Chris Rodley
2021Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?
Chris Rodley
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look at what this music really meant to a generation of kids desperate for an antidote to their experiences of living in post-war suburban Britain. Narrated by Nigel Planer and structured in three parts, the first, Born Under a Bad Sign, focuses on the arrival of American blues in Britain in the late 50s and the first performances here by such legends as Muddy Waters, Sonnie Terry and Brownie McGhee. Featuring archive performances and interviews with Keith Richards, Paul Jones, Chris Dreja, Bill Wyman, Phil May, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Ian Anderson, Tony McPhee, Mike Vernon, Tom McGuinness, Mick Abrahams, Dick Taylor, Val Wilmer, Chris Barber, Pete Brown, Bob Brunning, Dave Kelly and Phil Ryan
Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?
Johnny Cash: The Last Great American
Chris Rodley
Johnny Cash, Neil Pearson
This first major retrospective of Cash's life, times and music features contributions from his daughter Rosanne Cash and son John Carter Cash, his longtime manager Lou Robin and fellow musicians including Little Richard, Cowboy Jack Clement, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and Elvis Costello.
Johnny Cash: The Last Great American
Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays
Chris Rodley
John Simm, Jellybean Benítez
Documentary celebrating the triumph, tragedy and human comedy that was Manchester record company, Factory. Started by the late Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville and Martin Hannett in the late 1970s, it became known as the home of Joy Divsion, New Order and Happy Mondays and for creating the Hacienda club. The label pioneered Britain's independent pop culture, creating a new Manchester and blowing a shed-load of money. Includes interviews with all the main players in the Factory story.
Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays
Prog Rock Britannia
Chris Rodley
Nigel Planer, Robert Wyatt
Overview of Prog Rock history in the UK: Documentary about progressive music and the generation of bands that were involved, from the international success stories of Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson and Jethro Tull to the trials and tribulations of lesser-known bands such as Caravan and Egg.
Prog Rock Britannia
Heavy Metal Britannia
Chris Rodley
Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford
Nigel Planer narrates a documentary which traces the origins and development of British heavy metal from its humble beginnings in the industrialised Midlands to its proud international triumph. Contributors include Lemmy, Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and Saxon's Biff Byford.
Heavy Metal Britannia
Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice
Chris Rodley
Matthew Collings
Matthew Collings will reappraise the Impressionists. The four stars are Courbet, Manet, Monet and Cezanne. In two hours their stories and their art will intertwine. Matt will unpack the principles of Impressionism - the strength of colour, the flatness, the patterning and the way in which ordinary life is pictured with startling truth - and argue that this is the best thing that has ever happened in modern art. He will also show that although the contemporary art world seemingly despises Impressionism it is only because of Impressionism that the avant-garde came to be.
Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice
The Pink Floyd Story: Which One's Pink?
Chris Rodley
Joe Boyd, Bob Geldof
Forty years after Britain's foremost 'underground' band released their debut album, 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn', Pink Floyd remain one of the biggest brand names and best-loved bands in the world. This film features extended archive footage alongside original interviews with David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason, and traces the journey of a band that has only ever had five members, three of whom have lead the band at different stages of its evolution. BBC Program
The Pink Floyd Story: Which One's Pink?
Lou Reed Remembered
Chris Rodley
Film tribute to Lou Reed, who died in October, which looks at the extraordinarily transgressive life and career of one of rock 'n' roll's true originals With the help of friends, fellow musicians, critics and those who have been inspired not only by his music but also by his famously contrary approach to almost everything, the documentary looks at how Reed not only helped to shape a generation but also helped to create a truly alternative, independent rock scene, while also providing New York with its most provocative and potent soundtrack. With contributions from Bob Ezrin, Mick Rock, Lenny Kaye, Paul Auster, Moe Tucker, Boy George, Thurston Moore, Andrew Wylie, Victor Bockris, Holly Woodlawn, Mary Woronov and Steve Hunter.
Lou Reed - Remembered
The Joy of Easy Listening
Chris Rodley
Herb Alpert, Richard Carpenter
In-depth documentary about the story of easy listening, a popular music that is often said to be made to be heard but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life, from its emergence in the 1950s until its revival in the 1990s.
The Joy of Easy Listening
In My Mind
Chris Rodley
Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McGoohan
The film recounts one of Chris' early filmmaking experiences: an attempt to interview Patrick McGoohan - something McGoohan had resisted previously - about his enigmatic series for a Channel 4 commissioned documentary. A documentary that didn't quite go to plan. In a series of frank interviews conducted by Chris, most of which ultimately remained unused in the 1983 documentary 'Six Into One-The Prisoner File', McGoohan slowly reveals his innermost thoughts about his concept.
In My Mind
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
Chris Rodley
Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan
The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
