Stephen Frears

What do such classic films as The Third Man, The African Queen, The Misfits and Labyrinth have in common? Present during the filming of all of them was Angela Allen, acting as “continuity” – noting every shot and memorising all the details before her, working closely with the director, crew and actors to achieve a consistent and convincing world in front of the camera. She is one of the last witnesses to a truly golden age of cinema. Angela – who celebrated her 97th birthday in February 2026 – began her career as a 19-year-old on several British films, and then in 1948 was assigned to the second unit in Vienna for Carol Reed’s The Third Man. She subsequently became a regular aide to three great directors in particular, John Huston (with whom she made 14 films), John Frankenheimer and Franco Zeffirelli, as well as working with such diverse filmmakers as Tony Richardson, Ken Russell, Roman Polanski and Sidney Lumet.

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A look at the life and work of television producer Innes Lloyd

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The story of one of Britain's most celebrated actors of the 20th century, told by those who knew and admired him.

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Oscar-winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot offers a master class in image making, with insightful examples from his work on Diva, Hope and Glory, A River Runs Through It, Dangerous Liaisons, Interview with the Vampire and many more in this cineaste's delight.

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Documentary about the beginnings and the Channel 4 years of the Comic Strip.

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An in-depth look of the 40 year journey, from post-war Germany to Hollywood royalty, of Hans Zimmer, the man who’s become the dominant force in the world of movie soundtracks. His film credits include The Lion King, Rain Man, Pirates of The Caribbean, Gladiator, The Dark Knight Trilogy, 12 Year A Slave, The Thin Red Line, The Da Vinci Code and Dune.

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Comedian Nick Helm narrates this bold new documentary series exploring the dramatic history of British cinema. Discover how cinema held a mirror up to society from 1960 through to the 00s.

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Colm Meaney presents a celebration of Roddy Doyle's trilogy about Dublin family the Rabbittes and the film adaptations of the books, The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van.

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Alexandre Desplat is one of the most famous film music composer of today. Innovative artist with a singular expression, he is the successor of french masters of film music: Georges Delerue, Antoine Duhamel, Maurice Jarre. Writing music for films gather his two passions: music and cinema. Between working sessions, confidences, films and personnal archives, Alexandre Desplat offers, through this documentary, a great record on the creative process and today’s cinema.

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Director Stephen Frears, film historian Ian Christie, and author and British film historian Richard Dacre discuss the unique qualities of The Man in the White Suit as well as the legacy of its director, Alexander Mackendrick.

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Chris Wade's documentary film is a personal, intimate and affectionate look at the life and work of Lindsay Anderson, the legendary film and theatre director behind if. - and O Lucky Man. With new recollections from director Stephen Frears, if - star David Wood, plus actor and friend Brian Pettifer, Memories of Lindsay Anderson paints a portrait of a stubborn, self assured artist, an anti establishment non conformist who refused to play the game, and a private man who, though on the surface seemed confident, held his emotional cards close to his chest. This is an in depth study of one of our most brilliant yet undervalued filmmakers.

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A feature length documentary about the real state of the British film industry in relation to UK structures past, present and currently for the future. This film exposes the shocking truths about the UK Governments' will to grow an indigenous British film industry, the legacy and testament of the now closed UK Film Council (UKFC), the current British Film Institute and the new Creative England.

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A brand new feature-length documentary on the film’s production, including new interviews with director Stephen Frears, director of photography Oliver Stapleton, editor Michael Audsley, executive producer Barbara Defina and co-producer Peggy Rajaki.

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She's chic, slim and sexy like Brigitte Bardot. She's French. But she's not all French women, right?

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Released in 2006, British filmmaker Stephen Frears' "The Queen" dramatizes the brief but intense conflict between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Elizabeth II in 1997, following the death of Princess Diana. The documentary underlines the film's boldness. By taking the living royal family as its subject, it breaks a taboo in British cinema and reveals a deeply human queen. Blending freedom of tone with documentary rigor, it offers a lesson in how fiction can serve historical truth.

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A multi-part documentary about Alan Clarke, featuring interviews with various actors, writers and producers.

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Stephen Frears in a interview with film scholar and producer Colin MacCabe. The topics which he touches upon include his career in theater and TV prior to making the film, his impressions of Hanif Kureishi, his relative ignorance of immigrant life and the world he was unwittingly stepping into, the impact of the release of the film, and plenty more.

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French Cinema Mon Amour is an ensemble film in which each contributor brings their own voice, their own particular approach, their culture, and their language to produce a portrait of French cinema.

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Thirteen filmmakers share personal reflections on Henri Langlois—the visionary founder of the Cinémathèque Française—recounting his influence on their lives, his role in preserving film history, and his enduring impact on world cinema.

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The cast and crew of The Comic Strip share anecdotes about the making of the show, recounting experiences marked by a playful disregard for health and safety.

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Sam was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder called Familial Dysautonomia. When born, he had 50 per cent chance of making it to his fifth birthday. Now, at the age of 39 we follow this exceptional person as he pursues his joint goals of getting his acting career back on track and finding love.

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Documentary about Hans Zimmer.

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A powerful short documentary inspired by the launch of the genre breaking PlayStation 3 title HEAVY RAIN. 

Directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Neil LaBute, the seven minute short was filmed in London, LA & Paris and asks leading luminaries, 'How far would you go to save someone you love?'

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Documentary about the making of Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film "Notorious."

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Features conversations with ten of the world's greatest living directors: Bernardo Bertolucci, David Lynch, Liliana Cavani, Stephen Frears, Agnes Varda, Ken Loach, Todd Haynes, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater and John Sayles. The film documents Ismailos' voyage of discovering the creative personalities behind the camera.

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The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.

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Documentary on the history of gay and lesbian film.

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Documentary on the making of the 2006 film 'The Queen'.

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Britain's top chefs compete for the chance to cook a four-course banquet for a high-profile figure.

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The first episode of a new arts documentary program from BBC Scotland was dedicated to Michael Powell in his centenary year. The program interviews many people who knew or worked with him or were influenced by his work.

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Biographical documentary on director Lindsay Anderson, featuring interviews with friends, family, and colleages.

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Episode of the BBC Scotland television series focusing on Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film "If...", featuring interviews with star Malcolm McDowell, cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček, assistant editor Ian Rakoff, director’s assistant Stephen Frears, producer Michael Medwin, and screenwriter David Sherwin

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Documentary, based on a British poll, listing the 100 sexiest movie and TV moments. Supplemented by new interviews with performers, filmmakers, and authors/critics.

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This is a history of the England's Ealing Film Studios, from its beginnings in 1902. It follows the studio's successes through the 1930's, World War II dramas, the well-known 'Ealing comedies' with Alec Guinness, and the BBC's television productions

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Robert Altman interviewed during the making of GOSFORD PARK (2001), as well as members of the cast and crew. Also, revealing behind the scenes footage and information about his career leading up to this feature.

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A dramatization of the story behind and occasion of Thatcher’s last TV interview, the hugely damaging ITV grilling by her old friend Brian Walden, which some view as the final nail in her prime ministerial coffin.

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The story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel.

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The story of Charles Ingram, a former British army major who caused a major scandal in the early 2000s after being caught cheating his way to winning £1 million on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Ingram, his wife Diana and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, who was sitting in the audience, initially pulled off the on-screen heist before being caught and standing trial.

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Tom and Louise meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. With each successive episode we piece together how their lives were, what drew them together and what has started to pull them apart.

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It's the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been legalised and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, has a secret he's desperate to hide.

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The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.

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When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

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The tragic true story of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent Brazilian shot dead by British police in 2005 at the height of the London terrorist alerts.

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The true story of Stephanie Slater, a British estate agent who was kidnapped, raped, and held for ransom by Michael Sams, who imprisoned her in a coffin-like box for eight days.

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Jessica, the second Mrs Saunders, arrives with her new husband John at his country estate. Very much left to her own devices she is unnerved by the power that Consuela, the sinister Spanish housekeeper,seems to wield, comparing her to John's first wife and forbidding her to enter a mysterious locked room.

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Alan Bennett's play about the mid-life crisis of an estate agent.

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Lee, a Chinese man, works as a waiter in a hotel in England, despite speaking very little English. Told that a girl called Iris might be interested in him, on his afternoon off work he buys a box of chocolates and sets off to find her.

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A series of pink forms has Doris and Doreen fearing for their cushy jobs.

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A 1976 play concerning an unemployed school leaver becomes involved with professional car thieves. Part of the ITV Playhouse strand.

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