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Browse 186 movies from BBC Four
A new production of EL Doctorow's historical novel, recorded at the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. Broadcast as part of BBC4's America Night.
Dec 2002
An all star cast unite to perform a distinctive BBC Wales Television adaptation of Dylan Thomas's radio play, presented in collaboration with National Theatre Wales, to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. The plot reveals the innermost thoughts of the residents of the small, Welsh fishing village Llareggub as it delves into the dreams of various townspeople including blind sailor Captain Cat, who is haunted by visions of drowned shipmates, Mog Edwards and Myfanwy Price, who dream of each other, and Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard, who dreams of her former husbands.
Jun 2014
Drama which tells the story of comedian Tony Hancock's love affair with his friend's wife, and her fight to save the man and his career.
Mar 2008
Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life full of mental torture as he tried to overcome his homosexuality in 1950s Britain. This film follows his life and eventual death based on the many diaries he kept
Mar 2006
Paul Morley investigates the lasting appeal of art's very own Pop Idol. From failed Abstract Expressionist to pioneering Pop Art hero, Roy Lichtenstein revolutionized the art world with his big, bold, brash cartoon images of American culture. Even before Andy Warhol had picked up his can of Campbell's soup, Lichtenstein was making merchandise into art and cultivating his own durable brand, turning out work that was highly consumable and tirelessly reproduced.
Feb 2004
Novelist Martin Amis, a fierce critic of contemporary society, examines his experience of Englishness. Richly illustrated with archive footage, he reflects on a nation barely recovered from the loss of empire. Amis brings a sharp, humorous and surprisingly affectionate touch to the exploration of sex, binge drinking, football hooliganism, the idea of fair play, multiculturalism, the royal family and the tabloid press.
Mar 2014
Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.
Oct 2009
In 1976, the Tate Gallery exhibited an experimental artwork that became a national sensation - Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII, or, to its detractors, 120 bricks laid on the floor. This documentary explores the origins of Andre's work and the extraordinary fallout from its exhibition.
Sep 2016
Van Morrison showcases tracks from albums including Keep It Simple, Magic Time and Vanlose Stairway, backed by a full band and joined by guests including guitarist Mick Green and organ maestro Georgie Fame.
Feb 2008
Set and filmed at the iconic Maida Vale studios, The Dead Room tells the story of a long-running radio horror series and its veteran presenter and national treasure Aubrey Judd. But times are changing. Tastes are shifting. There’s a new young producer. Whatever happened to the classic ghost stories? The good old days? Aubrey soon discovers that all is not quiet in the eerie radio studio and that elements of his own past are not as dead and buried as he perhaps hoped…
Dec 2018
Gauguin’s vivid artworks sell for millions. He was an inspired and committed multi-media artist who worked with the Impressionists and had a tempestuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh. But he was also a competitive and rapacious man who left his wife to bring up five children and used his colonial privilege to travel to Polynesia, where in his 40s he took ‘wives’ between 13 and 15 years old, creating images of them and their world that promoted a fantasy paradise of an unspoilt Eden in the Pacific. Later, he challenged the colonial authorities and the Catholic Church in defence of the indigenous people, dying in the Marquesas Islands in 1903, sick, impoverished and alone.
Dec 2019
Rory Bremner looks back at the life and career of Mike Yarwood, master of the imitation game and one of the BBC's most successful stars of the 1970s and 80s.
Dec 2023
An archive celebration of studio performances from the British bands that broke through courtesy of punk between 1975 and 1982. Starting with Dr Feelgood and Eddie and the Hot Rods and culminating in Gang of Four, with performances from Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Something Else and other shows by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many more. Hey ho, let's go!
Jun 2012
Filmed in black and white at the Theater Singer in Laren, The Netherlands on March 25th, 1965, this short concert features the Big O performing hits from the classic catalogue of songs he recorded for the American independent label Monument in the early 60s.
Mar 1965
David Bowie in concert at the BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000.
Jun 2000
As the BBC makes its exit from the iconic west London site of Television Centre, BBC Four presents a special night of celebration of the building and its 53-year history. To kick start proceedings, the nation's favourite nutty boys and national treasures Madness take to the stage at the front of BBC Television Centre to perform an hour-long concert in front of an assembled audience nine days before TV Centre closes its doors. To help launch this celebration of over 50 years of programme-making at TVC Madness treat us to new material and classics alike, such as One Step Beyond, I Never Knew Your Name, Baggy Trousers and Our House.
Mar 2013
Roy Orbison's legacy as a beloved rock legend and a devoted father is revealed through intimate interviews with Roy's three surviving sons, featuring previously unseen home videos.
Dec 2017
A look at the history of America's multi-billion dollar missile defence system, from President Eisenhower to Reagan and Bush.
Nov 2003
The Mandrin Cave in southern France has been attracting the attention of archaeologists for 30 years. The cave was regularly occupied in prehistoric times, and a remarkable record of human habitation going back thousands of years has been preserved by its soils. In 2015, the remains of a Neanderthal were uncovered, and the archaeological evidence points to this individual, named Thorin, living in close proximity to newly arrived Homo sapiens. This documentary follows an international team of scientists as they discover and investigate precious relics of the Paleolithic period, resulting in groundbreaking revelations about the human populations of around 50,000 years ago as researchers uncover some of the secrets of the Mandrin Cave.
Sep 2025
A BBC documentary on the life & music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Jan 2016