Arena (1975)
Season 1978
Wide-ranging arts program.
Where to Watch Season 1978
28 Episodes
- Cinema: The Force is With Us?E1
Cinema: The Force is With Us?Star Wars - the biggest and fastest money-maker in the history of the movies - has opened in Britain at last. What on earth - or in heaven - has caused the phenomenal success of this galactic romp-cum-morality tale? Gavin Millar talks to the producer Gary Kurtz, the designer John Barry, and to Mark Hamill, who plays the young hero Luke Skywalker. - Art & Design: George Melly in the JourneyE2
Art & Design: George Melly in the JourneyJazz singer, writer and self-confessed surrealist George Melly takes a day trip through rooms, streets, a strange cafe, with brief and curious encounters on the way. Among them, the last of the surrealists in England and a top punk rock band. His destination - the Hayward Gallery, and a major show of pictures and objects from the days of Dada and surrealism. But what is 'the journey', as they called it, and is it possible to make it today and still be surprised? - Cinema: Howard HawksE4
Cinema: Howard HawksHoward Hawks' career spanned the history of Hollywood. As well as designing and racing sports cars, motorbikes and aeroplanes he wrote, directed and produced every kind of Hollywood movie. 'The Big Sleep', 'Red River', 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and 'Bringing Up Baby' are amongst the best examples of their genre. Gavin Millar talked to him at his home in Palm Springs just before his 80th birthday. - Cinema: Conrad on ScreenE6
Cinema: Conrad on ScreenA British film 'The Duellists', starring Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel and Albert Finney, won the Special Jury Award at Cannes last year and opened in London last week. It is a finely photographed period film set in the beautiful Dordogne, but the most admirable thing about it may be that it is as faithful an adaptation of Conrad as any the screen has seen - and there have been many, from a 1926 silent version of 'Nostromo' to Richard Brooks's 'Lord Jim' and Hitchcock's 'Sabotage'. - Art & Design: Carrington/Robert Motherwell/Michael McKinnonE7
Art & Design: Carrington/Robert Motherwell/Michael McKinnonArena looks at three new exhibitions: the letters and paintings of the tragic artist Carrington; works by Robert Motherwell, a giant of contemporary art; and Michael MicKinnon's explorations of the new landscapes of space-age technology. - Cinema: Claude RenoirE8
Cinema: Claude RenoirThe man who in 1936 shot Jean Renoir's 'Partie de Campagne', the lyrical masterpiece of petit-bourgeois life in the 90s, nowadays finds himself tackling the somewhat different territory of James Bond. Arena: Cinema talks to Claude Renoir about all sides of his long, fascinating career as a top feature film cameraman. - Theatre: Hey Kids! Let's Do the Show Right Here...E9
Theatre: Hey Kids! Let's Do the Show Right Here...This month Arena: Theatre looks at the hard facts (and the familiar cliches) behind a new British Musical revival—a bitter-sweet story, with song and dance—as told by ex-'trouper' Glyn Worsnip. With sneak previews from The Travelling Music Show Kings and Clowns Kismet, and featuring Bruce Forsyth, Lionel Bart, Anthony Newley Lesley Bricusse, Frank Finlay, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber. - Cinema: Close Encounters of the Third KindE10
Cinema: Close Encounters of the Third Kind'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' - with UFOs - was shot last year in Hollywood on a strictly closed set. No TV cameras were allowed in to see what Steven Spielberg, the young director of Jaws, was cooking-up this time. But Arena: Cinema sneaked in on the last day of shooting to watch Spielberg at work and to talk to him about the movie which looks like being the science fiction - science fact? - sensation of 1978. - Art & Design: The Man Behind the BricksE11
Art & Design: The Man Behind the BricksA film about the controversial American artist Carl Andre, whose brick 'sculpture' caused a storm of protest when first exhibited at the Tate Gallery two years ago. Prior to a major one-man show at the Whitechapel Gallery, Arena meets him in London and New York. - Theatre: Taking Our TimeE15
Theatre: Taking Our TimeFor the last ten years The Red Ladder Company have played in pubs, clubs and community halls, mostly to audiences who have never set foot inside a theatre. 'Taking Our Time' is their latest play. Set in 1842, it uses drama, comedy and songs to tell the story of a turning-point in British history—when the hand-loom weavers of the North rose up against the newly-mechanised world of the Industrial Revolution. Filmed among the industrial museums and the weaving and wool-combing factories of West Yorkshire, this programme shows the making and performance of a new work by one of Britain's most adventurous theatre companies. - Art & Design: Way Out West (1) - Rainbow HughesE16
Art & Design: Way Out West (1) - Rainbow HughesFirst of two films about highly-individual artists from the West Country. Patrick Hughes runs a home for retired rainbows in the port of St Ives. It's the latest project in a lifetime's work spent exploring visual puns, paradoxes and jokes. - Art & Design: Way Out West (2) - Coming Up for AirE17
Art & Design: Way Out West (2) - Coming Up for AirSecond of two films about highly-individual artists from the West Country. John Abbott left the Royal College of Art and a hectic life in London six years ago. He now lives on his own in a remote and beautiful Dartmoor cottage but his work is still haunted by disturbing images of city life. - Theatre: Tenjosajiki - Children of the GodsE18
Theatre: Tenjosajiki - Children of the GodsArena goes to Amsterdam to film the spectacular Japanese theatre company, Tenjosajiki, prior to their first visit to England. Renowned for their fantasy plays based on ceremonial and literary themes, the astonishing virtuosity and imaginative range of this company have earned them both fame and notoriety throughout the world. Their latest production 'Directions to Servants' is typical of their work - a combination of daring visual style and rigorous discipline which makes them unique. - Television: When is a Play Not a Play?E19
Television: When is a Play Not a Play?This special edition of Arena examines the current controversy over the boundaries between drama, and documentary and looks at the problems which face programme makers who use the conventions of fiction to represent 'the facts'. - Theatre: Arnold WeskerE21
Theatre: Arnold WeskerArnold Wesker's celebrated 'Roots' trilogy is being revived at the Shaw Theatre, London. It provides a unique chance to reassess a work many regard as an undoubted modern classic. Wesker talks about the trilogy and about his life and work in the 20 years since its first performance. - Cinema: Francois TruffautE23
Cinema: Francois TruffautGavin Millar talks to the French director. From his first film, 'The Four Hundred Blows'—which looks affectionately at the making of a young delinquent—to 'Small Change', made a couple of years ago, his films have often had children at their centre. - Theatre: Vanessa RedgraveE25
Theatre: Vanessa RedgraveIn recent years her skills as an actress have been somewhat overshadowed by the publicity surrounding her political activities. Now, after an absence of five years, Vanessa Redgrave returns to the English stage. This programme offers a rare opportunity to see her in rehearsal and performance in Ibsen's play 'The Lady from the Sea', and to hear her talk about her commitment to her acting career. - Cinema: A report from BombayE28
Cinema: A report from BombayThis year's London Film Festival contained five entries from India—a reminder that the UK hardly sees any of the output of the biggest film industry in the world. Gavin Millar reports from Bombay, including interviews with Satyajtt Ray, Shyam Benegal, and two of India's heart-throbs, Shashi Kapoor and Parveen Babi.