ARENA-NIGHT & DAY (2015)BBC 4, 22NOV, 21.00hrs

[Stanley Stewart]

A quite dazzling 91 mins celebration of the ARENA documentary series after 40 years, the first programme was seen on 1 Oct 1975 and pursued a distinguished course of 600 programmes. Instead of presenting a 'best of...' series, it was decided to conflate sequences and we now have a superbly edited programme of archive material to create an evocation of the 24-hour cycle of human existence, meeting at random, Dylan Thomas, Graham Greene, John Lennon, Jack Nicholson, Gerald Scarfe, Francis Bacon, Mick Jagger, Sonny Rollins and many others, all totally engaging in their time of day. Many memorable moments but the ukulele players with George Formby at Blackpool Tower quite stole my heart!
"A commonality of purpose" added editor, Nigel Finch.

[slarty]

Would it not be great if BBC4 were to start showing some of the best as part of a commemorative series?

[Stanley Stewart]

Would it not be great if BBC4 were to start showing some of the best as part of a commemorative series?

A consummation devoutly to be wished, slarty!

I used to be considered eccentric because i held on to a huge collection of off-air videos, including this series, as I changed address in the London area. New technology and retirement provided the time for transfer to DVD format with sharper picture and sound quality and I probably revisit the ARENA series more than any other. Today, I'm still staggered by the seamless imagery in last night's programme, now transferred from hard drive to DVD master.

[johncorrigan]

A quite dazzling 91 mins celebration of the ARENA documentary series after 40 years, the first programme was seen on 1 Oct 1975 and pursued a distinguished course of 600 programmes. Instead of presenting a 'best of...' series, it was decided to conflate sequences and we now have a superbly edited programme of archive material to create an evocation of the 24-hour cycle of human existence, meeting at random, Dylan Thomas, Graham Greene, John Lennon, Jack Nicholson, Gerald Scarfe, Francis Bacon, Mick Jagger, Sonny Rollins and many others, all totally engaging in their time of day. Many memorable moments but the ukulele players with George Formby at Blackpool Tower quite stole my heart!
"A commonality of purpose" added editor, Nigel Finch.

Thanks Stanley - I'll definitely be catching up on this one.

[Padraig]

I happened to see this, Stanley, but I'm sorry to say that the 'seamless imagery' that so impressed you went right over my head. What I saw was an irritating parade of personalities, some of whom I recognised, with no discernable connection to anything to which I could relate. 'What was that about?' was a frequent question for me, as the parade continued, until I came to the George Formby piece - good old-fashioned straight-forward reporting of a group of enthusiasts doing what they enjoyed and drawing you in. I appreciate your own enthusiasm, Stanley, but I was never much of a fan of Arena anyway.

[Stanley Stewart]

Ah...thanks, Padraig.

A case of Oberon's, "See as thou wast wont to see", I think.