Francis Hanly
An in-depth look of the 40 year journey, from post-war Germany to Hollywood royalty, of Hans Zimmer, the man who’s become the dominant force in the world of movie soundtracks. His film credits include The Lion King, Rain Man, Pirates of The Caribbean, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, 12 Year A Slave, The Thin Red Line, The Da Vinci Code and Dune.
50 years ago this week, on 1 June, 1967, an album was released that changed music history - The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In this film, composer Howard Goodall explores just why this album is still seen as so innovative, so revolutionary and so influential. With the help of outtakes and studio conversations between the band, never heard before outside of Abbey Road, Howard gets under the bonnet of Sgt Pepper. He takes the music apart and reassembles it, to show us how it works - and makes surprising connections with the music of the last 1,000 years to do so.
Having previously investigated the architecture of Hitler and Stalin's regimes, Jonathan Meades turns his attention to another notorious 20th-century European dictator, Mussolini. His travels take him to Rome, Milan, Genoa, the new town of Sabaudia and the vast military memorials of Redipuglia and Monte Grappa. When it comes to the buildings of the fascist era, Meades discovers a dictator who couldn't dictate, with Mussolini caught between the contending forces of modernism and a revivalism that harked back to ancient Rome. The result was a variety of styles that still influence architecture today. Along the way, Meades ponders on the nature of fascism, the influence of the Futurists, and Mussolini's love of a fancy uniform.
Charlie Chaplin was at one time the most famous person in the world. His creation – the little tramp – was a universal figure adored by millions across the globe. He took crude, knockabout, slapstick comedy and transformed it into an art form with films that have stood the test of time. Terry Jones, comedian, writer and director, best known for being a leading member of Monty Python and long-time fan of silent comedies, offers a personal re-appraisal of the man who changed the face of film comedy.With access to a wealth of home movie material, Terry Jones also looks at the troubled private life of Chaplin: his loves, his politics, and his obsessions. He talks to Chaplin family members and biographers in his quest to get inside the skin of one of the true giants of film and comedy…
Produced By George Martin is a feature length profile of Sir George Martin, Britain's most celebrated record producer. The film talks about his childhood, his war experience and his early days as a music student. In the early fifties he joined EMI/Parlophone and started working on orchestral music, comedy records and music for children. Then in 1962 he signed The Beatles. Together George Martin and The Beatles revolutionized pop music and recording techniques forging probably the greatest producer / artist collaboration there will ever be. The film is in an intimate portrait of George Martin at home and at work. It features numerous classic clips of the artists he has produced and new interviews with many of them including Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Michael Palin, Jeff Beck, Rolf Harris, Cilla Black, Millicent Martin and Bernard Cribbins
The making of The Beatles' controversial 1967 film, featuring previously unseen archive footage.
Liza Minnelli, Michael Caine, Adam Sweeting, Tim Arrowsmith, Ian McKellen, Eric Clapton, José Carreras, Bono, Anthony Haas, Luciano Pavarotti, Francis Hanly, Dustin Hoffman, Erica Banks, Plácido Domingo, Brian May, Anthony Wall, Ricky Martin, Andrea Bocelli
A look at the making of the film Debbie Does Dallas and the mystery surrounding Bambi Woods.
Howard Goodall examines the work of The Beatles, Cole Porter, Bernard Herrmann and Leonard Bernstein.
Documentary charting the Derek and Clive phenomenon. The two foul-mouthed toilet attendants were the creations of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and were responsible for some of the filthiest comedy to come out of Britain. Despite being banned from radio and television the duo achieved great success and a cult status, but the act broke up one of the greatest comedy partnerships of recent years. Featuring excerpts from the actual records and video footage of Cook and Moore.
In the west of Scotland, nobody bothers to argue that football is a genuinely popular art form, the theatre of the people.
