The Incredible Machine

The Incredible Machine [also known as Man: The Incredible Machine] is a 1975 American documentary film directed by Irwin Rosten and Ed Spiegel. It follows a "ourney" inside the human body, using advanced technology of microscopic photography and sound, including scenes of heat radiation, color x-rays, and camera exploration of a living human heart. The film is famous for including some of the first pictures ever 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. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Did you know that the total weight of our skin - the largest organ in our body - is over 6lbs? Or that the total commercial value of the constituent parts of our body (gold fillings notwithstanding) wouldn't amount to more than £5? We perspire between one and two pints per day - even when sedentary. These are the kinds of facts that this documentary presents us with as it uses some groundbreaking technology and photography to illustrate just how complex our bodies are. From the thousands of microscopic sensors on our tongues detecting taste and heat, to the pores on our skin, our constant blinking and visual acuity - we initially see things upside down! Tears have antiseptic purposes even when you're having a tantrum. Our ears can detect over 1600 frequencies and some of it's internal muscles and tiny bones are reminiscent of something from the "Outer Limits". Indeed, that could be said for much of the internal imagery available here showing us how we breathe, walk, balance, chew, sleep and, well, live. Complementarily, science is doing what it can to augment the body when defects occur and as the programme proceeds we take a fascinating, close up, look at just what makes us tick, survive and thrive. The narration (from E.G. Marshall) is a little on the dry side with maybe a few too many statistics and not enough awe, but that said he provides an useful guide to an interesting documentary that's worth a watch.