The Botany of Desire

Director: Michael Schwarz

Overview

Based on Michael Pollan's bestseller, this intriguing PBS documentary examines the ways that humans rely on (and relate to) four key plants: the apple, potato, tulip, and marijuana. Frances McDormand (Fargo) narrates each unique segment, offering a plant's-eye view of botanical evolution and of the shifting relationships between people and their food sources.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/03/2009
UPC:	0841887010856
Original Release:	2009
Rating:	TV-PG
Source:	Pbs (Direct)
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	59,533

Special Features

Closed Caption; Over 15 minutes of deleted scenes:; Bringing Back Hard Cider, How the Delicious Apple Got its Name, Like a Florist from 100 Years Ago, and Racing the Clock: The Dutch Auction; 19-minute panel discussion about the interdisciplinary importance of The Botany of Desire; 29 minute of additional interview footage with Michael Pollan

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Frances McDormand	Narrator,Narrator
Michael Pollan	Host

Technical Credits

Michael Schwarz	Producer
Kiran Kiki Kapany	Executive Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Botany of Desire
1. Introduction [4:46]
2. Apples - The Desire for Sweetness [13:40]
3. Apples as a Commodity [12:58]
4. Tulips - The Desire for Beauty [15:03]
5. Breeding Tulips [9:18]
6. Marijuana - The Desire for Intoxication [16:46]
7. The Science Behind Marijuana [8:00]
8. Potatoes - The Desire for Control [:18]
9. Today's Potato Monoculture [2:33]
10. The Web of Life [10:27]
11. Credits [18:59]
1. Bringing Back Hard Cider [4:44]
2. How the Delicious Apple Got its Name [1:09]
3. Like a Florist From 100 Years Ago [6:56]
4. Racing the Clock: The Dutch Auction [2:42]
1. The Apple: From Rome to America [3:04]
2. Applejack: Even Harder Than Hard Cider [1:18]
3. Johnny Appleseed: The American Dionysus [3:38]
4. Beyond Sweetness [3:52]
5. The Tulip: Too Common to Appreciate? [2:49]
6. Clusius and the Cult of the Tulip [2:50]
7. The Evolution of Hemp and Marijuana [1:17]
8. Coffee and Other Plant Drugs [2:54]
9. The Potato: A New Crop for the Old World [2:02]
10. Growing the NewLeaf Potato [3:06]

Menu

Disc #1 -- The Botany of Desire
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Special Features
Deleted Scenes
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More of Michael Pollan's Interview
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The Botany of Desire: Perspectives From the Arts, Humanities and Sciences
Pbs.org