Arena (1975)
Season 1989
Wide-ranging arts program.
Where to Watch Season 1989
26 Episodes
- Tales From BarcelonaE1
Tales From BarcelonaAward-winning director Jana Bokova presents a typically idiosyncratic portrait of Europe's most fashionable city. An equally eccentric and fascinating collection of characters offer a personal view of Barcelona, where a new cosmopolitan awareness sits alongside the proud Catalan sense of place and history. - Randy Travis at the Albert HallE2
Randy Travis at the Albert HallRandy Travis is the hottest new singer on the country music scene today. In June last year he played his first British concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, before an ecstatic audience. Arena filmed this performance and tonight presents the best in "back to basics" country music. - The Tip of the IcebergE4
The Tip of the IcebergBreasts/bosoms/bust/boobs/bristols/knockers... we live in a breast-obsessed society, and "tits" are by no means the preserve of the tabloids; the symbolism of the breast is expressed in film, fashion and filth. From body beautiful to breast bondage these twin peaks have become a fountainhead of contradictions. The film looks at the ways in which the bosom is idealised and the means by which it is trivialised and denigrated. - Laurens Van Der Post/Albert SampleE5
Laurens Van Der Post/Albert SampleTwo films by award-winning director Georg Troller, made for West German television's arts programme 'Personenbeschriebung'. Sir Laurens van der Post is the subject of the first film. Known in the popular press as a friend and mentor of Prince Charles, Sir Laurens has devoted his life to drawing the world's attention to the plight of Africa's threatened tribes. The second film is a portrait of Texan criminal Albert Sample, whose autobiography Racehoss tells the harrowing story of his 16-year sentence for armed robbery in a notorious Texan prison, and subsequent rehabilitation. - Power in the BloodE9
Power in the BloodTen years ago Vernon Oxford turned his back on the bright lights of Nashville and a life as a popular country singer, and gave himself to the Lord. Today, he is a gospel preacher in Franklin, Tennessee, but his congregation extends beyond his own community in the southern states of America. He takes his mission to his spiritual cousins in Northern Ireland, who share the same fundamentalist Protestant beliefs. Tonight's film follows Oxford from Nashville to Belfast as he pursues his healing mission through the houses of God and of the Devil. - The Old Brass Plate Rattle Test - The Englishman And His JukeboxE10
The Old Brass Plate Rattle Test - The Englishman And His JukeboxJukeboxes once entertained bars, diners and roadstops throughout America, but are now highly collectable artifacts, fulfilling the dreams, memories and fantasies of their proud owners. The Americans are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the jukebox this year, but some say an Englishman by the name of Charles Adams-Randall pipped the Americans to the post when he patented a coin-operated phonograph in 1888. Since then the jukebox has found a special way into the Englishman's heart. Arena explores the world of the jukebox in England and finds that, if an Englishman's home is his castle, then surely no castle could be complete without one of these fine articles. - Heavy MetalE13
Heavy MetalEver since its noisy birth out of the primitive fuzzboxes of the 1960s, heavy metal music has been maligned and misunderstood by public and critics alike. But, to its millions of fans worldwide, heavy metal is the only form of popular music with any integrity, the true keeper of the eternal flame of rock'n'roll. This is an exploration of the music in all its aspects, from its origins in the blues to the Black Country and beyond. Profiled are Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Guns 'n' Roses, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, David Lee Roth and Napalm Death - and the heavy metal event of the year at Castle Donington. - The Other Graham GreeneE14
The Other Graham GreeneFor some 25 years Graham Greene has found himself the victim of a bizarre masquerade. A man calling himself Graham Greene has opened hotels, courted high society in the south of France and was entertained by tea planters in India convincd he was the real Graham Greene. - Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (1): A Traveller's TaleE15
Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (1): A Traveller's Tale"Look at the clocks - it doesn't matter if they're wrong. Somewhere in the world the time is right." A typical line from Slim Gaillard. He became a jazz legend, collaborating with Charlie Parker; he was a Second World War bomber pilot; Marvin Gaye's father-in-law; and is fluent in Greek, Arabic, Spanish and his own 'Vout-o-Reenee' language; he appeared in 25 films including 'Hellzapoppin'' and 'Roots'; and drove a hearse for the notorious Purple Gang. Since he was stranded alone in Crete, aged 12, on a voyage from his native Cuba, Slim's life has been a spectacular, and sometimes traumatic, adventure. He tells his amazing story over four episodes with Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison, his and Marvin Gaye's family, Frankie Laine (whom he discovered), and the peanut that went to the moon. - Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (2): How High the MoonE16
Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (2): How High the MoonIn 1938 jazz legend and international star Slim Gaillard went to Hollywood to appear in 'Hellzapoppin'' - and then war broke out. Gaillard became one of America's first black bomber pilots; this week he recalls that profound and traumatic experience. With the help of Van Morrison he re-enacts a famous encounter with his beat disciple, novelist Jack Kerouac; he settles an old score with Little Richard; appears on America's craziest chat show; and meets the peanut that went to the moon. - Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (3): My Dinner with DizzyE17
Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (3): My Dinner with DizzyThis week Slim Gaillard cooks dinner for his old friend Dizzy Gillespie. They discuss the English language and their contributions to it - "bebop" and "Vout-o-reenee". They also recall working with Charlie Parker, and conjure up the ghosts of the other great names of 52nd Street in its jazz heyday. And from Hollywood - memories of the days when the likes of Bob Hope and Marlene Dietrich were swapping items from Gaillard's Vout-o-reenee dictionary. - Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (4): Everything's OK in the UKE18
Slim Gaillard's Civilisation (4): Everything's OK in the UKThis week Slim Gaillard's story comes up to date. Today he lives a life of gentlemanly leisure in London pursuing an interest in golf, snooker and the occasional appearance at international jazz festivals. From the fireside in his club he surveys his film career, looking back on roles in 'Roots', 'Absolute Beginners' and 'Planet of the Apes'. He introduces us to his family - in particular his daughter, who married Marvin Gaye. He goes down to the station early in the morning to see the little puffa-billys all in a row, and reveals all about the girl in the test card. - Animal Night (2): Sacred ElephantE20
Animal Night (2): Sacred ElephantA film version of Heathcote Williams's epic poem, an impassioned hymn of praise to one of nature's most magnificent creatures, and a lament at man's folly of hunting it to near extinction. The poem is read by its author, intercut with extraordinary film of elephants, and accompanied by a specially composed soundtrack from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. - Animal Night (3): Great Wildlife Presenters Through the AgesE21
Animal Night (3): Great Wildlife Presenters Through the AgesThe animals in wildlife films have always been vying for attention with that eccentric breed - the animal presenter. This medley of classic clips of wildlife films from the last 50 years celebrates the naive enthusiasm of these rare creatures and charts the changing attitudes to animals on television. - Animal Night (4): John Daniel the FirstE22
Animal Night (4): John Daniel the FirstIn the 1920s a middle-aged spinster went to buy a yard of ribbon and came out with a baby gorilla. He was the first gorilla to survive captivity. His uncanny intelligence and versatility became legendary, inspiring King Kong stories. But he came to a tragic end when he was shipped to the Barnum and Bailey circus in New York where he pined for his owner and then 'died of a broken heart'. - Animal Night (6): Animals on TrialE24
Animal Night (6): Animals on TrialNovelist Julian Barnes, philosopher Nicholas Humphrey, and French historian Dr Michel Rousseau help to uncover one of the most bizarre chapters in criminal history: the judicial prosecution and capital punishment of animals throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and beyond. - Animal Night (7): The Animal Night Debate - SpeciesismE25
Animal Night (7): The Animal Night Debate - SpeciesismVivisection, vegetarianism, farming, sport, zoos, circuses and pets will be some of the topics discussed in a live debate chaired by Donald MacCormick at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Writer Germaine Greer and philosophers Tom Regan and Mary Warnock are among the speakers who debate the motion: "The animal kingdom needs a bill of rights." - The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling StonesE26
The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling StonesAn Arena special looking at the career, development and success of the band over the past 25 years, including clips from the Stones' own archives and from the hitherto unseen 'Great Rock'n'Roll Circus' of 1969, made in answer to the Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour'. It traces in detail the high and low points of the group over the years, and their present continuing success.
