Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #868 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-18
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 650 minutes

Synopsis
In 1966 BBC Television embarked on its most ambitious documentary series to date. The eminent art historian Lord Clark was commissioned to write and present an epic examination of Western European culture, defining what he considered to be the crucial phases of its development. Civilisation: A Personal View by Lord Clark would be more than two years in the making, with filming in over 100 locations across 13 countries. The lavish series was hailed as a masterpiece when it was first transmitted in 1969.

From the fall of the Roman Empire to the Industrial Revolution and beyond, Clark's compelling narrative is accompanied by breathtaking colour photography of Europe's greatest landmarks. This 'history of ideas as illustrated by art and music' remains the benchmark for the numerous programmes it inspired. This four-DVD set includes a specially written 36-page illustrated booklet of viewing notes.

DVD extras: Sir David Attenborough remembers the making of Civilisation and a photo gallery of behind-the-scenes stills.

Customer Reviews

One of the seminal pieces of television broadcasting
Kenneth Clark (1903-83) was a distinguished English art historian, and very much a member of the old school. Patrician, cultured, privileged, he saw art as somehow pure, as untouched by the corruption of politics and materialism. 'Civilisation' is not so much a television series as a lecture series, one which represents a fascinating watershed in the history of mass communication ... and an ironic statement about civilisation itself.

Clark admits to influence by the Victorian historian and art critic, John Ruskin: the latter argued that history is written by the victors, literature by the partisan, but that art and architecture alone convey the soul of the age and thereby speak a truth which is inaccessible in the written word. Art, therefore, is an eternal truth which offers a window into the heart and soul of mankind. Clark says he couldn't define 'civilisation', but that he could recognise it when he saw it - consciously echoing the "I don't know much about art but I know what I like" cliché ... in precisely the same way that King's College Chapel echoes the sounds of bubblegum bursting.

'Civilisation' took three years to make, and was released in 1969, only two years after the BBC had ventured into colour broadcasting. Itself made in colour, the series was seen as a taking a huge risk. The BBC had - still has - a responsibility to produce educational and informative work, to stimulate and uplift, but the 1960's was a transitional era. On the one hand there was the tradition of high art, of Oxbridge dons delivering lectures on arcane subjects or broadcasting intellectual debates, on the other hand, the universities were being occupied, popular culture had suddenly become fashionable, and America's Vietnam war was throwing into question the very nature of culture, civilisation, and the power of any one class or country to impose its will and its definitions on others.

Clark fell very definitely into the old school. His 13 programmes looked at 'high art', at the respectable, at the reputable. There was little controversial about his material ... other than the absence of controversy in an era rich in satire and iconoclasm. Clark talks us through what he sees as eternal wisdoms and the core values of civilisation and art. He takes us from the so-called 'Dark Ages', looking at the light of religious experience cast upon Scottish shores in Iona, and following up with evidence of how the expansive energy and passion of the intellect can banish darkness. He celebrates the vaulting ambition of Chartres cathedral, the conspicuous consumption of the Italian city states and the Renaissance, the radicalism of the Reformation, the Age of Reason, the 19th century Romantic era, and carries on through into the materialism of the 20th century.

Each episode hangs upon the shoulders of one of the great men of the age - Michelangelo, Beethoven. Clark explores Western civilisation ... and selectively. There are elements of his presentation which seem a little dated today, yet the overall theme is optimistic - the barbarism of the 20th century did not destroy civilisation or crush the spirit of man. Art gives us hope, gives us reassurance, says Clark.

But the lasting strength of 'Civilisation' is in its own contribution to civilisation. A vast undertaking, a huge gamble, the series set the tone for television broadcasting. Clark was not only a renowned art historian, he had worked in television from its earliest days and knew that a lecture could not simply deliver words, could not talk down to its audience, but must inform. The key to any successful programme lays in its ability to communicate, to stimulate, to inform, uplift, and capture the imagination and attention of its audience.

Clark achieves this with aplomb. 'Civilisation' was a revolutionary series despite the intrinsic conservatism of its message. It demonstrated what television was capable of achieving and its seeds and tendrils have reached down the television decades ever since. Clark unites visual image, music, and language, achieving a balance in the production and delivery which became the benchmark for future productions (Bronowski's 'Ascent of Man' would follow it and bring to the understanding of science and history a more emotional dimension, but Bronowski carried forward Clark's message of informing, inspiring, engaging his audience, uniting the visual with the audio and the commentary).

'Civilisation' is an epic piece of television and cultural history and a lesson in the art of communication. Clark is a gentleman, a man with an honest passion and quiet authority, but he is also the consummate professional, master of the television art, and a man who will justifiably be recognised as one of the pioneering geniuses of television. Only 5 stars is a churlish assessment!

If you buy only one documenatary series this year, make it this
Lucid, engaging, and comprehensive does not adequately describe Sir Kenneth Clark's magnificent survey into Western Civilization. For a series over 40 years old, the audio is remastered, the transfers are remarkably clean, and the content and opinions of the host hardly seem dated. Clark effectively interweaves music, art, science and architecture into a broad sweeping portrait that defines Western thought. For those critics who find Clark's praise for Western art either superficial or superfluous have probably been watching and listening to the typical PBS tripe directed to an audience with a junior high vocabulary with an attention span to match.

Clark is a splendid presenter and teacher whose enthusiasm for his work clearly shows. It's all here, from the ancient Greeks to the modern age (well actually, circa 1969 when the series was made), while "Civilization" is a wonderful introduction to the "humanities"--something that they used to teach in college, but now supplanted by courses and programs of dubious relevance and replete with politically correct content.

If you snoozed during your mandatory art or humanities courses in college or just found them as an opportunity to catch up on some other homework during lecture, let Sir Kenneth Clark explain to you why these things still matter today and help to define our culture and our lives. For slightly more than what you would pay for one class at a local community college, you can enjoy a most superlative achievement in truly "higher education."

Clark's remarks and insight are as on target as they are illuminating--see the installment featuring Michaelangelo and the Renaissance and you will understand why. Now, if only the BBC would release Alistair Cooke's "America" with Region 1 encoding for all of us to enjoy on this side of the pond...

So, what is civilisation?
Kenneth Clark starts, right at the beginning of episode 1, by admitting that he can't define "civilisation". Then he goes on to give his very personal view of what it is, how it came about and was almost obliterated in the "dark ages" and how it was re-established and could again be destroyed by lack of confidence, cynicism, hopelessness and the destructive technology that dominates the modern (1960s) age. It's a wonderful series of programmes that held my attention from beginning to end. Mostly, I completely agreed but occasionally, passionately disagreed with the narrator - almost as though we were engaged in a 2-way discussion all the way through. That's the beauty of a 'personal' view: you don't need to accept anything Lord Clark says but you have to accept that his opinion is backed up by a huge amount of knowledge so he's likely to be right. So, although I happily accepted most of what he said, his account of Roman civilisation and the 'barbarians' that destroyed it seemed slightly skewed. He gave a rather rosier view of the 'civilised' Romans than seems justified and possibly an exaggerated notion of the barbarism of the barbarians. After all, how much more barbarous than the Romans did an enemy of Rome need to be, to be considered a barbarian? And his glowing account of the positive influence of the catholic church on civilisation, completely glossing over the horrors of the inquisition, caused me to chunter with discontent. Even so, over 13 episodes, each of 50 minutes, reasons for disagreement were few and far between. This is an enthralling series, full of beautiful images and accompanied by a fascinating narration.

Highly recommended.