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- 2015
- PBS
- 2015
- PBS
Summary Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, the six-hour documentary directed by Barak Goodman (and executive produced by Ken Burns) explores the history of cancer and the latest medical advances with stories of real-life patients.
- 2015
- PBS
- 2015
- PBS
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies
Season 1 Premiere: Mar 30, 2015
78
7.2
Where to Watch
Summary Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, the six-hour documentary directed by Barak Goodman (and executive produced by Ken Burns) explores the history of cancer and the latest medical advances with stories of real-life patients.
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
78
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
78
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Directed by Barak Goodman, the documentary is an information-stuffed and yet affecting and engrossing work made in the straightforward manner of its executive producer, Ken Burns.
Cancer is, of course, its own ongoing holocaust, and Goodman is determined to examine it thoroughly, objectively (which is not to say clinically) and fearlessly. The result is possibly the least live-tweetable six hours of television you will ever see and also among the most important.
An engaging work of strong storytelling.
The series is structured as an ever-evolving medical detective story, but the filmmakers give it heart as well by juxtaposing the history lessons with present-day personal profiles of cancer patients.... It’s a well-conceived approach to a subject that in other hands might have been dry. Still, be prepared to give it your full attention.
This is an intelligent overview, with the consistent and important theme that medical "paradigms" shift and change.
It’s an unbecoming undercurrent [the film frequently sentimentalizes cancer patients' experiences] in an otherwise absorbing nonfiction narrative, and it leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Goodman does a fine job of helping the experts to explain the science, from the use of graphics to the way news footage is woven into the film. But Emperor of All Maladies also stalls at times along the way, to the point where a more focused treatment and fewer anecdotal stories, condensed to two nights, would have likely been beneficial all around.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
80% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
20% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
80% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
20% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
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Production Company:
- Ark Media
Initial Release Date: Mar 30, 2015
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Genres:
Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 1 Nomination