Civilisation: The Great Thaw
Cast & Crew
Peter Montagnon
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Joe Cooksey
Roger Crittenden
Michael Shah Dayan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The film concentrates on the 12th century, when many of Europe's most famous cathedrals, monasteries, and abbeys were constructed. According to Sir Kenneth Clark, the triumph of the Roman Catholic Church resulted in more stability, infusing artists and artisans alike with a tremendous amount of energy; the first visible sign of this spirit was in the elaborately ornamented Abbey of Cluny. Opposed to the Cluniac style was St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose influence resulted in the Cistercian style, closer to modern architectural ideals of simplicity and function. The release of energy also resulted in crusades and pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and art began to reflect Eastern influences brought back by returning crusaders and pilgrims. One of the most influential figures of the century was Abbot Suger, who believed that through the effect of beautiful things on the senses, one could understand absolute beauty, or God. His philosophy, embodied in the St. Denis Cathedral, is considered to be the rationale for the modern belief in the virtue of art. The Cathedral of Chartres, according to Clark, "is a masterpiece of harmonious proportion"; constructed by people from all over France, the cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1194 and rebuilt when a valuable relic of the Virgin Mary was discovered intact among the ruins. Chartres, the bridge between Romanesque and Gothic architecture, is cited as the culmination of the first awakening of Western civilization.
Director
Peter Montagnon
Crew
Kenneth Clark
Joe Cooksey
Roger Crittenden
Michael Shah Dayan
Colin Deehan
A. A. Englander
Michael Gill
Dave Griffiths
Basil Harris
Peter Heelas
Maggie Houston
Carol Jones
June Leech
Kenneth Macmillan
Peter Montagnon
Bill Paget
Jesse Palmer
Jack Probert
John Taylor
Ann Turner
Ann Turner
Allan Tyrer
Malcolm Webberley
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Location scenes filmed in Durham, England; and Moissac, Vézelay, Autun, and Chartres, France. First shown in Great Britain on March 2, 1967 on BBC 2; the second in Sir Kenneth Clark's series on the history of Western civilization.
