Catch up TV
Westerns
Once upon a time in the cinema, about one fifth of all Hollywood releases were cowboy films, and the Western dominated so much that it seemed that every major star would pull on a Stetson, saddle up and - if they were lucky - ride off into the sunset. In this episode of Talking Pictures, Sylvia Syms looks back through the BBC’s archives to tell the story of what is perhaps cinema’s most enduring and most visual genre. It’s a tale covering the golden age of the 1940s and 50s, the European influence of the spaghetti westerns, and the stars that keep the western alive and popular even today, told through classic interviews with some of the biggest names to ever draw a six-shooter, including Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Yul Brynner, Paul Newman and, of course, the two giants of the genre, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures
World Cinema Classics
In 2025, when Christopher Nolan was preparing to shoot The Odyssey, it was a film made 40 years earlier that he screened for his team to help inspire them. That film was Ran, di ...
17-10-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
18. Alfred Hitchcock
A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by iconic Hollywood director Alfred Hitchcock, reflecting on the milestones and highlights of his life and car ...
01-10-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
David Lean
A compilation of rarely seen interviews and archive footage tells the story of movie-master David Lean, one of Britain's greatest film directors.
17-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Robert Redford
The career of Robert Redford is examined in this exploration of the BBC archives, which includes rarely-seen interviews. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.
10-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
The Godfather Trilogy
Celia Imrie explores the story behind Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed Godfather series. \n\nThrough interviews and insights from leading cast members Al Pacino, Robert De ...
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
70s Legends
A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to tell the story of their lives and careers.
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Jaws
Celia Imrie dives into the BBC’s archives to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Steven Spielberg’s classic aquatic horror, Jaws.\n\nIt had arrived in cinemas with t ...
27-08-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
70s Legends Part Ii
Celia Imrie revisits one of cinema's greatest decades with a deeper dig into the BBC archives, uncovering more revealing interviews and magic movie moments from 1970s Hollywood. ...
30-07-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was, and perhaps will always be, Hollywood’s biggest female film icon and the sexiest of cinema's sex symbols, lighting up the screen in several cinema clas ...
28-05-2026
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures
Spartacus
Celia Imrie tells the story of the 1960 epic Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas, revealing how the film, which was then the most expensive of all time, made it onto the big screen ...
07-06-2025
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
World Cinema Classics
In 2025, when Christopher Nolan was preparing to shoot The Odyssey, it was a film made 40 years earlier that he screened for his team to help inspire them. That film was Ran, di ...
17-10-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Dustin Hoffman
When Dustin Hoffman first told his family he wanted to act, the response was: 'You can’t, you’re not good-looking enough.' Despite that initial response, Hoffman wen ...
31-07-2025
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
The Silence Of The Lambs
Celia Imrie takes a trip through the BBC archives on a forensic examination of one of cinema’s most frightening franchises, The Silence of the Lambs. \n\nThrough interview ...
21-08-2025
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
18. Alfred Hitchcock
A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by iconic Hollywood director Alfred Hitchcock, reflecting on the milestones and highlights of his life and car ...
01-10-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
70s Legends
A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to tell the story of their lives and careers.
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Roger Moore
Sylvia Syms explores the BBC archives for a look back at the life and career of one of Britain's best-loved actors, Sir Roger Moore, who died in 2017, just months before his 90t ...
30-12-2019
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Robert Redford
The career of Robert Redford is examined in this exploration of the BBC archives, which includes rarely-seen interviews. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.
10-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
The Godfather Trilogy
Celia Imrie explores the story behind Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed Godfather series. \n\nThrough interviews and insights from leading cast members Al Pacino, Robert De ...
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Talking Pictures
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was, and perhaps will always be, Hollywood’s biggest female film icon and the sexiest of cinema's sex symbols, lighting up the screen in several cinema clas ...
28-05-2026
BBC 2