an excellent jumping off point for a more thorough examination of this enormous topic. --Sam Graham Source: x264 / MKV / Blu-ray / 720p / Scene / 3D Half SBS / (23h56m left)