CNN Millennium
| CNN Millennium | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Inspired by |
Millennium: A History of Our Last Thousand Years by Felipe Fernández-Armesto |
| Creative director | Bernard Heyes |
| Narrated by | Ben Kingsley |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Original release | |
| Network | CNN |
| Release | October 10 – December 12, 1999 |
CNN Millennium or Millennium: A Thousand Years of History or MM Millenium or Millennium was a CNN Perspectives television series or miniseries about world history during the 2nd millennium from the 11th to the 20th centuries.
The Millennium series should not be confused with the CNN Millennium 2000 DVD, which documented the celebrations around the world for the arrival of the year 2000.
Sir Jeremy Isaacs, filmmaker of "The World at War" and CNN's Cold War, and Pat Mitchell, president of CNN Productions and Time Inc. Television, served as executive producers. The CNN website elaborates:
Each of the 10 episodes of MILLENNIUM focuses on a single century, brought to life by five vignettes from five different locations worldwide.
. . . Its producers and crews . . . traveled 100,000 miles gathering footage. MILLENNIUM reconstructs the visual images of past ages using this footage, along with . . . re-enactments and computer-generated graphic animation.
Ben Kingsley's role as narrator remained confined to introducing the subject matter and placing it into context. Main protagonists such as Genghis Khan tell their individual stories in their native tongues, relayed to viewers through simultaneous translation.
Bernard Heyes was in charge of graphic design and animation. Richard Blackford composed the original musical score for the series.
Production
The production of the series lasted for over two years. Filming for the series took place in 28 countries.
Episodes
Millennium has ten episodes, each of which revolves around a common theme, or tool:
Episode 1: Century of the Sword. The 11th century is the century of the sword (referring to such calamitous events as the Norman conquest of England in 1066). Producer: Henry Chancellor.
Episode 2: Century of the Axe. The 12th century features the axe (used to fell forests in order to build fleets and housing). Producers: Neil Cameron and Emma de 'Ath.
Episode 3: Century of the Stirrup. The stirrup moves the 13th century. Director: Caroline Ross Pirie.
Episode 4: Century of the Scythe. The scythe wreaked havoc in the 14th century, due to plague outbreaks and bad weather. Directors: Mark Kidel, Peter Sommer and David Wallace.
Episode 5: Century of the Sail. The sail assisted explorers in the 15th century, from China to Spain. Producers: Neil Cameron and Emma de Ath.
Episode 6: Century of the Compass. The compass was the colonizers' tool in the 16th century Director: Richard Curson Smith.
Episode 7: Century of the Telescope. The telescope fueled expanding knowledge about earth and universe in the 17th century. Director: Neil Cameron.
Episode 8: Century of the Furnace. The furnace sparked industrial and human revolutions in the 18th century. Director: Neil Cameron.
Episode 9: Century of the Machine. The machine age began with the 19th century Director: Mike Dibb.
Episode 10: Century of the Globe. The series concluded with the 20th, the century of the Globe. Producers: Neil Cameron and Emma De'Ath.
Approach
CNN Millennium endeavours to make history accessible to a culturally and socially diverse audience through the extensive use of animation, costumes and recreating places of historical significance around the world.
Broadcast and release
Millennium: A Thousand Years of History was first broadcast on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on Mondays between 18 October 1999 and 20 December 1999. CNN Millennium was first broadcast on CNN in the United States between 10 October 1999 and 12 December 1999, at 10pm on Sundays.
The series Biography of the Millennium was also about the history of the 2nd Millennium, and was first broadcast on A&E in the United States on 10 October 1999. The first broadcast of the first two hour episode of Biography of the Millennium ended at 10pm, just before the start of Millennium on CNN.
CNN Millennium was released on VHS cassettes. A CD of the Millennium soundtrack was available at the time of the broadcast.
CNN Interactive (now called CNN.com) created a dynamic companion website for the television series that includes animation, interactivity and 3-D effects. A companion book by Anthony Coleman was published by Bantam Press in 1999 under the title "Millennium".
Awards and nominations
Bernard Heyes won a News & Documentary Emmy for the title sequence. Richard Blackford was nominated for an Emmy for the music.