Catch up TV
The Vasulka Effect
An exploration of the life and work of video art pioneers Steina and Woody Vasulka. The film examines the artistic processes of the pair and their profound effect on the 1960s New York art scene and beyond, through their experiments in the electronic medium of video. \n\nFollowing their story over a 40-year-long journey, the film explores how the video art movement caught the spirit of the times. Their unique cross-disciplinary environment – The Kitchen - helped to launch the careers of many artists who have defined the American avant-garde, including Philip Glass, Jonas Mekas, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Robert Mapplethorpe, Laurie Anderson and Cindy Sherman. The film examines the artistic struggles between the pair and celebrates the revolutionary power of the creative spirit.
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of Arena
Arena
Agatha Christie - Unfinished Portrait
Profile celebrating the centenary of the famous author Agatha Christie’s birth. Looking at her life, her character and the key moments in her childhood that influenced her ...
21-08-2024
BBC 4
Arena
I Am Not Your Negro
Narrated entirely in the words of James Baldwin, through both personal appearances and the text of his final unfinished book project, this film touches on the lives and assassin ...
11-08-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Dennis Potter
1987 edition in which Alan Yentob interviews TV dramatist Dennis Potter about his work through the years, touching on subjects such as why and how he started writing, his sense ...
02-06-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Tosca's Kiss
Casa Verdi is a rambling mansion in the city of Milan, inhabited by an extraordinary and captivating group of people. It once belonged to the composer Guiseppe Verdi, now it has ...
16-05-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Rudies Come Back: The Rise And Rise Of 2 Tone
In this Arena film from 1980, Adrian Thrills investigates 2 Tone, an exhilarating new musical blend that was taking the country by storm.\n\nOriginating in Coventry in 1979, 2 T ...
29-03-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Oooh Er Missus! The Frankie Howerd Story
Documentary about the life of Frankie Howerd, with help from friends and colleagues and including highlights from his TV and film career.
26-03-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Peggy Sue: Tales Of Rock And Roll
Peggy Sue Gerron Rackham, the inspiration behind Buddy Holly's famous song, is taken back by Arena to Lubbock, Texas, where she went to the same high school as Holly and where h ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including backing band The Cric ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Byrne About Byrne
In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his stage and TV plays, and on t ...
29-01-2024
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of Arena
Arena
Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes
Docudrama that explores the life and creative output of Coventry born-Delia Derbyshire – electronic musician, sound pioneer and female outsider in postwar Britain. From 19 ...
06-03-2022
BBC 4
Arena
Painted With My Hair
Painted with My Hair is inspired by the paintings, poetry and letters of Donny Johnson, an exceptionally intelligent and talented US lifer, who has been locked away inside his c ...
31-10-2021
BBC 4
Arena
Cigars - Out Of The Humidor
Documentary which follows the story of the cigar - from the tobacco fields west of the Cuban capital of Havana into the factories where poetry and daily newspapers are read alou ...
22-04-2018
BBC 4
Arena
Buddy Holly
Documentary looking at the short but brilliant career of legendary rock'n'roll star Buddy Holly. Features interviews with contemporaries and fans including backing band The Cric ...
09-02-2024
BBC 4
Arena
Wisconsin Death Trip
Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade Black River Falls, Wisconsin ...
25-10-2023
BBC 4
Arena
Peter Shaffer
Writer Peter Shaffer talks about his plays, his life and the theatre. \n\n'I think the live experience in the theatre is very important when you can see shocks and murmurs going ...
05-12-2023
BBC 4
Arena
River
River takes its audience on a journey through space and time spanning six continents, showing rivers on a scale and from perspectives never seen before.
25-07-2022
BBC 4