One hundred years after its publication, this film reveals the tawdry, shocking, poetic, uplifting and gloriously kaleidoscopic humanity of James Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses.\n\nBanned in the USA for obscenity in 1920, it was finally printed in Paris in 1922 by an American woman who had never published a book before. The film celebrates the crucial role of women, including Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, a lesbian couple who risked being sent to jail for printing obscene material in America; Sylvia Beach, the American in Paris, who published the first edition from her bookshop Shakespeare and Co; Harriet Shaw Weaver, the English heiress who gave Joyce over one million pounds; and Nora Barnacle, Joyce’s wife, muse and the model for his character Molly Bloom.\n\nUlysses is an encyclopaedia of Irish history, bar banter, low comedy, newsroom talk, advertising copy and song. Its central character is Leopold Bloom, who wanders around the city observing its everyday life.\n\nSet during the course of a single day in Dublin in 1904, Ulysses was actually written in Trieste, Zurich and Paris during a time of huge historical upheaval by a penniless teacher of English who would never return to his native Ireland. This film takes us into the heart of the three cities that were home to Joyce and his family during the creation of the book.\n\nThe film celebrates Joyce’s daringly modernist style, spattered with language so scurrilous that it remains shocking to this day, which changed the novel, and writing, forever.\n\nWith contributions from: Salman Rushdie, Colm Tóibín, Anne Enright, Howard Jacobson, Eimear McBride, Paul Muldoon, John McCourt, Nuala O’Connor, Vivien Igoe and many others.\n
Source: BBC 4
Desert Island Discs
A 1982 film made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Roy Plomley's classic radio programme, featuring his successor as presenter, Sue Lawley.
24-03-2025
BBC 4
Ken Dodd's Happiness
A tribute to Liverpudlian comic Ken Dodd, in which he discusses his 50-year career and the influences of his comedy style. Features film clips of his early performances and foo ...
24-03-2025
BBC 4
Dylan Thomas: From Grave To Cradle
Author and broadcaster Nigel Williams examines the work and the legend of one of the most famous poets of the 20th century, Dylan Thomas.\n\nBorn in 1914, Dylan Thomas was an un ...
19-03-2025
BBC 4
Andrea Dunbar And Victoria Wood
In a programme first broadcast in 1980, Arena looks at writer and performer Victoria Wood and explores her talent to amuse through her witty and engaging songs. \n\nThe film als ...
10-03-2025
BBC 4
The Everly Brothers: Songs Of Innocence And Experience
The Everly Brothers were among the most successful and revered of all the giants of early rock 'n' roll. A determining influence on the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and the Beac ...
27-12-2024
BBC 4
The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert
In the autumn of 1983, the Everly Brothers played their legendary reunion concerts in London. Of all the venues in the world, they chose the Royal Albert Hall because they had t ...
27-12-2024
BBC 4
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
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
Make Me Up!
A satirical look at the contradictory pressures faced by women today. It examines how television and social media can help us explore identity, at the same time encouraging wome ...
21-07-2020
BBC 4
Billy, How Did You Do It? - Part 1
Billy Wilder discusses his career with German film-maker Volker Schlondorff. From Marlene Dietrich to Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart to Gary Cooper, Wilder directed the film in ...
30-11-2023
BBC 4
Bob Dylan - Trouble No More
In 1979, Bob Dylan released Slow Train Coming, an album of strictly devotional songs. He declared he had found God in Christianity. For the following two years, accompanied by t ...
20-05-2022
BBC 4
Dire Straits
Arena cameras were on hand to film the return of Dire Straits from their triumphant 1980 Brothers in Arms world tour. The film features a superb concert they played at The Rainb ...
27-10-2023
BBC 4
A Tall Story - How Salman Rushdie Pickled All Of India
Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children, winner of the Booker Prize 1981, talks about India and the autobiographical elements in the book.
11-08-2022
BBC 4
Kusama: Infinity
Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama’s work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from her peers and those in power in the art world. Kusama was an underdog with ...
26-07-2021
BBC 4
Ken Dodd's Happiness
A tribute to Liverpudlian comic Ken Dodd, in which he discusses his 50-year career and the influences of his comedy style. Features film clips of his early performances and foo ...
24-03-2025
BBC 4
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 N ...
28-11-2021
BBC 4
Louise Brooks
American film actress Louise Brooks has become one of the most celebrated icons of early cinema. Her performance as unrepentant pleasure-seeker Lulu in GW Pabst's Pandora's Box ...
07-12-2023
BBC 4