
Casa Verdi is a rambling mansion in the city of Milan, inhabited by an extraordinary and captivating group of people. It once belonged to the composer Guiseppe Verdi, now it has become a home for retired musicians. \n\nOnce-famous divas, composers and singers from the opera chorus are bonded together by old memories and rivalries, their spirit and joy in their music quite undiminished by age.
Source: BBC 4
Humphrey Burton: Theatre
Director Ronald Eyre presents the first episode of Arena, the long-running arts documentary series created by Humphrey Burton when he was head of Music and Arts at the BBC.\n\nE ...
08-03-2026
BBC 4
Mike Leigh: Making Plays
Dramatist Mike Leigh talks to Arena about his work and demonstrates his unique processes of building the characters of his dramas.
12-01-2026
BBC 4
The Last Soviet Citizen
Documentary that follows three decades of Soviet space culture, from the glory days of Yuri Gagarin to the saga of Sergei Krikalev, the Soviet citizen who was stranded in space ...
20-11-2025
BBC 4
The Underground
Documentary about the tube, the world's oldest underground system. Three million passengers use it every day, and over the past 150 years, it has developed its own history, alon ...
18-11-2025
BBC 4
The Private Life Of The Ford Cortina
A witty look at the history of the Ford Cortina. Alexei Sayle, John Betjeman, John McVicar and Magnus Magnusson join enthusiasts to reflect on what was, in the 1980s, Britain's ...
10-11-2025
BBC 4
Sister Wendy And The Art Of The Gospel
The arresting sight of Sister Wendy Beckett, all teeth and glasses, burst on to our screens in the 1990s. An instant star, she travelled the world in her habit telling us the st ...
10-11-2025
BBC 4
Francis Bacon
On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Francis Bacon talks with great candour to his friend of many years, the distinguished writer and critic David Sylvester.
03-11-2025
BBC 4
Chelsea Hotel
First transmitted in 1981, this documentary programme looks at New York's Chelsea Hotel, a legendary haven for some of the 20th century's greatest talent, from Mark Twain to Dyl ...
03-11-2025
BBC 4
Masters Of The Canvas
When pop artist Peter Blake confessed that his fantasy was to be the mysterious masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki, who never speaks and never removes his mask, little did he know w ...
29-10-2025
BBC 4
Art And Design: The Journey
Singer and writer George Melly takes a walk from his home in north London to the Hayward Gallery, reminiscing along the way about the influence of surrealism on his early life.
26-10-2025
BBC 4
Mike Leigh: Making Plays
Dramatist Mike Leigh talks to Arena about his work and demonstrates his unique processes of building the characters of his dramas.
12-01-2026
BBC 4
The Banana
Programme exploring the cultural significance of the banana.\n\nThe Velvet Underground's John Cale tells the story behind Andy Warhol's famous LP cover, Auberon Waugh and John W ...
22-09-2025
BBC 4
Clint Eastwood: 1. Part One: Out Of The West
Clint Eastwood recalls his tough childhood and looks back at his early career, from Rawhide to Dirty Harry and the spaghetti westerns. With contributions from Don Siegel, Sergio ...
29-05-2025
BBC 4
Cigars - Out Of The Humidor
Documentary which follows the story of the cigar - from the tobacco fields west of the Cuban capital of Havana into the factories where poetry and daily newspapers are read alou ...
22-04-2018
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 ...
20-09-2025
BBC 4
Philip Hoare's Guide To Whales: 1. Baleen
Acclaimed author and whale-watcher Philip Hoare takes us into the world of baleen whales, the largest animals ever to have lived. \n\nWith plates of bristly baleen instead of te ...
05-08-2019
BBC 4
The Underground
Documentary about the tube, the world's oldest underground system. Three million passengers use it every day, and over the past 150 years, it has developed its own history, alon ...
18-11-2025
BBC 4
The Peter Sellers Story: Episode 1
The first of three films presenting a portrait of one of the world's greatest comic actors, tracing his life from childhood to a successful post-war career with the Goons and more.
02-09-2025
BBC 4
Rudies Come Back: The Rise And Rise Of 2 Tone
In this Arena film from 1980, Adrian Thrills investigates 2 Tone, an exhilarating new musical blend that was taking the country by storm.\n\nOriginating in Coventry in 1979, 2 T ...
29-03-2024
BBC 4
Armistead Maupin Is A Man I Dreamt Up
Writer Armistead Maupin tells the story behind his Tales of the City novels, introduces some of the San Franciscans who provided the inspiration for his characters and explores ...
26-11-2023
BBC 4