Legacy 2 (6 Parts)

Synopsis

Five thousand years ago, the first cities in the world were built on the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. Here was the first writing, the first law, the first science - the beginning of civilisation. The history of ancient civilisation is crucial to an understanding of the modern world. Events such as the Gulf War and the crushing of the Chinese democracy movement in Tiananmen Square have roots in the distant past. Michael Wood investigates the values, ideas and achievements of the older, original civilisations and asks what can be learned from the past about the present and the future.
1: Looks at Iraq, battleground of the Gulf War, but ironically the very place where civilisation began 5000 years ago, travelling from Kurdish citadels to the desert ruins of the world’s first cities, and from the Garden of Eden to Babylon and Baghdad, showing how the tragic legacy of Iraq’s past has shaped not only the dictatorship of Saddham Hussein, but also the lives of everyone in the world today.
2: A search for the spirit of India, from the Taj Mahal to the holy city of Benares, from remote villages to the extraordinary South Indian temple cities. Visits the Kumbha Mela, a religious festival on the Ganges, which attracts 15 million people each day.
3: Looks at China, from Peking down the Yellow River and the Grand Canal to remote Buddhist monasteries. Filmed soon after the crushing of the democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.
4: In Egypt Michael Wood looks at ancient little-known festivals and visits the Great Pyramids, the temples of Luxor, and the catacombs of Alexandria. Notes that the legacy of ancient Egypt did not die with the last pharaoh but prevailed through the rule of Alexander the Great and the Muslim caliphate, right up to the present day.
5: Looks at Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, exploring ancient, jungle-clad cities and charting the destruction of the native civilisations of the Maya and Aztecs by the Conquistadores, but finds that their remarkable cultures have survived right up until the present day.
6: Traces modern western values back to their roots. Europe developed quickly from a barrbarian outpost in the Middle Ages, unworthy of comparison with China or Egypt, to the driving force in the world, providing remarkable technological advances. Questions whether western civilisation is the central problem of our planet.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. VHS. col. 6 x 60 min.

Year of production

1991

Availability

Sale; 2000 sale: £19.99 (inc. VAT +p&p) (series) - Choices Direct

Notes

Broadcast weekly on ITV on Tuesday from 13 August 1991.
Reviewed in British Council FVR, Feb 1992

Documentation

Accompanying education pack.

Uses

Teachers and students of geography looking for material on the inter-relationships between man, human settlement and environment.

Subjects

History

Keywords

China; cultural evolution; Egypt; Europe; Guatemala; Honduras; human settlements; India; Iraq; Mexico

Credits

Director

Peter Spry-Leverton

Producer

Peter Spry-Leverton

Cast

Michael Wood

Sections

Title

Iraq: cradle of civilisation

Synopsis

1: Looks at Iraq, battleground of the Gulf War, but ironically the very place where civilisation began 5000 years ago, travelling from Kurdish citadels to the desert ruins of the world's first cities, and from the Garden of Eden to Babylon and Baghdad, sh

Title

India: empire of the spirit

Synopsis

2: A search for the spirit of India, from the Taj Mahal to the holy city of Benares, from remote villages to the extraordinary South Indian temple cities. Visits the Kumbha Mela, a religious festival on the Ganges, which attracts 15 million people each da

Title

China: the mandate of heaven

Synopsis

3: Looks at China, from Peking down the Yellow River and the Grand Canal to remote Buddhist monasteries. Filmed soon after the crushing of the democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.

Title

Egypt: the habit of civilisation

Synopsis

4: In Egypt Michael Wood looks at ancient little-known festivals and visits the Great Pyramids, the temples of Luxor, and the catacombs of Alexandria. Notes that the legacy of ancient Egypt did not die with the last pharaoh but prevailed through the rule

Title

Central America: the burden of time

Synopsis

5: Looks at Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, exploring ancient, jungle-clad cities and charting the destruction of the native civilisations of the Maya and Aztecs by the Conquistadores, but finds that their remarkable cultures have survived right up until

Title

Barbarian West, The

Synopsis

6: Traces modern western values back to their roots. Europe developed quickly from a barrbarian outpost in the Middle Ages, unworthy of comparison with China or Egypt, to the driving force in the world, providing remarkable technological advances. Questio

Production Company

Name

Central Independent Television

Notes

use Carlton UK Television

Distributor

 

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