Civilisation

TV Mini Series
1969–19701969–1970
TV-GTV-G
50m

Sir Kenneth Clarke guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civili... Read allSir Kenneth Clarke guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civilisation's articulations and expressions in some of man's finest works of art.Sir Kenneth Clarke guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civilisation's articulations and expressions in some of man's finest works of art.

8.7/10

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Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards
- 4 wins & 2 nominations total

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1 Season

2 years

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Goofs
In the segment titled "The Light of Experience", narrator Lord Clark discusses the great developments in Europe of the XVIIth century - mathematics, measurement, observation - and notes that these "were not hostile to architecture; nor to music, for this was the age of one of the greatest English composers, William Purcell." Here he is misquoting himself, for in the book that accompanies this series (Civilisation. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row, 1969, p.218) he correctly names the composer as Henry Purcell.

Quotes
Narrator: It's arguable that the nonexistence of a clear, concrete German prose has been one of the chief disasters of European civilisation.

Connections
Edited from Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955)

Top review

1/10

Meant for a scrapheap of history

Actually, this is an old tired, imperial, colonial, Europocentric view of history and culture, unpleasantly presented and conveying nothing but the contents of British imperial trashbin, starting with the thesis that "humanity invented harmony." Even more amazing to see this lack of taste and common sense from the BBC of "the golden period." I grieve that it had not ended as a highway filler, as some truly great British TV programs had.

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