Arena Season 1981

Programme which looks at the life and work of French film director Rene Clair and his work in France and Hollywood. With Leslie Caron, Gina Lollobrigida, Jean- Pierre Cassel, Claude Autant-Lara and Michel Boisrond.

Documentary about the Chelsea Hotel in New York, a legendary haven for the some of the greatest artistic talent of the 20th century, from Mark Twain to Dylan Thomas. Andy Warhol and William Burroughs have dinner in the room where Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001, and Quentin Crisp, who lived in the hotel for more than 35 years, recalls moving in.

Since 1923 the Radio Times has been a leader in design & illustration & Eric Fraser one of its regular contributors talks about his work. > Through out the film covers & illustrations from the Radio Times from 1923 to the present day are featured with a soundtrack composed of excerpts from radio progs incl music, sport, comedy, lectures & early radio announcements. Eric FRASER talks about his change of style from humour to a more serious style since the war, his favourite type of work & how he manages to work to a script & produce designs very quickly. The intv with Fraser & vars hm working on an illustration are intercut through out the film. Name FRASER, Eric

Documentary on two very individual English Artists. Sam Smith, who carves wooden toys and models evocative of the Edwardian era, and Chris Orr, illustrator of the minutes of suburbia.

Documentary whcih looks at the role of Radio One D.J. John Peel and his producer John Walters have had in the encouragement of rock bands who have yet to break through into commercial recording.

Documentary on Edward Hopper, american painter, whose work is the subject of an exhibition in London at the moment.

Documentary on the staging of The Ik in a quarry near Adelaide in australia by Peter Brook's travelling theatre company. Tribal Aboriginal performers travelled 1000's of miles to see the performance, along with popular plays presented by them.

Documentary looking at Britain's smallest theatre, run in Scotland by Barrie and Marrianne Hesketh for the last seventeen years, in which they take all the part s, design and direct all the shows.

Documentary profile of film director John Huston.

Documentary profile of leading Israeli writer, Amos Oz in which he talks about t he thirty year history of the Israeli state whilst touring his home city of Jerusalem.

Film Portrait of William Gerhardie who died in 1977, whose book Bod's Fifth Colu mn was published in 1981. Michael Holroyd discusses Gerhardie's life and work a nd introduces an interview recorded in 1971.

Profile of pop singer Gary Glitter, who "retired" in 1976 and who was soon hopelessly in debt, but whose career has shown recent signs of revival.

Programme which looks at some of the films of silent film comedian Lupino Lane, whose work was mostly destroyed when his studio went bankrupt in the twenties. However exracts from 14 of his restored films are featured here.

Profile of american painter Robert Natkin, who talks about the early influences on his life.

Documentary which examines the effects of the cuts in education spending on Britain's Youth Orchestras, looking in particular at the example of Leicestershire schools.

Documentary looking at the future of the National Youth Theatre, looking at its history and the financial threats to its future exsistance. With interviews with Sir Ralph Richardson, Kate Adie, Martin Jarvis, Peter Terson, Helen Mirren.

Documentary in which Polish film director Wajda is interviewed in Warsaw and Cra cow shortly after receiving the Palm D'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. He talks about his films and his avoidance of censorship as a film-maker in Poland.

Portrait of comedy film writer, director and sometime actor, Mel Brooks filmed on location in Hollywood with Gene Wilder, Dom de Louise and Sid Caeser.

Documentary about the image on the Mona Lisa and the various contexts in which the image can be seen throughout the world.

Documentary which looks at the development of an idea for a play by Hanif Kureishi through the group improvisation and ideas of the Joint Stock Theatre Company to the first performance of the finished play, Borderline.

Documentary on British film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who talk about their career in partnership which produced some now-acknowledged "classics" of British Cinema, with comment from Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.