Civilisation: The Smile of Reason
Cast & Crew
Michael Gill
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Joe Cooksey
Roger Crittenden
Michael Shah Dayan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Clark discusses the Enlightenment of the 18th century, when the emphasis on natural law, justice, and toleration was best expressed in the writings of Voltaire. England, acknowledged by the French philosophers as the origin of the Enlightenment, encouraged a kind of amateurism in the arts by men of wealth and leisure. The development in France of the salon, conducted by gracious hostesses, renewed the awareness of feminine qualities and provided a forum for intellectuals such as Diderot, the guiding force behind the first French encyclopedia. The Scots, practical and energetic, contributed Adam Smith, David Hume, and James Watt to the world of ideas and science. Humanism, no longer bound to the Church as in the Renaissance, constructed a new morality based on natural law and the stoicism of ancient republican Rome, a morality expressed most clearly in the paintings of David. In America, Thomas Jefferson typified the universal man of the 18th century, his genius most apparent in his designs for Monticello and the University of Virginia. The design for Washington, D. C., laid out by L'Enfant under the direction of Jefferson, also reflected the influence of the Enlightenment on the American heritage.
Director
Michael Gill
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 Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D. C. First shown in Great Britain on April 28, 1969 on BBC 2; the 10th in Sir Kenneth Clark's series on the history of Western civilization.
