达尔文的至黑时刻 (2009)

Charles Darwin is taken aback when he receives a manuscript from a colleague, Alfred Wallace, which contains many of the same conclusions as he on evolution and the development of various species. Darwins theory was developed over a great many years and in flashbacks, the manner in which it developed is shown. He had many supporters and likely more critics. He knew that his ideas were radical and that they would conflict with religious thought on the subject of creation. In reviewing his thoughts however, he realizes that he can without much difficulty claim to have been the first to develop the theory. These events spur him on to publish his findings in his now famous book. National Geographic makes superb use of its vast store of nature footage in Darwins Darkest Hour, which dramatizes how Darwin wrestled with honor and ambition when a rival scientist was on the verge of publishing material exploring similar theories of how species are created. Darwin (Henry Ian Cusick, Lost) hesitated to publish from concerns about the religious controversy that might erupt; he held back until he was sure he had the evidence to substantiate his ideas about natural selection. Darwins Darkest Hour suggests that his wife Emma (Frances OConnor, Mansfield Park), though firm in her religious belief, pushed Darwin to secure the proof that his writings predated his rivals. Interwoven with this immediate conflict is the story of how Darwin conceived his theories in the first place--accompanied by gorgeous footage of rainforests and mountainsides, seals and seabirds, iguanas, tortoises, and much, much more. Darwin grappled with the industry of bees, the sex lives of barnacles, and the feeding habits of Venus flytraps. Starring Henry Ian Cusick (Lost) and Frances OConnor (Mansfield Park) - Darwins Darkest Hour depicts the professional and personal trauma Charles Darwin endured the year before the publication of On The Origin Of Species. Darwins lifes work, what he called "his abominable