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In 2005, an extraordinary sculpture by leading Brit artist Marc Quinn of a naked, heavily pregnant, disabled Alison Lapper was unveiled on the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
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In 2005, an extraordinary sculpture by leading Brit artist Marc Quinn of a naked, heavily pregnant, disabled Alison Lapper was unveiled on the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. It's a project that's been dogged with controversy.
Following the creation of Alison Lapper Pregnant over five years, this film tells the compelling story of how two very different people came together to challenge preconceptions about beauty and what is considered normal.
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Famous for his cello and violin concertos, it's not widely known that Edward Elgar also wrote sketches for a piano concerto. This often hilarious film shows how the embryonic piece - a performance of which follows - came to life.
Famous for his cello and violin concertos, it's not widely known that Edward Elgar also wrote sketches for a piano concerto. This often hilarious film shows how the embryonic piece - a performance of which follows - came to life.
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Tragedy and history loom large in the background of writer and political commentator Amos Oz. His memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness is an eyewitness account of the birth of Israel. Alan
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Tragedy and history loom large in the background of writer and political commentator Amos Oz. His memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness is an eyewitness account of the birth of Israel. Alan Yentob takes Oz back to his childhood for a fascinating portrait of the state's early years - and his views on the Palestine conflict.
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As a child, portrait painter Chuck Close was written off as a failure because his dyslexia remained undiagnosed. Then, in 1988, he was partially paralysed by a stroke. Undaunted by these
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As a child, portrait painter Chuck Close was written off as a failure because his dyslexia remained undiagnosed. Then, in 1988, he was partially paralysed by a stroke. Undaunted by these hardships, he continued to paint and his latest work is on display at London's National Portrait Gallery. Alan Yentob meets the American artist in New York.
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Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra believe so - but can they convince 250 underprivileged teenagers from suburban Berlin? The aim is to stage Stravinsky's Le Sacre du
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Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra believe so - but can they convince 250 underprivileged teenagers from suburban Berlin? The aim is to stage Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, and Royston Maldoom is the British choreographer who must persuade the reluctant youngsters to get their steps up to performance standard. Alan Yentob presents.
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Could New Orleans's days as a great musical powerhouse be coming to an end? As Alan Yentob traces the city's vast musical heritage, he meets musicians who have lived and worked there all
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Could New Orleans's days as a great musical powerhouse be coming to an end? As Alan Yentob traces the city's vast musical heritage, he meets musicians who have lived and worked there all their lives, and are determined to return despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina last year. With contributions from Paul McCartney , Dr John, Jools Holland and Elvis Costello.
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The joy of some collectors at owning what they believed to be genuine Andy Warhol works has been ruined by the artist's authentication board's declaring them fake. They speak of their
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The joy of some collectors at owning what they believed to be genuine Andy Warhol works has been ruined by the artist's authentication board's declaring them fake. They speak of their disillusionment here as Alan Yentob visits New York to investigate acquiring art by the "Pope of Pop", while Warhol collaborators reveal his unusual working methods.
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Critics say the British sitcom is dead by virtue of its middle-aged, middle-class "appeal". Why then are our finest comic writers and performers making prize-winning shows? As he talks
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Critics say the British sitcom is dead by virtue of its middle-aged, middle-class "appeal". Why then are our finest comic writers and performers making prize-winning shows? As he talks to Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Armando Iannucci, Graham Linehan and Chris Langham - and makes a surprise entrance on My Family - Alan Yentob finds the genre in rude health.
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Self-confessed chair addict Alan Yentob encounters a vast range of his objects of desire in this whimsical journey through the changing styles of the modern chair - a furniture item
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Self-confessed chair addict Alan Yentob encounters a vast range of his objects of desire in this whimsical journey through the changing styles of the modern chair - a furniture item intimately and inextricably intertwined with the physicality of our everyday lives, whose look has been transformed over the centuries by designers such as Le Corbusier and Terence Conran , from hand-crafted descendants of royal thrones to wipe-clean plastic garden chairs.
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Film documenting the creation of Love, a spectacular collaboration bringing together the magic of The Beatles' music with the imagination of Cirque Du Soleil. The project was initially
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Film documenting the creation of Love, a spectacular collaboration bringing together the magic of The Beatles' music with the imagination of Cirque Du Soleil. The project was initially the idea of George Harrison, two years before his death from cancer in 2001. Sir George Martin, along with his son/co-producer Giles Martin demonstrate the process by which the soundtrack was created. Also features interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.
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Alan Yentob presents a documentary about cartoon pop group Gorillaz' foray into the world of Chinese opera, with Damon Albarn composing his first full length score and Jamie Hewlett
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Alan Yentob presents a documentary about cartoon pop group Gorillaz' foray into the world of Chinese opera, with Damon Albarn composing his first full length score and Jamie Hewlett designing a myriad of gigantic sets and elaborate costumes. Drawing on the 1970s cult television series, Monkey - Journey to the West has a cast that includes the cloud-hopping, mountain-somersaulting Monkey, his mates Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka, plus acrobats, martial artists, umbrella-twirling girls, a horse-eating dragon, a skeleton demon and a giant Buddha. Produced by Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), in co-production with Manchester International Festival and the State Opera House in Berlin, they present a new contemporary opera entirely in Mandarin directed by Chen Shi-Zheng.
This film follows Albarn and Hewlett on a journey from Beijing to Paris, working with martial artists and acrobats; leading up to its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival.
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The remarkable election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States has been propelled as much by his exceptional skill as an orator as by any other factor.
From the
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The remarkable election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States has been propelled as much by his exceptional skill as an orator as by any other factor.
From the silver-tongued to the tongue-tied, the sublime to the ridiculous, this programme takes a fond look at the art and history of the political speech.
Alan Yentob joins the crowds at the inauguration in Washington, and traces the awesome power of orators from Cicero onwards, via Cromwell, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, Martin Luther King and many others.
Among the contributors are Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Bob Geldof, Neil Kinnock, Ted Sorensen, Tony Benn, William Hague, Geoffrey Howe, Diane Abbott, Charlotte Higgins, Alastair Campbell and Germaine Greer.
What makes a good speech great? How much is content, how much is presentation? And has Obama brought eloquence back to 21st-century politics for good?
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Drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as Van Gogh.
Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van
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Drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as Van Gogh.
Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.
The film won a Rockie for Best Arts Documentary at the Banff World Media Festival in 2011, receiving critical acclaim for its fascinating insight into the life of the artist and its unique approach to storytelling.
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Alan Yentob introduces a revealing documentary which tells the story of the making of The Rolling Stones' acclaimed 1972 album, Exile on Main Street.
Facing huge unpaid tax bills in
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Alan Yentob introduces a revealing documentary which tells the story of the making of The Rolling Stones' acclaimed 1972 album, Exile on Main Street.
Facing huge unpaid tax bills in Britain, the band fled to the French Riviera. Life was crazy and chaotic there, yet the band still managed to make one of the seminal albums of rock and roll history.
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Imagine presents a feature-length documentary about the making of U2's seminal album Achtung Baby.
Early in 2011, U2 returned to Hansa Studio in Berlin to discuss the making of
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Imagine presents a feature-length documentary about the making of U2's seminal album Achtung Baby.
Early in 2011, U2 returned to Hansa Studio in Berlin to discuss the making of Achtung Baby in this film directed by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (It Might Get Loud, Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth). From The Sky Down was then selected to open the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September, the first ever documentary to open the festival in its 36-year history.
Twenty years after the 1991 release of Achtung Baby, Davis Guggenheim traces the album's genesis using animation and previously unseen footage from Berlin and Dublin alongside interviews with the band as they reflect on what was a key chapter in their career.
'In the terrain of rock bands - implosion or explosion is seemingly inevitable. U2 has defied the gravitational pull towards destruction... this band has endured and thrived. From The Sky Down asks the question why.'
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Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, tells for the first time the inside story of how it felt to be condemned to death by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, and to spend the next
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Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, tells for the first time the inside story of how it felt to be condemned to death by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, and to spend the next decade in hiding. To coincide with the publication of Rushdie's new book about that time, Alan Yentob has been given unique access to the author and to the bodyguards who lived with him. Friends and writers like Ian McEwan and Hanif Kureshi speak frankly, as do Rushdie's sister, ex-wife and sons.
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Renowned as the bravura front man of one of Britain's greatest rock bands, Freddie Mercury's life outside Queen is rarely celebrated or explored.
In a touching portrait, imagine...
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Renowned as the bravura front man of one of Britain's greatest rock bands, Freddie Mercury's life outside Queen is rarely celebrated or explored.
In a touching portrait, imagine... charts Mercury's solo projects and interests, including a previously unheard collaboration with Michael Jackson and the triumphant Barcelona project with Dame Montserrat Caballe, as well as the life of a gay man who was not yet publicly out.
Rare interviews reveal a shy man in search of love, and a driven artist living behind the protection of his stage persona.
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Following in the footsteps of Alan Yentob's 2008 profile of Jay-Z, imagine... presents the much-heralded Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream. With Beyoncé herself in the director's chair, this
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Following in the footsteps of Alan Yentob's 2008 profile of Jay-Z, imagine... presents the much-heralded Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream. With Beyoncé herself in the director's chair, this unique and confessional film combines spectacular showpieces and video diary footage, giving a revealing insight into the life of the 16-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, wife and mother. This is Beyoncé, by Beyoncé.
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To mark David Bowie's comeback album and a new exhibition at the V&A, Alan Yentob looks back at his legendary 1975 documentary, Cracked Actor. The film follows Bowie during the Diamond
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To mark David Bowie's comeback album and a new exhibition at the V&A, Alan Yentob looks back at his legendary 1975 documentary, Cracked Actor. The film follows Bowie during the Diamond Dogs tour of 1974.
Alan Yentob says "I'd caught him at what was an intensely creative time, but it was also physically and emotionally gruelling. Our encounters tended to take place in hotel rooms in the early hours of the morning or in snatched conversations in the back of limousines. He was fragile and exhausted, but also prepared to open up and talk in a way he had never really done before."
Cracked Actor has become one of the classic rock documentaries of all time, remaining an enduring influence on generations of Bowie fans.
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Alan Yentob tells the story of London's Olympic Opening Ceremony, as seen through the eyes of its artistic director Danny Boyle, his creative team and just some of the thousands of
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Alan Yentob tells the story of London's Olympic Opening Ceremony, as seen through the eyes of its artistic director Danny Boyle, his creative team and just some of the thousands of volunteers who worked to make it happen. The documentary relates how they united in the face of a cynical nation and produced a warm-up act like no other.
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A look at the work of South African artist William Kentridge who first became well known for making hand-drawn animations featuring a pair of alter egos, set in the urban-industrial
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A look at the work of South African artist William Kentridge who first became well known for making hand-drawn animations featuring a pair of alter egos, set in the urban-industrial landscape of Johannesburg.
His first film in the series is Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City After Paris (1989). The work reflects the oppressive world of the Apartheid era and South Africa's painful transition into a multiracial democracy and was created over many months as Kentridge painstakingly filmed and erased the drawings frame by frame.
Introduced by the artist and Alan Yentob.
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A look at the work of South African artist William Kentridge who first became well known for making hand-drawn animations featuring a pair of alter egos, set in the urban-industrial
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A look at the work of South African artist William Kentridge who first became well known for making hand-drawn animations featuring a pair of alter egos, set in the urban-industrial landscape of Johannesburg.
Felix in Exile (1994) reflects the increasing political violence and civil unrest in South Africa as Apartheid came to an end.
Introduced by the artist and Alan Yentob.
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