Poster for The Owl's Legacy

La Sept 1989 1 season 13 eps Ended

The Owl's Legacy

1989 1 season 13 eps

7.3

Season 1

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Season 1

25 min

S1 · E1 · Jun 12, 1989

Symposium, or the Received Ideas Episode 1

In Paris, Tbilisi, Athens and Berkeley historians have played with reconstitutions of the "symposium" - the Greek banquet - around tables laden with food and wine.

7.4 · You

25 min

S1 · E2 · Jun 13, 1989

Olympics, or the Imaginary Greece Episode 2

Greece's inheritance was recomposed in contemporary mythology. This sometimes led to terrible misappropriations for the benefit of totalitarian ideologies - of which Nazism was born.

7.8 · You

25 min

S1 · E3 · Jun 14, 1989

Democracy, or the City of Dreams Episode 3

What exactly does the word mean “democracy” mean? Does it designates the ancient city-state or our contemporary political systems? What are the analogies or, on the contrary, the radical differences between realities separated by more than twenty centuries? Are certain functions suitable for all civilizations? Τhe third episode of Chris Marker’s legendary documentary series – which first aired on British state television in 1991 but remained in the dark for decades – returns to classical antiquity to make a bold parallel, familiarizing 21st-century audiences with a concept of the commons that seems primordial yet innovative, reinventing itself in every single manifestation.

7.5 · You

25 min

S1 · E4 · Jun 15, 1989

Nostalgia, or the Impossible Return Episode 4

Ithaca is the iconic distant home that no one should forget: such would be the universal lesson of Homer's Odyssey.

7.5 · You

25 min

S1 · E5 · Jun 16, 1989

Amnesia, or the Sense of History Episode 5

Built on the testimony or "autopsy" - which literally means "seeing oneself" - our conception of History has deeply shifted since Herodotus.

7.5 · You

25 min

S1 · E6 · Jun 19, 1989

Mathematics, or the Realm of Signs Episode 6

The geometrical space and the mathematical language constitute a universal legacy the Greeks have bequeathed us with. How do we articulate its perfect logic to the complexity of contemporary sciences?

7.4 · You

25 min

S1 · E7 · Jun 20, 1989

Logomachy, or the Root of Words Episode 7

All the meanings of "logos" originated from a small territory between Ephesus and Patmos. According to Aristotle the human animal fights with a specific weapon: speech... Logos' destiny would it be the "logomachy"? The fight over words.

7.2 · You

25 min

S1 · E8 · Jun 21, 1989

Music, or the Inner Space Episode 8

A cross between imitation and creation, the search for the beautiful and harmonious animates the artists' personal quests - including with cutting-edge technology - as well as it serves great collective schemes - religions in particular.

6.9 · You

25 min

S1 · E9 · Jun 22, 1989

Cosmogony, or the Use of the World Episode 9

This reflection over creation - divine cosmogony and man's creativity - takes us from the Greek statuary art to the Acropolis' Korai on show in Tokyo. This takes us on towards the Gorgon - a mirror of death.

7.4 · You

25 min

S1 · E10 · Jun 23, 1989

Mythology, or the Truth of Lies Episode 10

There are a set of myths to which we constantly refer ourselves. We will question their genesis, their place in psyche, their transmission, their nature.

7.4 · You

25 min

S1 · E11 · Jun 26, 1989

Misogyny, or Desire's Traps Episode 11

The Greek conception of sexuality was very different from ours. What did the Greek think of desire in a world where heterosexuality and homosexuality - far from being opposites - were models of existence that were different but compatible?

7.6 · You

25 min

S1 · E12 · Jun 27, 1989

Tragedy, or the Illusion of Death Episode 12

The great figures borne out of Greek tragedies help us fathom the founding mechanisms of human practices - all the way to a society like Japan, that is so apparently far from ours.

7.5 · You

25 min

S1 · E13 · Jun 28, 1989

Philosophy, or the Owl's Triumph Episode 13

Around the metaphorical - but also very real - figure of the owl; entwined reflections upon the place of thought in daily existence and public action - sometimes with and sometimes against the Greek legacy.

7.5 · You

13 episodes in Season 1

Some details come from TheTVDB.

A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such as “democracy,” “philosophy,” or “mythology”—through conversations filmed in cities around the world. Combining symposium-style discussions with archival footage and visual motifs of the owl, Marker creates an expansive reflection on the enduring legacy of Greece.

Mini-Series Documentary History

Where to watch

Amazon Video

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Your rating

Your review

Cast

1 person

André Dussollier

Narrator (voice)

Known for

Beauty and the Beast

Tell No One

Chris Marker Creator · Jean-Claude Carrière Writer · Simone Nedjma Scialom Editor

Creator Director Writer

Chris Marker

Writer

Jean-Claude Carrière

Editor

Simone Nedjma Scialom

Total runtime 5h 38m · Episode length 26 min · Type Miniseries

Show info

Premiered

June 12, 1989

Final episode

June 28, 1989

Status

Ended

Network

La Sept

Country

France · Greece

Type

Miniseries

Episode length

26 min

Total runtime

5h 38m

Original language

French

Production

A

Attica Art Productions

Production

F

FIT Production

Production

L

La Sept Cinéma

Production

France

Produced in

Languages

Original title

L'Héritage de la chouette

Spoken on screen

English · French

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Some details come from TheTVDB.

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