This series examines the lives and principal works of ten great modernist writers, the giants of European literature at the turn of the nineteenth Century, whose thought and writing foreshadowed the age to come and whose influence is still felt today. Each programme explores the unique imaginative world of its subject, combining drama, documentary and critical explanation. “Anyone who sees the series, will acquire a remarkably clear idea of the Modern movement in literature and what it represents: in technique, experimentation and introspection; in content, paranoia and despair.” (Financial Times) Joseph Conrad (R0327) Fyodor Dostoevsky (R0225) T.S. Eliot (R0311) Henrik Ibsen (R0310) James Joyce (R0199) Franz Kafka (R0273) Thomas Mann (R0275) Luigi Pirandello (R279) Marcel Proust (R0281) Virginia Woolf (R0274) A follow-u programme is available, in which a panel of writers, including series consultant Malcolm Bradbury, discusses ideas which have been raised. Silver Medal, New York International Film and TV Festival Cable Ace, Best International Cuitural Series
Dylan Thomas
When Anthony Hopkins led a star-studded, all-Welsh cast in an audio recording of Dylan Thomas’s play for voices, Under Milk Wood, the cameras were on hand to capture the process on film. The programme visits Laugharne, the small Welsh town on which the work is based, where Thomas lived at the end of his life. It also examines his later years and the demons which drove him to create this nostalgic vision.
Sir Alec Guinness
Despite the towering success of his long career as a stage, film and television actor, Sir Alec Guinness remains intensely modest about his achievements and has seldom consented to talk about his life and career. In this rare television interview, he shares his thoughts and feelings about his profession and talks about many aspects of his work – from his first performances in the theatre, to his many film appearances. Guinness is seen in action in a variety of film clips.
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia (1907-90), one of Italy’s foremost modern novelists, talks revealingly about his long career, his experience of Fascism, and about women and sex – concerns that lie at the heart of his writing. Filmed in Rome and on Capri, the programme focuses on his novel 1934, and includes contributions from writer Dacia Maraini and film-maker Bernardo Bertolucci, as well as readings from his work.