Arena (1975)
Season 2002
TV-MA
Wide-ranging arts program.
Where to Watch Season 2002
10 Episodes
- Estonia Dreams of EurovisionE1
Estonia Dreams of EurovisionAs the 2001 winner, the Baltic state of Estonia, prepares to host this year's Eurovision Song Contest, this documentary explores the dramas, dreams, and dilemmas of what many see as a festival of kitsch, but which to the Estonians could be the key to membership of the European Union and NATO. - Kurosawa (1)E2
Kurosawa (1)First in a two-part profile of Japanese film-maker Akira Kurosawa, looking at his childhood, early career and emergence as a major director during the American occupation. Kurosawa's samurai roots and traumatic early experiences influenced many of his films, including 'Rashomon', which brought him international fame after it won the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. - Kurosawa (2)E3
Kurosawa (2)Concluding the profile of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. International acclaim followed masterpieces like the influential 'Seven Samurai', but success at home was elusive. Unable to find funding for his epic films in Japan, Kurosawa attempted suicide in 1971. To make his late films 'Kagemusha', 'Ran' and 'Dreams' he accepted help from foreign admirers like George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg. - The Peter Sellers Story: As He Filmed ItE4
The Peter Sellers Story: As He Filmed ItArena revisits its 1995 BAFTA-nominated Sellers trilogy, this time using only film shot by the late comic, who died in July 1980. Sellers is seen at home, on set, on holiday and in carefully stage-managed scenarios in this revealing treasure-trove. Includes previously unseen footage featuring Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and of Prince Charles at Sellers's home, all three royals appearing very much at ease. Also featured are family and friends including his wives Anne Levy, Britt Ekland and Lynne Frederick, Orson Welles, Sophia Loren, fellow Goon Spike Milligan, Pink Panther co-star Herbert Lorn and director Blake Edwards. - Harold Pinter (1): The Room
E5Harold Pinter (1): The RoomThis edition chronicles Pinter's East End childhood, his work as an actor, the critical appraisal of his work, and his passion for cricket. The film looks at the various rooms in which Pinter formulated his ideas and wrote his early works, and features footage shot at the Almeida Theatre of a recent production of Pinter's first play 'The Room', featuring Lindsay Duncan, Keith Allen, Lia Williams, and Henry Woolf, and which was directed by Pinter himself. - Harold Pinter (2): Celebration
E6Harold Pinter (2): CelebrationThis programme focuses on the relationship between the public and private aspects of Pinter's life and work. The film includes footage from two Pinter stage productions - 'One For The Road' with Pinter himself in the lead role, and 'Celebration', which was directed by Pinter. - Politics and PinterE8
Politics and PinterA 70th birthday tribute to Harold Pinter in three parts. The first section acknowledges Pinter's involvement in highlighting political injustices and puts his writing in its political context. The second instalment sees the playwright in conversation with Nigel Williams, while the third is a new reading of 'The Dumb Waiter'. - Radio Ha! (1): Meet the Dead Ringers
E9Radio Ha! (1): Meet the Dead RingersDouble bill of documentaries that go behind the scenes of two of Radio 4's most popular comedy shows. Dead Ringers, which successfully made the transition to TV, features spot-on impressions of everyone from George Bush to Anne Robinson. But have the team lost track of who they really are? - Radio Ha! (2): It's Time For Just a MinuteE10
Radio Ha! (2): It's Time For Just a MinuteDouble bill of documentaries that go behind the scenes of two of Radio 4's most popular comedy shows. Not many can talk for a minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation - but, for 35 years, 'Just a Minute' panellists have done just that. Paul Merton, Clement Freud, Linda Smith and Ross Noble continue the story, with referee Nicholas Parsons forever trying to keep the unruly quartet under control.