Civilisation (television series)
| Civilisation | |
|---|---|
Title card from Episode 1, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
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| Also known as | Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Developed by | David Attenborough |
| Presented by | Sir Kenneth Clark |
| Composer(s) | Edwin Astley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Michael Gill Peter Montagnon |
| Running time | 650 minutes |
| Release | |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format | Mono |
| First shown in | BBC2 |
| Original release | 23 February – 18 May 1969 |
Civilisation—in full, Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark—is a television documentary series outlining the history of Western art, architecture and philosophy since the Dark Ages. The series was produced by the BBC and aired in 1969 on BBC2.
Both the television scripts and the accompanying book version were written by art historian Lord Clark (1903–1983), who also presented the series. The series is considered a landmark in televised documentary.
Civilisation was one of the first United Kingdom television documentary series made in colour, commissioned during Sir David Attenborough's controllership of BBC2. For technical reasons, colour television was to come to BBC2 before BBC1 and, as a channel aimed at a more highbrow audience, it was appropriate to commission a major series about the arts. It was Attenborough who prompted the title, but because of time constraints the series only covered Western Civilisation. Clark did not "suppose that anyone could be so obtuse as to think I had forgotten about the great civilisations of the pre-Christian era and the east", though the title continued to worry him.
The series was directed by Michael Gill and co-produced by Gill and Peter Montagnon. The cinematographer was Kenneth McMillan. The music was composed by Edwin Astley.
At first, Clark's patrician attitudes annoyed Gill and the project was almost abandoned. However, Gill eventually formed a great respect for Clark's aesthetic judgement. During the filming on location, they formed an enduring friendship.Civilisation was shot on 35mm film stock to ensure high-quality images. The production was carried out over a three-year period using locations in eleven countries, the sequences shot in Paris were undertaken during the May 1968 riots.
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