Born in 1913, the poet R. S. Thomas was for many years a parish priest in his native Wales. Known for his passionate Welsh nationalism, his more recent work has become increasingly inward, exploring the paradoxes and self-doubts of faith in writing of great simplicity and resonance. In this film, Thomas talks in interview and reads from his poetry, which is illustrated with stunning footage of the Welsh landscapes from which he draws inspiration.
Cecilia Bartoli
The Italian mezzo-soprano has been hailed as the most exciting, accomplished and beautiful Rossini singer to appear in modern times. Shot largely on location in Italy, this film celebrates the talents of both Bartoli and Rossini. She is seen performing Rossini arias at the famous Gran Teatro la Fenice in Venice, in recital in London, and at home in Rome. Throughout the programme, Bartoli exhibits the passion and enthusiasm she brings to all her performances.
Recital Cecilia Bartoli
Recorded at London’s Savoy Hotel, this recital by the acclaimed Italian mezzo-soprano includes well-known Arie Antiche by Pergolesi, Caldara, Paisiello and Vivaldi, a selection of arias from the ever-popular Mozart operas Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro, as well as the lesser-known La clemenza di Tito. The highlight of the performance is the selection of songs and arias by Rossini. Miss Bartoli is accompanied by Georg Fischer.
John Updike
This profile of the celebrated American author focuses on his quartet of novels about a character called Rabbit, an ex-basketball star who lives in a small Pennsylvanian town, modelled on Reading, where Updike lived as a child. Through an in-depth interview, sequences filmed with Updike at his old stamping grounds, and dramatisations from the Rabbit books, this programme defines the major themes and social issues in his work, relating them to his own past and his strongly-held beliefs.
Charles Dickens
This programme explores the world of the great novelist Charles Dickens, through the eyes of his biographer Peter Ackroyd. Weaving through the many phases of Dickens’ life, this film shows the recurrent influence of his childhood on his obsessive vision of darkness and light. The mercurial actor John Sessions assumes the role of the writer in a virtuoso performance recalling Dickens’ celebrated Public Readings.
David Lean and Robert Bolt
Film director David Lean (1908-91) and screen-writer Robert Bolt (1924-95) collaborated on some of the cinema’s greatest successes, including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor
Zhivago and Ryan’s Daughter. This film was made in 1989 when Bolt, having recovered from a massive heart attack, was working with Lean to develop a feature based on Conrad’s Nostromo. They talk frankly about their working relationship and their friendship, which survived the strains of thirty years in the film business.
Peter Brook
Brook has won international acclaim as the outstanding director of post-war theatre. This film covers the complete spectrum of his career, focusing on seminal productions, including King Lear with Paul Scofield (1962), the controversial Marat-Sade (1964), his magical Midsummer Night’s Dream (1970), Orghast (1971), and The Mahabharata (1985/9). Contributors include leading theatre directors Peter Hall, Jonathan Miller and John Barton, actress Glenda Jackson, writer Jean-Claude Carriere and actors from The Mahabharata, with whom Brook is seen at work.
Joseph Conrad
T. S. Elliot
Raymond Chandler
Chandler’s lonely, wise-cracking hero, Philip Marlowe, has become the very epitome of the fictional private eye. This film special, shot in California and London, includes interviews with contemporary thriller writers, Chandler’s biographer, Robert Mitchum – who has played Marlowe in two films – and others who knew or worked with him. It evokes his enduring portrait of Los Angeles and tells the story of his extraordinary life through dramatised excerpts from his letters.