BBC Four

Balmoral

13/09/2009

BBC Four - Balmoral

Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the royal family's most private residence.

Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the royal family's most private residence, and how the royal family has played a role in shaping modern Scotland and vice versa.

Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the royal family's most private residence. For over 150 years this Scottish castle has been home to royal traditions of picnics, stag hunting and kilts. From prime ministers to Princess Diana, life at this tartan-bound holiday home has not appealed to everyone. 

But there is another story of Balmoral, of how the royal family has played a role in shaping modern Scotland and how Scotland has shaped the royal family. Queen Victoria's adoption of Highland symbols, from tartan to bagpipes, helped create a new image for Scotland. Her values, too, helped strengthen the union between Scotland and England. Ever since, Balmoral has been a place that reflects the very essence of the royal family.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

The history of the Scottish castle that has, over 150 years, become the royal family's most private residence.

Cranford

Funny and touching drama about the lives of the people of Cranford.

A rich and comic drama about the people of Cranford, a small Cheshire town on the cusp of change in the 1840s. Adapted from the novels by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Cranford: Series 1

Cranford: Series 1: Episode 3: November 1842

Episode 3

Episode 3: November 1842

Series 1

November 1842

BBC One - Cranford, Series 1, November 1842

A theft from the Doctor's house and an attack on Mr Johnson cause panic and fear.

Drama series. A theft from the doctor's house and an attack on Mr Johnson cause panic. Miss Pole resorts to desperate measures to safeguard her treasures.

A theft from the Doctor's house and an attack on Mr Johnson spread panic and the fear of an imminent crime wave. Suspicion and mistrust ripple through Cranford and Miss Pole resorts to desperate measures to safeguard her treasures.

To save his father, Harry is forced to make a formidable decision, thereby putting himself in danger. In these uncertain times, the ladies cluster together at Christmas. 

With the coming of spring, love blossoms in many hearts as Valentine cards arrive, but are they really tokens of love? And can the culprit be unaware of the catastrophe that could result from his pranks?

BBC One

Funny and touching drama that brings together the idiosyncrasies and misfortunes of the lives of the people of Cranford.

3/5. Suspicion and mistrust ripple through Cranford and Miss Pole resorts to drastic measures to safeguard her treasures. To save his father, Harry is forced to make a formidable decision, thereby putting himself in danger.
Episode four is tomorrow at 8pm. See panel.

Gracie!

23/11/2009

BBC Four - Gracie!

Drama based around the relationship between singer Gracie Fields and director Monty Banks.

Drama about the relationship between singer, comedienne and national treasure Gracie Fields (Jane Horrocks) and Italian-born Hollywood director Monty Banks (Tom Hollander).

Singer and comedienne Gracie Fields from Rochdale was the nation's darling. Beginning on the cusp of World War II and at the phenomenal peak of her career, this heart-breaking love story tells of Gracie's relationship with Italian-born Hollywood director Monty Banks and its staggering repercussions.

Jane Horrocks stars as Gracie Fields in this biographical drama about the singer and comedian from Rochdale who became the nation's darling in the 1930s.  
First shown last Monday

Spiral

There's no one idea of justice. Laure Berthaud and her team of detectives face the brutal world of organised crime, and none will remain unscathed. Dark, unsettling French drama.

Spiral: Series 2: Gangs of Paris

Spiral: Series 2: Gangs of Paris: Episode 5

Episode 5

Series 2: Gangs of Paris

BBC Four - Spiral, Series 2: Gangs of Paris, Episode 5

Samy arrives from Special Branch to help with the investigation into the Larbi family.

French police drama series. Samy arrives from Special Branch to help with the investigation into the Larbi crime family. An out-of-control Aziz pushes a gang member too far.

The mysterious north African, Samy, arrives from Special Branch to help with the investigation into the Larbi crime family. Aziz is still out of control and finally pushes one of his young gang members too far - the team are called to a street shooting and the perpetrator is a sinister teenager.

The burned body of a man is found in the  boot of a car on a housing estate.

Inspector Berthaud and the team investigate a charred corpse found locked in the boot of a car, amongst the broken, gang-ruled suburbs of Paris.

5/8; series two. North African Samy arrives from Special Branch to help with the investigation. 
11.10  6/8. Samy infiltrates the Larbi gang. In French with English subtitles.

Spiral: Series 2: Gangs of Paris: Episode 6

Episode 6

BBC Four - Spiral, Series 2: Gangs of Paris, Episode 6

Samy goes deep undercover with the Larbi gang, and the police are closing in on Aziz.

French police drama series. Samy goes undercover with the Larbi gang. The police close in on Aziz, but nothing is straightforward. Clement plays a clever game behind the scenes.

Samy goes deep undercover with the Larbi gang. The police are closing in on Aziz, but as usual nothing is straightforward. Josephine Karlsson is up to her neck in the dealings of the Larbi gang. Clement plays a clever game behind the scenes.

The Great Contemporary Art Bubble Update

18/05/2009

BBC Four - The Great Contemporary Art Bubble Update

Updated documentary investigating the worldwide contemporary art market.

Updated documentary investigating the massive 2003-2008 boom in the contemporary art market, showing how the financial downturn has drastically affected matters.

Art critic and film-maker Ben Lewis spent two years following the contemporary art market, from its heady peak in May 2008 until the crash and burn in October. Now, in a new and updated version of  the film first broadcast in May 2009, he returns one year later, in October 2009, to discover a very different market.
 
The last five years had witnessed an unprecedented craze for contemporary art, in which works of art by Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, and Mark Rothko sold for record-breaking prices of 30 million pounds upwards. It all climaxed in September 2008, when Damien Hirst sold 111 million pounds' worth of his art at an unprecedented auction at Sotheby's - the very day Lehman Brothers collapsed bringing down the financial markets of the western world. The bubble did not burst the night of the Hirst sale - but it proved to be a last hurrah.

The auctions in October and November 2008 were a disaster, and Ben was there too, filming the art world in shock. By early 2009, the contemporary art auction market was down 75 per cent, auction houses had recorded record losses and were rapidly downsizing.
 
In October 2009, Ben returns to find out what has been happening.
 
In this inside eye-witness journey into the art world, Ben visits auction houses, art fairs, galleries and the homes of billionaires across the world, searching for the reasons behind the greatest rise in financial value of art in history. He interviews leading dealers, art collectors and art market analysts and discovers an extraordinary world of unusual market practices, speculation, secrecy and a passionate enthusiasm for art.

Anna M

01/07/2008

BBC Four - Anna M

A woman who has attempted suicide develops an obsession with her physiotherapist.

Atmospheric drama in which a young woman with psychiatric problems attempts suicide and then develops an unhealthy obsession with the doctor overseeing her physiotherapy.

Anna M.

Film. Psychological drama starring Isabelle Carre.
In French with English subtitles

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