Civilisation
Blu-ray, 2 Entertain
Out on 9 May
Historian Kenneth Clark introduces this landmark documentary series with a quote from John Ruskin about how the key to understanding a great nation is to look at their deeds, words and art, the last being "the only trustworthy one".
So begins an epic voyage around the historical culture of western civilisation, taking in the greats such as Da Vinci, Mozart, Dante, Shakespeare, etc, working backwards from their art to discover how it was formed by their lives. Overseen by David Attenborough (when he was head of BBC2) and still as bright and informative as it was when first transmitted in 1969, Civilisation has yet to be bettered. Shot on film (the remastered Blu-ray looks stunning) and in colour (when most TV sets were still black and white), it's a precursor to many of the great shows from the golden era of factual TV such as Life On Earth, Connections and The Ascent Of Man. Even today, the smiley Prof Brian Cox's unending quest around the world to say large numbers in exotic locations copies the template laid down here. A true academic who didn't even want to be on TV, Clark is the relentlessly polite eye of calm in an unending storm of culture, giving a friendly, accessible personal view, while the camera gets closer to the art than we ever will. Essential.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/apr/30/this-weeks-new-dvd-blu-ray
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