The Privileged Planet (2004) on Netflix
NR20041hDocumentary
Earth's conditions allow intelligent life, and its place in the galaxy favors scientific discovery. A documentary builds that case from computer animation and footage from observatory archives.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.5/10308 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
The documentary examines the conditions on Earth that permit intelligent life, and asks why the same planet proves so well suited to observing and measuring the universe around it. Computer animation and footage from observatories and space agencies, among them the Hubble Space Telescope Institute, carry the argument from the planet outward to the galaxy and the wider cosmos. Voices from astronomy, astrobiology and philosophy add their perspectives, among them a former observatory director, researchers attached to NASA missions, an astrobiologist at a state university and a philosopher. The case made is that Earth's place in the galaxy favors the work of scientific discovery.
Cast
- Tom Robertsas Additional Narrator (voice)
- Charles Beichmanas Himself - NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder
- Robin Collinsas Himself - Messiah College
- Dennis Danielsonas Himself
- Guillermo Gonzalezas Himself - Astrobiologist Iowa State University
- Kevin R. Grazieras Himself (as Dr. Kevin R. Grazier)
- Bijan Nematias Himself - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Jay Richardsas Himself - Philosopher Discovery Institute
