The Cut
Professor Brian Cox
PhysicistWe talk to the leading physicist about the films that matter to him and how they’ve shaped his view of the world. Brian unveils his thoughts on a range of topics from music to philosophy to the universe via film, while perusing the library and archives at the Royal Society in London, where he holds a Fellowship.
Brian Cox /
BFI Player film picks
The Man Who Fell to EarthThe Man Who Fell to Earth
Science Fiction 1976 139 minsDirector: Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg’s cult sci-fi stars David Bowie as an alien attempting to amass a fortune to save his home planet, but unable to escape his decadent earthly lifestyle.
The Day the Earth Caught FireThe Day the Earth Caught Fire
Science Fiction 1961 100 minsDirector: Val Guest
The BFI’s HD remaster of the British sci-fi classic. A journalist discovers that the Earth has been knocked off its axis and is moving ever closer to the sun. Is the Earth doomed?
Local HeroLocal Hero
Comedy 1983 111 minsDirector: Bill Forsyth
An American oil-man goes native while on a mission to buy up a Scottish fishing village, in Bill Forsyth’s tribute to Scotland’s irresistible charm.
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
An overwhelming universe
Brian ponders the nature of an infinite universe and explains how the two trillion galaxies we can see are only part of that.
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
‘In society, having an opinion is valued in and of itself. That doesn't apply to the knowledge we've acquired through science.’
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
‘Most scientists start from a position of wonder, of looking at nature and finding it inexplicably beautiful and wanting to know more about it.’
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
How nuclear threats have eased
Discussing how concerns of nuclear war have waned since the Cold War, Brian considers how environmental worries have taken their place.
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
The rock star of science?
Explaining his past as an erstwhile chart success, Brian reveals his thoughts about scientists and their backgrounds.
Brian Cox /
bonus bits on the universe, nuclear war and pop stardom
‘The more you think about the timescales and physical distances of the universe, the more you find our position in it absurd.’
The Cut is co-funded with the Creative Europe programme of the European Union
