Civilisation: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

In 1966 BBC Television embarked on its most ambitious documentary series to date. The eminent art historian Lord Kenneth Clark was commissioned to write and present an epic examination of Wester 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. Civilisation is the crowning achievement in the career of Lord Clark

Series details

• Title: Civilisation
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 1969-02-23
• Final broadcast date listed: 1969-05-18
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC Two
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 50 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 16491
• IMDb ID: tt0264234
• TVDB ID: 82936

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1969-02-23; final listed air date 1969-05-18.

Source and licence

Adapted from Civilisation on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.