Arena
Documentary series
Arena - A Genius Like Us
Portrait of playwright Joe Orton, murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell at the peak of his career in 1967.
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Arena - A Tall Story - How Salman Rushdie Pickled All of India.
Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children, winner of the Booker Prize 1981, talks about India and the autobiographical elements in the book.
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Arena - According to Beryl
Dame Beryl Bainbridge takes an idiosyncratic tour of the last twenty years of writer and poet Samuel Johnson's turbulent life, focusing on his relationship with Hester Thrale.
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Arena - Art and Design: The Journey
George Melly takes a nostalgic trip through front rooms and backstreets as he reminiscences about the influence of Dada and Surrealism on his early life.
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Arena - At 30
Documentary looking at some of the most memorable Arena programmes of the past 30 years. With contributions from Anthony Wall, Alan Yentob, Lesley Megahey and Nigel Williams.
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Arena - Bergman and Faro Island: Arena
Documentary in which reclusive film director Ingmar Bergman talks about his career from his home on the desolate and mysterious Baltic island of Faro.
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Arena - Bergman and the Cinema: Arena
Documentary. Ingmar Bergman, one of the world's most important and influential filmmakers, pays one final visit to Filmstaden, where many of his films were made.
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Arena - Blackpool
1989 documentary which takes a look at Europe's most successful holiday resort, famous for its Tower, illuminations, landladies and party political conferences.
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Arena - Bob Marley Exodus '77
An evocation of 1977 and of the spirit of Bob Marley's most significant album. It's a film about an artist and his world and the impact they had on each other.
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Arena - Brian Eno - Another Green World
Brian Eno, former Roxy Music keyboardist and a pioneer in ambient music, engages with fellow minds in conversations on science, art, systems analysis, producing and cybernetics.
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Arena - Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including Paul McCartney.
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Arena - Cab Driver
Documentary which gets to the heart of that much-maligned and stereotyped character, the London cabbie, using archive footage, music and film, as well as the drivers themselves.
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Arena - Caroline 199 - A Pirate's Tale
Arena traces the origins of this broadcasting phenomenon of the 60s which is threatened with extinction by the government's new bill.
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Arena - Cool
Documentary exploring the meaning and history of cool through the American music that started in the bars of New York and Los Angeles in the 1940s and became known as cool jazz.
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Arena - Dave Brubeck - In His Own Sweet Way
Profile of the influential jazz pianist Dave Brubeck as he approaches his 90th birthday, who had one of the biggest popular hits in jazz history with Take Five.
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Arena - Desert Island Discs
A film made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Roy Plomley's classic radio programme, featuring his successor as presenter, Sue Lawley.
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Arena - Dylan Thomas: From Grave to Cradle
An examination of the work and the legend of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
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Arena - Dylan's Folk - the Pure, the Bad and the Holy
Documentary about the American folk revival, the milieu from which the nascent Bob Dylan emerged in the early 1960s and whose crucible was the Newport folk festival.
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Arena - Encountering Bergman: Arena
Swedish TV producer Marie Nyrerod, broadcaster Melvyn Bragg and French film director Olivier Assayas talk about their meetings with Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman.
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Arena - Flames of Passion
A celebration of British cinema from the 1940s and 1950s. Extracts and stills showcase a wealth of forgotten and overlooked movies.
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Arena - Francis Bacon's Arena
Documentary about the great British painter Francis Bacon, a man whose life was every bit as colourful and outrageous as his art. Contributors include Bacon's sister Ianthe.
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Arena - Frank Sinatra
Acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Arena explores the rise of the crooner from his early family background to overwhelming showbusiness success.
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Arena - Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues
Documentary about legendary country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams, who lived fast, died young and left an enduring legacy. Features interviews with friends and family.
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Arena - Harold Pinter - A Celebration
In June 2009, a group Britain's leading actors gathered for one night only to perform a celebration of the work of Harold Pinter at the National Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson.
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Arena - Harold Pinter - Part One: The Room
Film biography looking at the famous playwright. Pinter's key theme, the room, is explored through the rooms in which he wrote his first series of plays.
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Arena - Harold Pinter - Part Two: Celebration
Film biography which explores the relationship between the public and private dimensions of the playwright and actor, following him at work over two years.
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Arena - Into the Limelight - Tribute Bands
Documentary about musicians who perform in tribute acts. In the Limelight in Crewe, the spirit of rock is alive, along with Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain - in reality John and Keith.
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Arena - Johnny Mercer - The Dream's on Me
Documentary telling the story and examining the legacy of Johnny Mercer, one of America's greatest songwriters and a man at the heart of the Great American Songbook.
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Arena - Ken Dodd's Happiness
Ken Dodd turned 80 in 2007. Arena meets Britain's most enduring variety entertainer and discovers why he is acknowledged as a prime exponent of his craft.
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Arena - Linda McCartney - Behind the Lens
A profile of the late Linda McCartney, focusing on her career in photography.
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Arena - Little Platform, Big Stage
Documentary celebrating one of London's great characters, the bus conductor. The film tells the stories of five extraordinary conductors from five decades of London's history.
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Arena - My Name Is Celia Cruz
Profile of the legendary Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, who moved to New York and rose to international fame with the Latin bands of Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco.
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Arena - My Way
An investigation of the appeal and power of the popular song My Way, which was written by Paul Anka and was recorded by many artists, including Frank Sinatra.
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Arena - One for the Road
Drama in which Nicolas, who works as a torturer in an unnamed police state, interrogates three members of the same family. Harold Pinter acts in his own play.
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Arena - Oooh er Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story
Documentary about the life of Frankie Howerd, with help from friends and colleagues and including highlights from his TV and film career.
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Arena - Paul Scofield
A host of leading theatrical greats, including Peter Brook, Vanessa Redgrave and John Hurt, pay tribute to the outstanding British actor Paul Scofield.
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Arena - Philip Hoare's Guide to Whales
Acclaimed author and whale-watcher Philip Hoare takes us into the world of three types of whales
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Arena - Radio Ha! It's Time for Just a Minute
Behind the scenes of the Radio 4 comedy Just a Minute, with Nicholas Parsons, Paul Merton, Clement Freud, Linda Smith and Ross Noble.
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Arena - Radio Ha! Meet Dead Ringers
Behind the scenes of Radio 4 comedy shows. Dead Ringers features spot-on impressions, but how do the team hold on to a sense of their own identity?
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Arena - Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
A celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Secret Policeman's Ball. Contributors include Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry.
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Arena - Rolf Harris Paints His Dream
Arena enlists supermodels Lily Cole and Lizzy Jagger and actresses Dervla Kirwan and Emer Kenny to help Rolf Harris achieve a painting ambition.
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Arena - Saints
Documentary looking at the phenomenon of sanctity, and how the Catholic Church is the only Christian persuasion with an official saint-making process.
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Arena - Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
Jim White takes a thought-provoking road trip into the heart of the poor white American South through a gritty terrain of churches, prisons, truckstops, biker bars and coalmines.
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Arena - Shadowing the Third Man
Documentary which explores the artistry, moral world and furious infighting behind the film The Third Man.
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Arena - The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector
In a rare interview, legendary music producer Phil Spector dissects his songs. His trial for murder in 2007 ended in a hung jury, and court footage provides a vivid counterpoint.
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Arena - The Archers
Documentary which goes behind the scenes at The Archers and follows the production team as they put together the 15,000th episode of the world's longest-running radio soap.
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Arena - The Brian Epstein Story
Documentary examining the turbulent life and career of the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, who died in 1967 in mysterious circumstances.
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Arena - The Burger and the King
The culinary passions of Elvis Presley are recounted by close friends, relatives and personal cooks who share the recipes that kept their idol happy.
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Arena - The Comic Strip Hero
A look at the legend of 'Superman' and its portrayal in comic books and films.
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Arena - The Hunt for Moby-Dick
Writer Philip Hoare confronts our fascination with the ocean's mystery animal, the whale. He visits the whaling ports of New England and draws a parallel with the war on terror.
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Arena - The Original Archers
The earliest surviving episode in the BBC archives of The Archers, originally broadcast 11th March 1952, is repeated here in its entirety along with archive film of the period.
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Arena - The Orson Welles Story
Two-part profile of actor-director Orson Welles, looking at his life and career in theatre, radio and particularly film
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Arena - The Other Side of the Mirror - Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival
Murray Lerner's documentary features Bob Dylan's performances at the Newport folk festival between 1963 and 1965 - the time when Dylan changed the music of the world.
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Arena - The Strange Luck of V.S. Naipaul
Profile of the Nobel Prize-winning British writer, VS Naipaul. Filmed in Wiltshire, India and his native Trinidad, he remains as incisive, forthright and controversial as ever.
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Arena - The Strange Story of Joe Meek
Documentary about Joe Meek, the influential homosexual pop composer and record producer who died in dramatic circumstances in 1967.
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Arena - The Time Signal
Looking at radio and it's history, Dr Carl Dolmetsch finds out why the pips changed pitch.
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Arena - The Underground
Documentary about the Tube, the world's oldest underground system, with its own unwritten rules of behaviour and protocol, and used by three million passengers every day.
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Arena - The Whale in the Museum
Documentary telling the story of the construction of the blue whale at the Natural History Museum. In 1938, a group undertook the unprecedented task of building a life-sized model.
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Arena - Today Carshalton Beeches... Tomorrow Croydon
A look at the roles in the rock world of John Peel and John Walters, his radio show producer, in championing new musical directions.
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Arena - Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends
Crooner Tony Bennett reflects over his life story with his friend and jazz enthusiast Clint Eastwood. Bennett traces his musical lineage through a wealth of jazz archive.
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Arena - Tribute Bands - Live
Live performances by tribute bands such as Limehouse Lizzy, Are You Experienced, The Jamm and ABCD, at Crewe's Limelight Club.
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Arena - TS Eliot
An unprecedented insight into the mysterious life of one of the 20th century's greatest poets, featuring the previously unseen personal archives of his widow, Valerie Eliot.
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Arena - Voices from the Island
Nelson Mandela and his fellow ex-prisoners recall their incarceration on Robben Island - South Africa's Alcatraz.
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Arena - Woody Guthrie
Documentary on the life of Woody Guthrie, the travelling folk songwriter and singer who paved the way for the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
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