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Survivors: Portraits of the Holocaust (2022) #1397
DOCUMENTARY
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1 hour. BBC. Film following a project spearheaded by the Prince of Wales, who has commissioned seven leading artists to paint seven survivors of the Holocaust. Throughout the programme, we hear the testimonies of the remarkable men and women who were children when they witnessed one of the greatest atrocities in human history, as well as meeting the artists as they grapple with their paintings. We see some of the sittings and witness the touching friendships that have emerged between artist and sitter over the course of nearly two years. The finished portraits, destined for the Royal Collection, will be unveiled at the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. They represent pain and loss as well as dignity and hope, and serve as a lasting reminder of horrors which will one day be lost to living memory. |
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Simon Schama's History of Now (2022) #1457
DOCUMENTARY
Special
3x1 hour episodes. Simon Schama reflects on a life in culture - and its enduring power in shaping our world. From The Handmaid's Tale to The Thick of It, how has art defined what matters to us all? 1/3 Truth and Democracy. Simon Schama explores the artists who have fought for truth and democracy in his lifetime. 2/3 Equality. Simon Schama explores the artists who have been at the vanguard of the fight for equality. 3/3 The Price of Plenty. Simon Schama examines how different Americans created visions of the postwar world. |
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The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama (2020) #1319
DOCUMENTARY
Special
3x1 hour. BBC. From popular revolt to the obsession with the self, even to modern nationalism, Simon Schama explores the enduring and powerful legacy the romantics have left on our modern world. 1/3 Passions of the People. Simon Schama explores the artists who created the secular icons of our democratic world. 2/3 The Chambers of the Mind. Simon Schama explores how the romantics became the first explorers of the unconscious. 3/3 Tribes. Simon Schama explores how the romantics created our idea of national belonging. |
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Civilisations (2018) #1099
DOCUMENTARY
Special
9x1 hour. BBC. Civilisations is an epic new series spanning 31 countries on six continents, and covering more than 500 works of art. Presenters SIMON SCHAMA, MARY BEARD and DAVID OLUSOGA will explore humanity's desire to create. Alongside, the Civilisations Festival will bring museums' treasures to life through innovative digital products and events. 1/9 Second Moment of Creation. A look at the formative role art and imagination have played in the forging of humanity. 2/9 How Do We Look? Professor Mary Beard explores images of the human body in ancient art. 3/9 Picturing Paradise. Simon Schama explores one of our deepest artistic urges - the depiction of nature. 4/9 The Eye of Faith. Professor Mary Beard broaches the controversial topic of religion and art. 5/9 The Triumph of Art. Simon Schama examines how traditions developed in the years following the Renaissances. 6/9 First Contact. David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met. 7/9 Radiance. Simon Schama starts his meditation on colour and civilisation in Amiens and Chartres. 8/9 The Cult of Progress. David Olusoga explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century. 9/9 The Vital Spark. Simon Schama explores the fate of art in the machine and profit-driven world. |
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Imagine: Hockney, the Queen and the Royal Peculiar (2018) #1140
DOCUMENTARY
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1 hour. BBC. It has been the site of royal weddings, funerals and nearly every British coronation since 1066, Westminster Abbey is also known as a Royal Peculiar - a church controlled not by a bishop but by the monarch herself. Crowned there 65 years ago, Queen Elizabeth II is now the world's longest-reigning monarch and to celebrate, Westminster Abbey has commissioned an historic new work - a towering stained-glass window. The artist behind it is David Hockney - who famously refused a knighthood and declined an invitation to paint the Queen's portrait because he was too busy painting landscapes in Yorkshire. Adopting an art form which is over 1,000 years old is yet another surprising move from an artist whose career has continually defied expectation. With unique access, imagine... follows the whole process from design to installation. |
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Britain at War: Imperial War Museum at 100 (2017) #992
DOCUMENTARY
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1 hour. BBC. 2017 marks the centenary year of the establishment of Imperial War Museums. It was founded while the First World War was still raging - and over the past century, IWM has expanded hugely, with five sites including the Churchill War Rooms and HMS Belfast. It shares stories of those who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth. This programme, presented by Falklands veteran and charity campaigner Simon Weston CBE, looks at ten key objects from the IWM's collection. Each of the objects has a special advocate to explore what it reveals about the story of conflict - Bear Grylls ventures onto HMS Belfast, Al Murray looks at a Spitfire at Duxford, and the artists Cornelia Parker and Steve McQueen discuss how they have responded to war and loss in their work. Kate Adie tells the remarkable tale of the typewriter in the Churchill War Rooms, Dame Kelly Holmes meets the extraordinary Johnson Beharry VC to hear about his experiences in the Iraq War, and Anita Rani explores the incredible heroism of one soldier in the British-Indian Army. |
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Revolution: New Art for a New World (2017) #1047
DOCUMENTARY
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80mins. BBC. Directed by acclaimed film-maker Margy Kinmonth, this bold and exciting feature documentary encapsulates a momentous period in the history of Russia and the Russian avant-garde. Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers, and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian avant-garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich and others - pioneers who flourished in response to the utopian challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years. Stalin's rise to power marked the close of this momentous period, consigning the avant-garde to obscurity. Yet the Russian avant-garde continues to exert a lasting influence over art movements up to the present day. The film confirms this, exploring the fascination that these colourful paintings, inventive sculptures and propaganda posters retain over the modern consciousness 100 years on. It was filmed entirely on location in Moscow, St Petersburg and London, with access to the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the State Hermitage Museum and in co-operation with the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The film features paintings previously banned and unseen for decades, and masterpieces which rarely leave Russia. Contributors include museum directors Professor Mikhail Piotrovsky and Zelfira Tregulova, and film director Andrei Konchalovsky. The film also features the voices of Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Hollander, James Fleet, Eleanor Tomlinson and Daisy Bevan. |
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Messiah at the Foundling Hospital (2014) #869
DOCUMENTARY
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1 hour. BBC. Handel's Messiah is one of the most popular choral pieces in western music. It has been recorded hundreds of times and contains a tune that is as instantly recognisable as any in music. Yet few people know the extraordinary story of how this much-loved piece came to public attention - or how it helped save the lives of tens of thousands of children. Historian Amanda Vickery and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service present this one-hour drama documentary which recreates the first performance of Messiah at London's Foundling Hospital in 1750 and tells the heartrending story of how this special fundraising concert helped maintain the hospital and heralded a golden age of philanthropy. Exploring historical documents and artefacts, Amanda examines the plight of women in Georgian London, particularly how the attitudes of the time led mothers to abandon their babies at the hospital. Tom looks at the momentous trials and tribulations faced by Handel in London and discovers how the composer became involved with the Foundling Hospital alongside another philanthropist of the day, the artist William Hogarth. |
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The Christmas No.1 Story (2012) #750
DOCUMENTARY
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1 hour. BBC. This hour-long documentary takes us on a journey back through 60 years of British Christmases via the pop songs we put at the top of the most important chart of the year. From The Beatles to Mr Blobby, Harry Belafonte to the Human League and Benny Hill to the Military Wives, the Christmas number one is unpredictable to say the least and tells its own unique story of the past half-century of British pop culture. This show looks back through the decades at the personalities and circumstances that gave rise to these, songs immortalised by their competition in the race for Christmas number one. Expect wars, charity, stupidity, nostalgia and some cracking good tunes jingling along the way... With contributions from the artists themselves including Rolf Harris, Noddy Holder, Roy Wood, Boney M, Johnny Mathis, Midge Ure, Shakin' Stevens, Sir Cliff Richard, Jason Donovan, East 17 and Alexandra Burke. Also featuring a select cast of commentators including Pete Waterman, Rev. Richard Coles, Tony Blackburn and Edith Bowman. |
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Imagine: Glasgow: The Grit and the Glamour (2012) #786
DOCUMENTARY
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imagine... explores the story of a group of artists and curators who stormed the international art world and turned their home city of Glasgow into a global capital for contemporary art. Amongst the artists Alan Yentob encounters are 2011 Turner Prize-winner Martin Boyce, as well as previous winners Douglas Gordon, Simon Starling and Richard Wright, to tell the story of a city now as famed for its contemporary art as it was for its shipbuilding. |
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The Artist (2011) #96
FILM
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Directed by Michel Hazanavicius. With Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell. A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions. |
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Modern Masters: Picasso (2011) #618
DOCUMENTARY
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60 mins. BBC. The life of Pablo Picasso is an exciting story of rebellion, riches, women and great art. In this episode of a four-part series dedicated to Modern Art, journalist Alastair Sooke travels through France, Spain and the US to see some of the artist's great works and recount tales from his life story. Talking to architects, fashion experts and artists, he investigates how Picasso's influence, particularly that of his Cubist work, continues to pervade modern life today, in the shape of buildings, interior design, clothes and of course contemporary art. Tracking down former Picasso model Sylvette David to her current home in Britain, he also hears how Picasso's images of her inspired the look of screen siren Brigitte Bardot. |
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Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) #700
FILM-TV DRAMA-DOCUMENTARY-COMEDY
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Directed by Banksy. With Banksy, Space Invader, Mr. Brainwash, Debora Guetta. The story of how an eccentric French shop-keeper and amateur film-maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work. |
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BBC 4 Sessions: Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) (2009) #625
MUSIC
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Series of unique, intimate performances by some of the greatest legends and contemporary stars around. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens gives his first full concert in nearly three decades, in an exclusive BBC performance at the Porchester Hall, London. In an exotic Morrocan cafe-style set, he and his band treat the audience of friends, family and fans to songs from across his career, including classic tracks like Father and Son, Peace Train, Wild World and Where Do the Children Play. |
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Man on Wire (2008) #685
FILM
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Directed by James Marsh. With Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix. A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century." See also: #554 |
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Imagine: The Artist Formerly Known as Cat Stevens (2006) #625
DOCUMENTARY
Main
Alan Yentob presents a documentary telling the story of Yusuf Islam - the singer/songwriter who captured the hearts of a generation in the 60s and 70s with songs like Moon Shadow and Morning Has Broken under the name Cat Stevens. Yusuf explains that his hit songs were written to help him out of a spiritual depression, and that he shared with his listeners a quest for a deeper meaning to life. After a decade of flirting with religion he finally converted - after a near drowning incident off Malibu beach he promised to serve God if he was saved; he was and it was to the Koran he turned. Now one of Britain's foremost representatives of Islam, founder of a Muslim School paid for by his royalties, he has finally returned to the music he abandoned 23 years ago. |