logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2020
50m 2s

Film special

Bbc World Service
About this episode

We hear from eye-witnesses to some classic moments in cinema history – from It’s a Wonderful Life to Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy via Studio Ghibli, the Sound of Music and Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator.

Plus, film critic Helen O’Hara tells us about the history of Christmas movies.

Photo: one of the final scenes from Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Carol Coombs, Jimmy Hawkins, Larry Simms and Karolyn Grimes, clockwise from top (photo by Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images)

Up next
Jul 25
Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar power with Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, in th ... Show More
1 h
Jul 18
The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Professor Sir Paul Preston, who explains how the conflict transformed Spain and pave ... Show More
1 h
Jul 11
Buildings of power and the Dada art movement
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the editor of the book, On Power in Architecture.We start with Jackie Kennedy's 1962 ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2019
Discovering Christmas Episode 03 – The Movies
Our favorite Christmas movies and moments 
33m 48s
Oct 2025
Cinema
From flickering silent films to the golden age of Hollywood and the digital blockbusters of the modern day, the history of cinema is a tale of creativity, innovation, and storytelling. Discover how moving pictures came to be, captivated audiences, transformed culture, and became ... Show More
48m 42s
Feb 2022
Helen Mirren, Dog, The Real Charlie Chaplin, Here Before, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act 1), Kimi and Old Henry
Dame Helen Mirren talks about her role in The Duke. Mark reviews Dog, The Real Charlie Chaplin, Here Before, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act 1), Kimi and Old Henry.Plus Simon and Mark talk through all the films on current release. Send us your sub 20 second instant reaction to an ... Show More
2h 4m
Dec 2014
Marco Polo; Behind the scenes at Nutcracker; Manakamana; The Christmas Truce in art
Historian Tom Holland delivers his verdict on a new TV drama series charting the life of adventurer Marco Polo.As English National Ballet prepares to stage its Christmas stalwart, Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, Samira Ahmed visits the company's warehouse in Kent to meet the t ... Show More
28m 29s
Dec 2018
The Reel: Music in Film
This week LA Times music reporters Gerrick Kennedy (@GerrickKennedy), Mikael Wood (@mikaelwood), and Randy Lewis (@RandyLewis2) join Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) to discuss the intermingling of music and film. First, the group focuses on capturing live performance on film, as seen in ... Show More
22m 10s
Oct 2021
Practical Magic with David Lowery & Elijah Wood
<p>Topics covered include: the importance of letting your movie breath, hate-cutting <em>The Green Knight</em>, the fall of Troy, Grail mythology, a mom’s helpful nudge, old-fashioned movie magic, the epic oner from <em>Eternal Sunshine</em>, concentric circles of production and ... Show More
50m 52s
Feb 2024
Burning For Something with Celine Song & Sofia Coppola
Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Oce ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 2019
Discovering Christmas Episode 04 – The TV Specials
A review of popular Christmastime TV specials from the 60s to the 90s 
32m 29s
Dec 2020
It's a Wonderful Life
In December 1946, the classic Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life" had its premiere in Hollywood. Starring Jimmy Stewart, the movie's message of hope and redemption is loved by millions. Simon Watts talks to former child star, Karolyn Grimes, who played six-year-old Zuzu Bailey ... Show More
10m 22s