The Excellent Engels. As a tribute to mark the 200th birth anniversary of Friedrich Engels, world-renowned German thinker who co-wrote The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, China Media Group produced The Excellent Engels, a two-episode documentary which airs on CCTV-4 at 18:00 December 28-29, and is broadcast on two channels, CCTV-1 and CCTV-9, at 22:30 on December 28-29 and 22:00 on December 29-30. Friedrich Engels The CCTV documentary team visited the U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands and other countries, and filmed in the places where Engels once lived and worked. They invited authoritative scholars including Lars Bluma from the Historical Center in Wuppertal to interpret his life. For the first time, the film will focus on Engels' extensive manuscripts, handwritten letters, original drawings, and pieces of music he composed himself. The film also creatively uses Engels' writings as narration in the opening sequence and his definition of himself as "the second violinist" to create passionate theme music, taking audiences on a journey of this extraordinary man's life and influence across different times, national boundaries and cultures.