The Works
Season 2
Documentary series following key figures in the world of the arts.
Where to Watch The Works • Season 2
12 Episodes
- Peter Green: A Hard RoadE1
Peter Green: A Hard RoadPeter Green's band, Fleetwood Mac, sold more records in 1969 than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. But at the height of his success he retreated from public life. This programme tells the story of his lost years and his triumphant return to playing live. - A Death in Hollywood
E2A Death in HollywoodDon Simpson co-produced some of the last decade's biggest Hollywood blockbuster films, including Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun. In January this year he died from a drug overdose at his Bel Air mansion. Don Simpson's story is one of brilliance and determination that took him to the top in Hollywood. But what forces drove him to such despair and self-abuse? - The Man Who Wanted to FlyE3
The Man Who Wanted to FlyGulf War artist John Keane examines the life of one of Britain's greatest landscape painters, Paul Nash. His works brought home the horror of the First World War trenches; but it was the bold, surreal landscapes created during the Second World War that were to seal his reputation. - Playing to SurviveE4
Playing to SurviveIn 1943, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was sent to almost certain death in Auschwitz. Instead, she became the only cellist in the concentration camp's orchestra, playing for high-ranking Nazis like the notorious Dr Mengele. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch survived her ordeal and later became a founder member of the English Chamber Orchestra. In this programme, she describes how music saved her life, and travels back to Auschwitz, meeting old and dear friends from the camp's orchestra. - The Schwitters ScandalE5
The Schwitters ScandalThe great German dadaist painter Kurt Schwitters lived in poverty. But now his legacy - an estimated 700 unsold works worth up to £30 million - is at the heart of an acrimonious wrangle in the art market. This documentary investigates the story and attempts to unravel the web of intrigue that surrounds control of Schwitters's estate. Among those appearing in the programme are members of the painter's family and the art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon. - Men Behaving Badly... in HollywoodE9
Men Behaving Badly... in HollywoodProducer Beryl Vertue has seen several hit British comedy formats, including Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part, translate successfully to American television. Her latest launch in the US is Men Behaving Badly, showing in an American version on the channel NBC. Vertue discovers that there are more differences between the two nations than simply what makes them laugh. - The Billion Dollar HoleE10
The Billion Dollar HoleThirty years ago, Mayor Richard J Daley conceived a masterplan to breathe new life into the heart of Chicago. The redevelopment of Block 37 - three acres of land in the city's bustling commercial district - would be the jewel in its crown. But today the area lies derelict. The Works investigates. - The Stone DiariesE11
The Stone DiariesWith the help of a Lottery Fund grant, environmental sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is currently working in the fields of Cumbria on Europe's biggest public art project- building 100 sculptures and installations related to both sheep farming and the landscape. The work brings Goldsworthy into close contact with the colourful local farming community, not all of whom are convinced the project represents money well spent. - The Secret Life of the PopeE12
The Secret Life of the PopePope John Paul II is considered by many to be the most conservative pope of this century. Fifty years ago, however, he was better known as the subversive playwright, actor and poet Karol Wojtyla. Mark Lawson journeys into the heart of Roman Catholic Poland to meet the director of Brother of Our Lord, a film based on one of Wojtyla's plays, and he talks to old friends of the radical writer who would later become pope.