Civilisation (TV Series) - Production

Production

Civilisation was one of the first United Kingdom television documentary series made in colour, commissioned during 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 due to 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. 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.

The series was replayed on BBC Four and released in the Region 2 DVD area in 2005; a Region 1 set followed in 2006. The DVD release included a short interview with David Attenborough about the commissioning and production of the series.