Arena
NR
7.6
1975
Documentary
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by leading TV executives in Broadcast as one of the top 50 most influential programmes of all time, it has run since 1 October 1975 with over five hundred episodes made, directed by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Alan Yentob, Roly Keating, Frederick Baker, Volker Schlondorff and Vikram Jayanti. Arena's subjects are a roll-call of the world's best known cultural figures from the 20th and 21st centuries, from singers Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse to academics Edward Said and Eric Hobsbawm, from writers Jean Genet and V S Naipaul to artists Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois. The current series editor is Anthony Wall.
-
- Cast:
Episode 37 : Cinema
May. 25,1977
An interview with Sophia Loren on the occasion of the opening of 'The Cassandra Crossing'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 36 : Cinema
May. 11,1977
Arena looks at erotic films, including 'Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus', 'Hardcore', and 'Come Play With Me'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 35 : Art and Design: The Continuous Diary/Dine's Drawings
May. 04,1977
The artist Ian Breakwall gave up painting for the art of a daily diary; Jim Dine explains why he returned from pop art to drawing the human figure.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 34 : Cinema
April. 27,1977
Gavin Millar talks to director Bernardo Berolucci in Rome about '1900', his new five and a half hour film, as well as his earlier work.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 33 : Theatre: The Prospect Before Us
April. 20,1977
Prospect Theatre Company reopens the Old Vic. Includes rehearsal footage from 'St Joan', 'Hamlet', 'Antony and Cleopatra', and 'War Music', a new musical adaptation of 'The Iliad' by Christopher Logue.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 32 : Cinema
April. 13,1977
In a special edition from Rome, Gavin Millar interviews Bernardo Bertolucci, director of 'Last Tango in Paris' and '1900', and Gore Vidal on Hollywood and 'Cinecitta'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 31 : Art and Design: Family Pieces/Both Sides of the Line/The Divine and the Fantastic
April. 06,1977
Portrait painter Philip Sutton; Helmut Weissenborn, a German WWI soldier who illustrated with wood engravings the war diary of Edward Thomas, an English poet who died in WWI; and Gothic art in Cologne.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 30 : Cinema
March. 30,1977
A look at Ealing Studios, including excerpts of many of their popular films.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 29 : Theatre: A Night Out
March. 23,1977
Arena visits three theatres - the Mercury Theater in Colchester, the Humberside Theatre in Hull, and the Duke's Playhouse in Lancaster - to find out what they are doing, how they are doing it and why they think they should go on doing it.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 28 : Cinema
March. 16,1977
On the occasion of the release of the third film version of 'A Star is Born', James Mason talks about the curious business of stardom and how it has changed.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 27 : Art and Design: What Is a Hologram?/Kit Williams - Ring Around the Moon
March. 09,1977
Arena investigates holograms and their potential in the arts; artist Kit Williams' vivid folklore paintings.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 26 : Cinema
March. 02,1977
Gavin Millar talks to New Yorker critic Pauline Kael about Costa-Gavras' 'Z' and 'Section Speciale', along with her passion for the movies and how she wields her power.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 25 : Theatre: The Cultural Common Market: Peter Stein and the Schaubuhne
February. 23,1977
Peter Stein, director of Die Schaubuhne theatre co-operative, comes to London with his Shakespeare Project. Includes extracts from 'Summerfolk' and 'Shakespeare's Memory'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 24 : Cinema
February. 16,1977
Gavin Miller discusses 'Network' with director Sidney Lumet and Robert Kee; Alberto Cavalcanti talks about his film career on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 23 : Art and Design: Ralph Steadman
February. 09,1977
Ralph Steadman illustrates a children's anti-war story, caricatures at his local pub, and speaks about his drawing techniques and his work, including Alice, and impressions of the Patty Hearst trial and the Watergate hearings.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 22 : Cinema
February. 02,1977
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 21 : Theatre: Spokesong/At Home with Mole
January. 26,1977
An interview with Stewart Parker about his new musical 'Spokesong' with excerpt; a profile of 81 year old actor Richard Goolden with scenes from 'Toad of Toad Hall' and Tom Stoppard's 'Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 20 : Cinema
January. 19,1977
Gavin Miller talks to director Martin Ritt, writer Walter Bernstein, and actors Woody Allen and Zero Mostel about 'The Front'
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 19 : Art and Design: Sam Smith: Genuine England/Arena Review
January. 12,1977
An introduction to the magical world of wood-sculptor Sam Smith, plus a look at one of this month's major exhibitions.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 18 : Cinema
January. 05,1977
Gavin Millar talks to Mel Brooks just before the London release of 'Silent Movie'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 17 : Cinema: Christmas Special
December. 15,1976
A look at the Disney exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum; an interview with 'The Ritz' director Dick Lester and actress Rita Moreno; an excerpt from Buster Keaton's 'Spite Marriage'; and the results of the Titles Competition.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 16 : Theatre: Brecht in Newcastle
December. 08,1976
20th anniversary tribute to Bertolt Brecht at Newcastle's University Theatre with scenes from 'The Good Woman of Setzuan' and prose, poetry and music.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 15 : Cinema
December. 01,1976
Arena speaks with Spanish directors at the Madrid premiere of 'The Long Vacation of 36'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 14 : Art and Design: Sculpture for the Blind/Linda Benedict-Jones/James Boswell
November. 24,1976
Sculpture for the Blind - a special Tate Gallery exhibition; Linda Benedict-Jones, photographer; James Boswell - a revival of his war pictures.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 13 : Cinema
November. 17,1976
In light of the low proportion of British films in the 20th London Film Festival, Gavin Millar looks at what's wrong with the British film industry and distribution system.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 12 : Theatre: The Cultural Common Market
November. 10,1976
A look at Theatre National Populaire, one of France's leading theaters, and Patrice Chéreau's 'La Dispute' by Marivaux and Roger Planchon's 'Tartuffe', as well as scene's from Planchon's scenes from his Blues, Whites and Reds.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 11 : Don Siegel
November. 03,1976
Don Siegel, director of 'The Shootist', 'Charley Varrick', 'Coogan's Bluff', 'Dirty Harry' and many other violent thrillers talks about the problems of the director who is typecast by his success in one specialized genre.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 10 : Art and Design: The Illustrators: The Work of Mick Brownfield and Allan Manham/The Swish of the Curtain
October. 27,1976
British illustrators Mick Brownfield and Allan Manham are documented working on their current projects; Artist Chris Orr probes the dreadful truth behind the net curtains of suburbia.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 9 : Cinema: Eric Rohmer
October. 20,1976
Gavin Millar interviews director Eric Rohmer about 'Die Marquise von O', 'Claire's Knee' and 'Love in the Afternoon'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 8 : Theatre
October. 13,1976
Peter Shaffer, writer of 'Equus', talks about his plays, his life and the theatre with an excerpt from the 1976 stage production of 'Equus'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 7 : Frank Westmore
October. 06,1976
Gavin Millar talks with Frank Westmore, whose family has dominated the make-up departments of American cinema for decades.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 6 : Art and Design: After Samuel Palmer
September. 29,1976
David Gould, the expert who discovered Tom Keating's Samuel Palmer imitations, shows the process of identifying and analyzing suspected pictures.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 5 : Robert Altman
September. 22,1976
Gavin Miller interviews the director Robert Altman on "M*A*S*H", "Nashville", "Buffalo Bill and the Indians" and more.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 4 : Theatre: A Dream Come True
September. 15,1976
A look at the opening of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 3 : Edinburgh International Festival 1976: Part 3
September. 08,1976
Writer Germaine Greer and her god-daughter Ruby take a look at a child's Edinburgh Festival and some of the fringe activities, including Gruppo Teatro Libero from Rome and Quentin Crisp.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 2 : Edinburgh International Festival 1976: Part 2
September. 01,1976
Features the La Mama Theatre Company from New York; Bunraku, traditional Japanese Puppet Theatre; a recital by Frederica Von Stade; and Judith Blegen as Susanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro'.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Episode 1 : Edinburgh International Festival 1976: Part 1
August. 25,1976
Features Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Galina Visnevskaya in the Scottish Opera's production of Macbeth, The Kantor Theatre Company from Poland, and Fenella Fielding in a late-night revue.
Watch Now
Stream in HD
Seasons
Similar titles
How To with John Wilson
In a uniquely hilarious odyssey of self-discovery and cultural observation, documentary filmmaker and self-described "anxious New Yorker" John Wilson covertly and obsessively films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice on relatable topics. The awkward contradictions of modern life are eased by Wilson’s candid, unpolished commentary. Building upon Wilson’s previously released "how to" short films, each episode takes wildly unexpected turns but is grounded in John's refreshing honesty.
HK2NY: Hong Kong to New York - Backpacking Documentary Series
Ever wanted to quit your job and go travelling round the world? Well James and Karl did and filmed it all. The backpacking documentary follows James and Karl as they travel through 20 countries in 4 continents over 9 months, covering a distance of over 42,000 miles.
The Murder Inc Story
Dive into world of music mogul Irv Gotti with untold stories and firsthand accounts from those who were there to experience the rise, fall and redemption of his Murder Inc Records.
Menendez Brothers: Misjudged?
The “Free Menendez Movement” emerged in a most unlikely place -- TikTok.
The Black Panthers of WW2
Narrated by David Harewood, this one-hour documentary follows the story of the history-making 761st tank battalion composed of African- American servicemen, the first US armoured unit of its kind to enter combat. Through reconstruction and interviews with historians, descendants and one of the last surviving Blank Panthers - Corporal Robert Andry - the programme reveals the untold story of the black servicemen who changed history.
Science of Drugs with Richard Roxburgh
Presented by Richard Roxburgh this four-part series is drug science without the politics. It unpacks the history, harms and surprising benefits of our most common recreational drugs.