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"Cosmos" (1980)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Ann Druyan (writer)
Seasons:
Release Date:
28 SZEPTEMBER 1980 (USA)
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Genre:
Plot:
Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the Universe. full summary
Awards:
Won 3 Primetime Emmys.
Another 1 win
&
3 nominations
more
User Comments:
Greatest of All Time
more (27 total)
Cast
(Series Cast Summary - 1 of 4) | Carl Sagan | ... | Himself - Host (13 episodes, 1980) |
Series Directed by | |||
| David F. Oyster | (13 episodes, 1980) | ||
| Adrian Malone | (unknown episodes) | ||
Series Writing credits | ||
| Carl Sagan | (13 episodes, 1980) | |
| Ann Druyan | (unknown episodes) | |
Series Produced by | |||
| Gregory Andorfer | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Judy Flannery | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Geoffrey Haines-Stiles | .... | senior producer (unknown episodes) | |
| David Kennard | .... | senior producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Adrian Malone | .... | executive producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Rob McCain | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
| David F. Oyster | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Tom Weidlinger | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
| Richard Wells | .... | producer (unknown episodes) | |
Series Original Music by | |||
| Larry Fast | (unknown episodes) | ||
| Gordon Skene | (unknown episodes) | ||
| Tôru Takemitsu | (unknown episodes) | ||
| Isao Tomita | (unknown episodes) | ||
| Vangelis | (unknown episodes) | ||
Series Film Editing by | |||
| James Lathom | (unknown episodes) | ||
| Roy Stewart | (unknown episodes) | ||
Series Art Direction by | |||
| John Retsek | (unknown episodes) | ||
Series Art Department | |||
| Rick Sternbach | .... | astronomical artist (12 episodes, 1980) | |
| Don Davis | .... | astronomical artist (unknown episodes) | |
| Jon Lomberg | .... | chief artist (unknown episodes) | |
| Anne Norcia | .... | astronomical artist (unknown episodes) | |
| Ernie Norcia | .... | astronomical artist (unknown episodes) | |
| Adolf Schaller | .... | astronomical artist (unknown episodes) | |
Series Sound Department | |||
| Kent Gibson | .... | sound designer / sound re-recording mixer (13 episodes, 1980) | |
| Richard Van Dyke | .... | production sound mixer (unknown episodes) | |
| Gerald Zelinger | .... | sound mixer / sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes) | |
Series Visual Effects by | |||
| Robert Blalack | .... | effects production (12 episodes, 1980) | |
| James Shourt | .... | effects production (12 episodes, 1980) | |
| John Allison | .... | visual effects supervisor (11 episodes, 1980) | |
| Adolf Schaller | .... | visual effects supervisor (8 episodes, 1980) | |
| Bob Buckner | .... | visual effects: Magicam, Inc. (4 episodes, 1980) | |
| Pat Cole | .... | computer animation (4 episodes, 1980) | |
| Jim Dow | .... | visual effects: Magicam, Inc. (4 episodes, 1980) | |
| Joe Matza | .... | visual effects: Magicam, Inc. (4 episodes, 1980) | |
| Susan Racho | .... | visual effects production coordinator (2 episodes, 1980) | |
| Christopher S. Ross | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Donna Tracy | .... | visual effects (unknown episodes) | |
Series Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Mark J. Levin | .... | lighting technician (13 episodes, 1980) | |
| Hilyard John Brown | .... | location cinematographer (unknown episodes) | |
| Chris O'Dell | .... | location cinematographer (unknown episodes) | |
Series Animation Department | |||
| Russ Mooney | .... | animator (unknown episodes) | |
Series Other crew | |||
| Janelle Balnicke | .... | location & production coordinator (unknown episodes) | |
| Stephen H. Burum | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| John Gale | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Larry Heider | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Mike Johnson | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Robert C. King | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Cleve Landsberg | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Carey Melcher | .... | technical designer (unknown episodes) | |
| George C. Reilly | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
| Joe Wolcott | .... | magicam crew (unknown episodes) | |
Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial Effects
- Animagraphics
- Cartoon Kitchen
- Cinema Research
- Computer Graphics Research Group, Ohio State University (computer animation)
- Evans and Sutherland (computer animation)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (computer animation)
- Lumeni Productions
- Magicam
- Modern Film Effects
- Motion Pictures (MPI)
- NASA Ames Research Center (computer animation)
- New Genesis Productions
- Opticam
- Precision Film Group
- Universal Hartland
- Wexler Film Productions (computer animation) (as Wexler Productions)
- Animagraphics stills camera
Additional Details
Runtime:
60 min (13 episodes)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
When Turner Broadcasting bought the rights to release Cosmos on VHS for the 10th anniversary of the original PBS series, CNN filmed a special 1-hour program titled "Cosmos, Episode 14: Ted Turner Interviews Dr. Sagan", where Ted Turner talks with Carl Sagan about his creation, Cosmos. In it, Sagan and Turner discuss the preservation of the Earth, nuclear weapons, the greenhouse effect, and other topics. It is only available as the last tape of the fourteen-tape series and it is not included on the DVD version.
more
Quotes:
Carl Sagan:
The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Miracle Mile (1988)
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (27 total)
Message Boards
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Related Links
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Cosmos is, hands-down, the greatest educational series of all-time. Even the wonderful (and highly recommended) history series Connections can't hold a flame to the perfection of Cosmos. If you don't believe me, look at the user ratings.
It makes me tear up that most of my friends and almost all Americans don't know what Cosmos is (or what "cosmos" means), yet they can name every Friends cast member and their character's name and quirks.
Computer graphics have come a long way since 1980, and just a few minor scientific updates are needed, but the series was so far ahead of its time that other than the spaceship deck set, the hair, and the clothes, it doesn't seem dated in 2004. It won the Peabody and Emmy awards, and remains to this day the most watched PBS series of all time (600+ million viewers in 60 countries).
The series is 13-hours, but ought to count as a three semester hour (~45 hours of class) Intro to Cosmology college course. Sagan's ability to communicate the essence of the cosmos and the history of scientific discovery is concise and absorbs the viewer.
If ever there was a series that explained "life, the universe and everything" (an appropriate quote from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Cosmos is it. Cosmos takes the viewer on a journey from the origin of the universe to the end of time and displays it as easily as looking at a calendar on a wall (literally, at least from the origin until present time!). Evolution of all life on Earth is condensed into a simple animation only a few seconds long. A detailed history of the origins and interactions between religion and science is engaging and sure to provoke discourse between viewers. The series also explores the massive capacities of information available in the brain and DNA (virtually wiping aside "nature" in favor of "nurture"). Cosmos details Mars and Venus and uses them to eloquently describe the "greenhouse effect" and its possible repercussions on Earth. I could describe episode by episode, by suffice it to say, it encompasses almost every "big picture" question one could ask.
Some people knock Carl Sagan for seeming smug or turning from a researcher to a public entertainer. I think of his entertainment as education to a broader audience, and any smugness should be discounted in favor of the information being conveyed. Sagan did society a tremendous favor by making this series. This is the most digestible science series I've ever seen. This should be required viewing for all high school students (or elementary students in their later elementary grades).
Whether you buy it, rent it, check it out from the library, or borrow it from a friend, watch this series. Thanks to Cosmos, you will have a better understanding of your universe.
(Incidentally, Sagan's speech is suspiciously similar in style to Agent Smith's from the Matrix. I've never heard of Hugo Weaving crediting Sagan as an inspiration but, intentionally or not, the similarity is there.)