Ruddigore

The Fire and the Rose

A documentary on the life and work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

Carmen by Georges Bizet

Bizet's masterwork, Carmen, directed for stage by the Spanish actress Núria Espert. Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1989.

One Pair of Eyes

A monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.

One Foot in Eden

Portrait of the composer, Peter Maxwell Davies, set in the context of the islands of Orkney. George Mackay Brown is featured reading his own verse and there are quotations from the works of Edwin Muir, Robert Rendell and the ancient Orkneyinga Saga. Extracts from the composer's works include pieces from Ave Maria Stella, O Magnum Mysterium and the final scene from his opera The Martyrdom of Saint Magnus.

The Miraculous Circumstance: Bartok, Folklorist

In 1906 the young Bela Bartok set out to discover the forgotten music of his people. He found a vast treasure of folk music all over Eastern Europe, and he called his discovery 'a miraculous circumstance'. In this film the late A. L. Lloyd retraces Bartok's journeys through Hungary and Romania to rediscover that treasure of native music.

The Movies: 'Action Speaks Louder Than Words'

An interview with American director, Anthony Mann. This documentary was first seen as episode 8 of the BBC TV series "The Movies." (A 17-minute excerpt from this show appears on the Criterion Collection's release of "The Furies.")

My Homeland

Perhaps this is Robert Vas' most personal film; a portrait of his country - Hungary - as seen through the eyes of an exile. Robert Vas escaped from his homeland after the brutal crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising by the Russians and he was never able to return. He portrays his country through the writings of Hungary's national poets and illustrates the film with images of the Revolution and of the society it would become in the years immediately following 1956. The film was transmitted on the 20th anniversary of the crushing of the uprising.

The More We Are Together

A portrait of Eric Lyons and Span, under the scrutiny of Ian Nairn, as well as the residents of their estates.

The Nomad

An interview with film director Roman Polanski, recorded for BBC TV in 1967.

For Memory

Charts a journey through various `memory' productions such as murals, monuments, TV histories, commemorations etc, and in so doing questions the role that historical memory plays in our society.

Beethoven: Triple Concerto And Choral Fantasy

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in performances of Beethoven's 'Triple Concerto' and 'Choral Fantasy'. Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma are joined by Carola Höhn, Katherina Kammerloher, Andrea Bönig and Endrick Wottrich, amongst others.

Neither

Film of Morton Feldman's short opera (libretto by Samuel Beckett).

Signs of Vigorous Life: The New German Cinema

BBC documentary about the rise of the New German Cinema and several of its most important figures.

Costakis: The Collector

One public housing flat in Moscow stood out above all others: the home of George Costakis, the foremost collector of early 20th century Russian avant-garde art. Its walls were crowded with banned and forgotten works by artists such as Malevich, Tatlin, Kandinsky, Chagall, Lissitzky, Rodchenko, and Kliun; public figures such as Edward Kennedy, Stravinsky, and Alfred Barr visited. Barrie Gavin met the collector in 1982 at his home in Athens. Costakis, a Greek born in Russia, passionately shares his story and those of the great Russian avant-garde artists. Their works are his legacy – without him, they would not have survived the political upheavals in Russia.

Beyond a Boundary

A film based on Beyond a Boundary, the classic book by C. L. R. James,

Handel: Messiah the 250th Anniversary Performance

Sir Neville Marriner conducts this 250th Anniversary performance. Soloists include Sylvia McNair, Anne Sofie Van Otter. The performance is supported by an informative background film "For Ever and Ever", explaining the circumstances behind the composition and the work's early impact, featuring contributions from the popular Handel scholar Professor H.C. Robbins Land and from Sir Neville Marriner himself. Recorded in 1992, this performance of Handel's awesome "Messiah" took place on the 250th anniversary of the initial rendition of the piece. Recorded at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, this is an especially poignant rendition as it takes place in the city where it was originally performed in 1742.

Dreamgirls

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

La Vie en Rose

From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.

Practical Magic

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.