The Adam Curtis Ultimate Collection (BBC)

Every available film by BBC political documentarian Adam Curtis, in the highest quality available, was my goal. (I compared every version of each I could find.)

The highest quality versions of many of Curtis' films are in this torrent. The only exceptions are the following films whose highest quality versions are available via simple download from archive.org, so these are not included in this torrent:

1992 Pandora's Box: A Fable from the Age of Science

http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_1_of_3 DVD

http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_2_of_3 DVD

http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_3_of_3 DVD

1995 The Living Dead: Three Films about the Power of the Past

http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheLivingDead
(alternate version is in torrent, see below)

1996 25 Million Pounds

http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-25MillionPounds
(alternate version is in torrent, see below)

1999 The Mayfair Set

http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheMayfairSet Cinepack

2002 The Century of the Self

Films (4 parts):

http://www.archive.org/details/dom-110230-centuryoftheself1 MPEG2

http://www.archive.org/details/dom-110231-centuryoftheself2 MPEG2

http://www.archive.org/details/dom-110232-centuryoftheself3 MPEG2

http://www.archive.org/details/dom-110233-centuryoftheself4 MPEG2 (missing last 10 minutes; cut off @49:25; the .avi version below has the full 59:02)

(Or, like I did because I prefer to watch on my TV and my boxes won't play .mp2 files, you will find .avi files at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheCenturyOfTheSelf Cinepack)

Subtitles:

http://subscene.com/english/The-Century-of-the-Self/subtitle-522993.aspx or http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/ssearch/imdbid-432232/sublanguageid-eng

2004 The Power of Nightmares

http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmaresDVD

(If I had included the above archive.org downloads in this torrent, it would have been 3 times as large [approximately 28GB].)
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The following films are only included in this torrent:

1984 Inquiry: The Great British Housing Disaster
1997 Modern Times: The Way of All Flesh (new, only available complete, version)
2007 The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom
2007 Television Journalists (Short from "Screenwipe" S04E03)
2009 It Felt Like a Kiss
2009 Oh Dearisms (Short from "Screenwipe)
2010 Richard Nixon: Paranoia and Moral Panics (Short from "Newswipe" S02E04)
2011 All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

The following alternate versions of these films are also included in this torrent:

1995 The Living Dead: Three Films about the Power of the Past (the versions at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheLivingDead would not play on one of my [Philips 5992] standalone players, so I included a new version I recoded with VirtualDub 1.9.11 to an XviD in case anyone can't play the versions on archive.org on their preferred box).

1996 25 Million Pounds (the versions at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-25MillionPounds would not play on one of my [Philips 5992] standalone players, so I included a new version I recoded with VirtualDub 1.9.11 to an XviD in case anyone can't play the versions on archive.org on their preferred box).
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Finally, details on all of Curtis' films available for download (whether or not in this torrent, chronologically):

1984 Inquiry: The Great British Housing Disaster

On Britain's system-built housing of the 1960's. There's nothing wrong with the film, but I can't recommend it unless you want to watch everything you can of what he's done. There's little hint of the signature depth, brilliance, and composition of his later work. He did not narrate it.



1992 Pandora's Box: A Fable from the Age of Science

With this film, Curtis' familiar 'voice' and narration arrives. As do some threads and substance which appear much later in his best work. It lacks the strong unifying themes of his later work, but it contains much that is very interesting and not repeated later, so Curtis fans such as me will enjoy it.

The broad theme is the tragicomic consequences of political and technocratic rationalism. Over six hours it examines:

1. the establishment of economic systems in the Soviet Union,
2. the systems and game theory of the Cold War,
3. the 1970s UK economy,
4. DDT,
5. Ghana in the 1950s and 1960s, and
6. nuclear power.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437029/ 8.2 IMDb rating

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora's_Box_(television_documentary_series)

1995 The Living Dead: Three Films about the Power of the Past

Each part examines an example of the impacts of manipulation of history and/or memory, both national and individual. Over three hours it navigates:

1. False narratives imposed upon WW2,
2. Brainwashing and mind control, and
3. UK Prime Minister Thatcher's invocation of an imperial past to enhance her power.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437020/ 7.7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Dead_(television_documentary_series)

1996 25 Million Pounds

Very interesting story of a derivatives trader whose $1.3 billion loss through massive fraud caused the 1995 collapse of one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious banks.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_Million_Pounds

1997 Modern Times: The Way of All Flesh (a new, first available complete version)

The interesting story, subsequently told in a 2010 book, of the uncommon, immortal cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796719/ 8.0

http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtisTheWayofAllFlesh

None of the versions of this film which I downloaded were complete (or in high quality). So I joined a pair of partial versions to make this new, and only available complete, version of this film, at 58 minutes 45.64 seconds.

(Some versions were missing the first 2 minutes 20 seconds. The other versions had the initial 2 minutes 20 seconds, but for some reason a total of 4┬╛ minutes had been edited out of them in multiple spots. Before joining the files at the 2 minutes 20 seconds point with AviDemux 2.5.5, I used it on the first 2 minutes 20 seconds to match the resolution, audio bitrate, and codec of the remainder. Then I used VirtualDubMod 1.5.10.2 and mp3DirectCut 2.13 to remove a little audio noise created at the join point.)

1999 The Mayfair Set

Engaging film on damage to the UK economy by predatory capitalists during the Thatcher years.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283201/ 8.5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mayfair_Set

2002 The Century of the Self

Curtis' most important and most fundamental film. About how corporations and governments throughout the 20th century used Freud's theories to profoundly manipulate the masses by controlling their unconscious minds. This film has my very highest recommendation.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432232/ 8.9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self

2004 The Power of Nightmares

The second of Curtis' three most important films. On the use of fear to gain political power. Compares the rises of the US Neo-Conservative, and the radical Islamist, movements. Argues that the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organized force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, was a myth perpetrated by the Neo-cons.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430484/ 9.0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares

2007 The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom

The third of Curtis' three most important films. Explores how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic creatures led to today's warped idea of freedom.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979263/ 8.9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trap_(television_documentary_series)

2007 Television Journalists (3 minute 51 second Short from "Screenwipe" S04E03)

On television news reporters.

(Thank you tofor the file included in this torrent. An alternate version at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-TheRiseAndFallOfTheTVJournalist has lower video quality.)

2009 It Felt Like a Kiss

Unique. No narration, only some onscreen text. A cross between an Adam Curtis political documentary, and a music video. In other words, it's often a rather avant-garde video collage, which asks for less logical engagement than his other work. I enjoyed it very much.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1590078/ 8.1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Felt_Like_a_Kiss

2009 Oh Dearisms (6 minute 16 second Short from "Screenwipe)

On the rise of "Oh Dear"-ism. ("ΓΓ鼪 television newsΓΓ鼪night after night we are shown terrible things which we feel we can do nothing aboutΓΓ鼪civil wars, massacres and starving children which leave us feeling helpless and depressed and to which the only response is: ΓΓé¼┼ôOh dear.ΓΓé¼┬¥ There is a name for this. ItΓΓé¼Γäós called ΓΓé¼┼ôoh-dearismΓΓé¼┬¥")

(Thank you tofor the file included in this torrent. An alternate version at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-OhDearism has lower video quality.)

2010 Richard Nixon: Paranoia and Moral Panics (6 minute 30 second Short from "Newswipe" S02E04)

On paranoia and moral panics . Begins with: "all of us have become Richard NixonΓΓ鼪paranoid weirdos".


http://thoughtmaybe.com/video/richard-nixon-paranoia-and-moral-panics

(Thank you tofor the file in this torrent. An alternate version at http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-RichardNixon has lower video quality.)

2011 All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

Very interesting, though I think Curtis' most flawed film. Ventures a parallel between Ayn Rand's ideology and the Internet, despite how undemocratic the former is. Tends to oversimplify, for example in contrasting self-regulation with change; in practice systems both evolve and self-regulate. Claims that computers have failed to liberate us and instead have "distorted and simplified our view of the world around us".


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1955162/ 8.2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Watched_Over_by_Machines_of_Loving_Grace_(television_documentary_series)

Note: I know "Adam Curtis Ultimate Collection" sounds very egotistical. But I didn't know what to call this torrent. It isn't "complete" since it doesn't include the files one can get from archive.org. It isn't "best" since it aims for compatibility too. So I picked "ultimate" because that doesn't actually mean anything specific.


Enjoy and Seed!!