Anthony Wall

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Elieen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

To celebrate Arena's 40th anniversary, a new film made entirely from its own archive, evoking the one experience common to all - the 24-hour cycle from dawn to dusk to dawn again.

Sonny Rollins: Beyond the Notes uses his 80th birthday concert to look into the man and his music.

Admired and praised by the likes of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer has been described as "one of our great folk poets" and "the most perfect American lyricist". Throughout his extraordinary career, he collaborated with hundreds of composers to write legendary movie songs such as "Hooray for Hollywood", "Jeepers Creepers" and "Moon River". Mercer then went on to co-found Capitol Records in 1942 and became a successful Broadway producer of St. Louis Woman and L'il Abner.

Pete Doherty, one of the most discussed, intriguing and charismatic pop artists at this time, has always received more attention for his controversial private life than for his music. For several months, a documentary team from the prestigious British television series Arena was given free access to Doherty and filmed him on tour and at his home in London.

Pete Doherty, one of the most discussed, intriguing and charismatic pop artists at this time, has always received more attention for his controversial private life than for his music. For several months, a documentary team from the prestigious British television series Arena was given free access to Doherty and filmed him on tour and at his home in London.

Through voiceovers from Peter Sellers and colleagues, collaborators and wives, this revealing film, which contains many rare moments of previously unseen footage, builds a fascinating and unique record of a unique genius and a compelling and definitive portrait of the man and his life.

A captivating and compelling road trip through the creative spirit of the the South of the USA. Director Andrew Douglas's film follows "Alt" Country singer through a gritty terrain of churches, prisons, truck stops, biker bars and coalmines. This journey takes you through a very real contemporary Southern America,a world of marginalized white people and their unique and homemade culture.

A surreal film about surrealism.

Documentary exploration of Dirk Bogarde's private life and long-term affair with manager, Anthony Forwood, seen through home movies and excerpts from Bogarde's memoirs.

In the west of Scotland, nobody bothers to argue that football is a genuinely popular art form, the theatre of the people.

An affectionate portrait of San Francisco, and of the man whose Tales of the City have inspired thousands to go there. Maupin relates a life story more bizarre than his fictional characters(including a meeting with Nixon), while local eccentrics and ex-colleagues dish and praise lavishly.

One Irish Rover, a documentary focusing on the words and music of Van Morrison, was broadcast in 1991 on BBC 2 Arena TV special and on A&E cable television program. It is a series of live songs with commentary by Morrison about music and poetry, it has some truly amazing performances. It includes the footage of Morrison and Dylan in Greece, Georgie Fame at Ronnie Scott’s, John Lee Hooker, The Chieftains and Danish Radio Big Band.

A 4 part documentary about jazz musician / actor Slim Gaillard with interviews, archival footage & performances.

A documentary on the ways in which the symbolism of the breast is expressed in film, fashion and filth, how the bosom is idealised and the means by which it is trivialised and denigrated. Contributors include Barbara Windsor, Jane Russell, Marina Warner, Sheila Kitzinger, American poet Audre Lorde, Vivienne Westwood, Anna Raeburn and Russ Meyer.

In 1987, Robert Crumb presents himself: raised by a Marine father, educated in Catholic schools, married at 21 in Cleveland where he worked for a greeting card company, dropping acid in 1965, heading to San Francisco and getting in on the formation of Zap Comix, gaining celebrity, loving old time jazz, starting a band, living in a commune, meeting Aline Kominsky who became his second wife and his partner in art, having a daughter, and developing a more realistic drawing style. The confessions include his loneliness, his obsessions with women, his bewilderment by fame, his sense of the disintegration of Sixties' subculture, his nervous breakdown in 1973, and his peace now.

1984 film about the Everly Brothers, among the most successful and revered of the early rock 'n' roll giants, who influenced the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and the Beach Boys.

Arena documentary investigating the history and influence of iconic song 'My Way'