9.050 minSeason 1 • Episode 13
LatestClark concludes the series with his discussion of materialism and humanitarianism of the past century. This takes us from the industrial landscape of nineteenth century England to the skyscrapers of twentieth century New York. The achievements of the engineers and scientists - such as Brunel and Rutherford - having been matched by the great reformers like Wilberforce and Shaftsbury.
Sir Kenneth Clark 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.
Production
Shot on 35mm film—still stunning.
Writing
Clark's sentences are architectural marvels.
Cinematography
Cathedrals never looked this good.
Creator
Kenneth Clark
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Funded to showcase colour TV, it became BBC's first blockbuster documentary and invented the presenter-led format.
Clark privately worried he'd defined civilisation too narrowly; Mary Beard's 2018 'Civilisations' was the BBC's corrective.
GB
