Alan Lewens

Paddington Bear: The Early Years

Retracing the footsteps of the beloved Paddington Bear, Stephen Fry travels to the Cloud Forests of Peru in search of the rare Spectacled Bear.

Shirley Bassey: Divas Are Forever

A full concert film featuring Shirley Bassey on stage in Antwerp, Belgium during the 'Diamond Awards Festival', including some of her greatest hits, interspersed with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Classic Albums: Steely Dan - Aja

Aja was the biggest selling album of Steely Dan's illustrious career. It was the first album by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker as a duo. Fagen and Becker recall the history of the album, along with Peg, Deacon Blues and Josie. Michael McDonald, later of the Doobie Brothers did guest backing vocals on Aja, the late British musician Ian Dury, record producer Gary Katz and the legendary session musicians who worked on Aja also contribute. This is a vivd portrait of a 70's record that is still as fresh and as memorable more than two decades after its release.

Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century

Acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Arena explores the rise of the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra from his early family background to overwhelming show business success. Interviews with friends, family and associates reveal a star-studded career in music and film alongside a fascinating private life of four marriages, liaison with the Kennedy family, Las Vegas business interests and an alleged association with the Mafia

The Very Strange Story of the Legendary Joe Meek

Documentary about the influential pop composer and record producer Joe Meek, who died in dramatic circumstances in 1967 after a bizarre childhood and a career, often controversial, which spanned the period from the mid-50s to the rise of the Beatles in the 60s. At the end of his life he was suffering from paranoid delusions that people were watching him through walls. Alan Lewens' film charts an Ortonesque tale of post-war Britain.

Fred Zinnemann: A Director's Life

Documentary on the director Fred Zinnemann and his work, in which he talks extensively about his career and experiences in the cinema from his early days in Paris and Berlin, and his arrival in Hollywood in 1929 to the present.

The Unforgettable Nat King Cole

Enjoy the smooth voice and cool rhythms of legendary American recording artist Nat "King" Cole with this music set, which includes popular hits like "Mona Lisa," "Save the Bones for Henry Jones," "Shine On Harvest Moon," "Sweet Lorraine" and more. The first African-American to host a television variety show, Cole sold millions of records throughout the course of his career and continues to possess enduring popularity worldwide.

Maria Callas: Life & Art

Legendary opera singer Maria Callas had an extraordinary career, colored as much by supreme success as it was by terrible heartache. Yet despite her tumultuous private life, Callas's powerful soprano voice rarely faltered. Narrated by Rosalie Crutchley, this well-rounded documentary features extensive interviews and numerous performances, including the diva's final concert in Tokyo and a rare recording taken a class at the Julliard School.

Mr Parnes, Shillings & Pence

A 1986 documentary film about the life and career of Larry Parnes who managed a stable of early British rock and roll stars including Billy Fury, Tommy Steele, Joe Brown and Marty Wilde.

The Private Life of the Ford Cortina

A ski run in Italy, a supermarket manager in Luton, a sandwich bar in London EC2, Arena opens the bonnet of the Ford Cortina, Britain's most popular, most stolen, and most misunderstood car. 'Dagenham dustbin'? 'Poor man's Rolls-Royce'? In the year that may well see the end of a legend, some of the motoring public, including Sir John Betjeman, Tom Robinson, Alexei Sayle, Sir Terence Beckett and Magnus Magnusson take apart the Ford Cortina: Life and Works 1962-1982.

Arena: Dire Straits

Arena cameras were on hand to film the return of Dire Straits from their triumphant 1980 Brothers in Arms world tour. The film features a superb concert they played at The Rainbow, and band members talk about their music and the pressures and the consequences of success.