Centurions
First broadcast from 19980104 to 19991226. (* = BBC7).
Single works of 20th Century art under the microscope.
This was the product of 800 submissions by BBC producers for the greatest non-musical artists of the twentieth century. The list was then whittled down to 100 on Radio 3 by a panel of four people: novelist Antonia Byatt, the art historian Bryan Robertson, the literary scholar and critic John Carey and the former Reith Lecturer and professor of communications Jean Aitcheson. The 100 artists represent the most significant writers, painters, architects, film-makers, designers, sculptors and poets this century. Radio 3 then produced a weekly programme in late 1999, focusing on one of these artists.
- The BBC7 broadcasts are not in the same sequence as the original broadcast.
- Sometimes the BBC will list this programme as "CenturiAns".
- There should be 100 episodes but I've got 101 listed after merging lists - 092 is the problem.
103 episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis | 19980104 | ||
| 002 | Andre Kertesz | 19980111 | ||
| 003 | Elizabeth Bishop - North And South | 19980118 | ||
| 004 | Bernard Leach - Dish, Slipware Dish And Jam | 19980125 | * 20060801, * 20061218, * 20071010, * 20080410, * 20080925 | The series of portraits of the 100 great art works of the century, and their makers, continues with potter Bernard Leach. Famed for his lumpy styling, Edmund de Waal, Rosemary Hill and Christopher Cook discuss the legacy of the controversial potter. |
| 005 | Seamus Heaney | 19980201 | ||
| 006 | Jean Paul Satre - La Nausee | 19980208 | ||
| 007 | Bertolt Brecht - The Good Person Of Sichuan | 19980215 | ||
| 008 | Harold Pinter - The Caretaker | 19980222 | ||
| 009 | Garcia Lorca - Poet In New York | 19980301 | ||
| 010 | Ingmar Bergman - The Seventh Seal | 19980308 | * 20060724, * 20071002, * 20080619 | Critics Melyvn Bragg and Philip French reassess the impact of the 1957 film. Critics Philip French and Melvyn Bragg reassess the impact of Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film, The Seventh Seal. |
| 011 | Matisse - The Red Studio | 19980315 | * 20060727, * 20061213, * 20071005, * 20080627 | Patrick Heron, AS Byatt and Jack Flam discuss the making of Matisse's 1911 painting, Red Studio, and its enduring significance. |
| 012 | Jackson Pollock - Autumn Rhythm: No 30, 1950 | 19980322 | * 20060901, * 20070125, * 20071112, * 20080714 | Known in the media as Jack the Dripper, the wild man of abstract art started a revolution in post-war American painting. |
| 013 | Wallace Stevens - The Idea Of Order At West Key | 19980329 | ||
| 014 | Sergei Eisenstein - Alexander Nevsky | 19980405 | ||
| 015 | Yukio Mishima - The Temple Of The Golden Pavillion | 19980412 | ||
| 016 | Walter Gropius - The Bauhaus School | 19980419 | ||
| 017 | W B Yeats - Sailing To Byzantium | 19980426 | ||
| 018 | Barbara Hepworth - The Sculpture Garden | 19980503 | * 20060824, * 20070117, * 20071102, * 20080611 | Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham, Brian Smith and Penelope Curtis discuss Barbara Hepworth's life and her sculpture garden in St Ives. 'You can hear Barbara breathing in her garden at St Ives' - the life and work of the British sculptor. |
| 019 | D H Lawrence - The Rainbow | 19980510 | ||
| 020 | George Bernard Shaw - Saint Joan | 19980517 | ||
| 021 | Thomas Mann - The Magic Mountain | 19980524 | ||
| 022 | Walt Disney - Snow White | 19980531 | ||
| 023 | Martha Graham - Appalachian Spring | 19980607 | * 20060726, * 20061212, * 20071004, * 20080626 | The Graham dancers and Judith Mackrell discuss the 1944 dance which captured the pioneering spirit of the previous century. |
| 024 | Andy Warhol | 19980614 | ||
| 025 | Ernest Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls | 19980621 | ||
| 026 | James Baldwin - Go Tell It On The Mountain | 19980628 | ||
| 027 | Piet Mondrian - Composition With Red, Black, Blue And Yellow | 19980705 | * 20060808, * 20070103, * 20071017, * 20080630 | Anna Moszynska and David Batchelor discuss the Dutch Artist's pioneering abstract work of 1921. The Dutch artist's pioneering abstract work of 1921 is discussed by Anna Moszynska and David Batchelor. |
| 028 | Jean Genet - The Balcony | 19980712 | ||
| 029 | Graham Greene - Brighton Rock | 19980719 | ||
| 030 | Le Corbusier - Unite D'habitation | 19980726 | ||
| 031 | Sylvia Plath - Ariel | 19980809 | ||
| 032 | Konstantin Stanislavsky | 19980816 | * 20060807, * 20061222, * 20071016, * 20080624 | The co-founder of the Moscow Art Theatre and director of Chekhov's masterpiece 'The Three Sisters' is discussed. |
| 033 | H G Wells - The War Of The Worlds | 19980823 | ||
| 034 | Henri Cartier-bresson - The Decisive Moment | 19980830 | * 20060825, * 20070118, * 20071105 | 'Half-way between a tightrope walker and a pickpocket' - a celebration of the Frenchman who united art and documentary. |
| 035 | James Joyce - Ulysses | 19980906 | ||
| 036 | Rainer Maria Rilke - Duino Elegies | 19980913 | ||
| 037 | alexander Solzhenitsyn - One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovic | 19980920 | ||
| 038 | W H Auden - In Memory Of W B Yeats | 19980927 | * 20060731, * 20061215, * 20071009, * 20080703 | W H Auden is unfashionable, though his influence is still felt in many poets today. Does he deserve to be a Centurion? Auden is unfashionable though his influence is still felt in many poets today. Does he deserve to be a Centurion? |
| 039 | J M Synge - The Playboy Of The Western World | 19981004 | ||
| 040 | Salvador Dali - The Burning Giraffe | 19981011 | Dali created paintings that define the landscape of surrealism. A master of self-advertisement, his legacy still resonates. | |
| 041 | Eugene O'neil - Long Days Journey Into Night | 19981018 | ||
| 042 | Naguib Mahfouz - The Cairo Trilogy | 19981025 | ||
| 043 | Wassily Kandinsky - Composition Iv | 19981101 | * 20060804, * 20061221, * 20070126, * 20071015 | As a pioneer of the abstract style, Vassily Kandinsky was one of the most influential artists of the Century. Owen Knowles, Dr Robert Hampson and John Milius discuss the paradox and moral ambiguity of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". |
| 044 | Wilfred Owen - Strange Meeting | 19981108 | ||
| 045 | Jean Renoir - La Grande Illusion | 19981115 | * 20060829, * 20070122, * 20071107, * 20080715 | La Grande Illusion is Renoir's powerful condemnation of war. Banned in Germany, a copy was discovered in Munich in 1945. A powerful condemnation of war and banned in Germany, a copy of the film, thought a masterpiece, was found in Munich in 1945. |
| 046 | Mies Van De Rohe - Seagram Tower | 19981122 | * 20060920, * 20070206, * 20071122, * 20080721 | Mies Van De Rohe was one of the most influencial architects of the century. Penny Spark and Deyan Sudjic reflect on his work. Penny Spark and Deyan Sudjic discuss one of the most influential architects of the 20th Century. Penny Spark and Deyan Sudjic reflect on the work of one of the most influential architects of the century. |
| 047 | Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita | 19981129 | ||
| 048 | Frederico Fellini - La Dolce Vita | 19981206 | ||
| 049 | Marcel Duchamp - Fountain | 19981213 | ||
| 050 | Marx Brothers - Duck Soup | 19981227 | ||
| 051 | Damian Hirst - The Physical Impossibillity Of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living | 19990103 | * 20060803, * 20061220, * 20071012, * 20080613 | A portrait of Damien Hirst. Love him or loath him, he has, in a very real sense, put animals in formaldehyde. |
| 052 | Vassili Nijinsky - The Rite Of Spring | 19990110 | * 20060728, * 20061214, * 20071008, * 20080702 | Lynn Garafola, Sir John Drummond and Simon Barnes discuss Nijinsky's contribution to 20th Century choreography. Lynn Garafola, Sir John Drummond and Simon Barnes discuss Nijinsky's contribution to twentieth century choreography. |
| 053 | Chinua Achebe - Anthills Of Savannah | 19990117 | * 20060721, * 20061208, * 20071001, * 20080612 | Alastair Niven and Nana Wilson-Tagoe discuss Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe's capacity to portray corruption whilst offering seeds of hope. Alastair Niven and Nana Wilson-Tagoe discuss Chinua Achebe and his capacity to portray corruption whilst offering seeds of hope. |
| 054 | Francis Bacon - Innocent Screams | 19990124 | * 20060809, * 20070104, * 20071018, * 20080616 | Single works of 20th Century art under the microscope. Examination of a painting by iconic artist Francis Bacon. Examination of a painting by iconic artist Francis Bacon. |
| 055 | Albert Camus - The Outsider | 19990131 | * 20060720, * 20061207, * 20070928, * 20080609, * 20090226 | The biographer Olivier Todd and Lecturer and critic Ray Davison discuss Albert Camus and his book The Outsider, and assess the book's impact. The biographer Olivier Todd and critic Ray Davison discuss Albert Camus and his book The Outsider. Ray Davison and Oliver Todd discuss the impact of the author's pioneering novel on post-war European thought and literature. Ray Davison and Oliver Todd discuss the impact of the author's pioneering novel. |
| 056 | T S Eliot - The Wast Land | 19990207 | ||
| 057 | Laurence Olivier | 19990214 | ||
| 058 | Anton Chekhov - The Cherry Orchard | 19990221 | * 20060823, * 20070116, * 20071101, * 20080610, * 20090306 | Anton Chekhov and his play The Cherry Orchard are discussed by Michael Frayn, Janet Suzman and Donald Rayfield. Anton Chekhov and his play The Cherry Orchard are discussed by experts. |
| 059 | F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby | 19990228 | ||
| 060 | Satyajit Ray - Pather Panchali | 19990307 | * 20060828, * 20070119, * 20071106, * 20080723 | A major work of cinematic brilliance from India, Pather Panchali, comes under scrutiny. Ismail Merchant, Andrew Robinson, Lalip Mohan Joshi and Pamela Cullen discuss the renowned Indian film director's debut. |
| 061 | Constantine Cavafy - Waiting For The Barbarians | 19990314 | ||
| 062 | Richard Rogers - Pompidou Centre | 19990321 | * 20060922, * 20070208, * 20080926 | Hilary French and Deyan Sudjic assess the impact of this world-renowned British architect and Georges Pompidou Centre. Hilary French and Deyan Sudjic assess the impact of this world-renowned British architect and the famous Parisian landmark. |
| 063 | Virginia Woolf - The Waves | 19990328 | ||
| 064 | Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep | 19990404 | ||
| 065 | Ezra Pound - The Cantos | 19990411 | * 20060814, * 20070102, * 20071023 | The man himself supported Fascism, while Ezra's Cantos are considered to be amongst 20th century English poetry's greatest hits. The man himself supported Fascism, but the Cantos are considered to be amongst 20th-century English poetry's greatest hits. The poet was a supporter of Fascism, but his Cantos is considered to be one of the most significant literary works of the 20th century. |
| 066 | Joseph Conrad - Heart Of Darkness | 19990418 | * 20060911, * 20071113, * 20080717 | Owen Knowles, Dr Robert Hampson and John Milius discuss the paradox and moral ambiguity in this novel. Owen Knowles, Dr Robert Hampson and John Milius discuss the paradox and moral ambiguity of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". |
| 067 | Jean-luc Godard - A Bout De Souffle | 19990425 | * 20060725, * 20061211, * 20071003, * 20080620 | The film seen as the greatest work of French New Wave cinema is discussed by Jinette Vincendeau, Colin MacCabe and Mike Leigh. One of the greatest films of French New Wave cinema is discussed by Jinette Vincendeau, Colin MacCabe and Mike Leigh. |
| 068 | Mark Rothko - Light Red Over Black | 19990502 | * 20060919, * 20070205, * 20071121 | Mark Rothko's creation is all encompassing. But how much of his troubled life should be read into his work? |
| 069 | Anna Akhmatova - Requiem | 19990509 | * 20060912, * 20070129, * 20071114, * 20080708 | Writer Zinovy Zinik, poet Sarah Maguire and friend Tania Litvinova discuss Russian poet Anna Akhmatova and her poem Requiem. Writer Zinovy Zinik, poet Sarah Maguire and friend Tania Litvinova discuss the leading Russian poet of her time. |
| 070 | John Updike - The Rabbit Novels | 19990516 | ||
| 071 | Lucie Rie - Bowl | 19990523 | * 20060918, * 20070202, * 20071120, * 20080718 | Sir David Attenborough, Gail Robinson and Emmanuel Cooper celebrate the experimental and distinctive work of potter Lucie Rie. |
| 072 | Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum | 19990530 | * 20060915, * 20070201, * 20071119 | Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum was published in 1961. It immediately changed German and international fiction. Gunter Grass' The Tin Drum was published in 1961. It immediately changed German and international fiction. |
| 073 | Frank Lloyd Wright - Falling On Water | 19990606 | * 20060831, * 20070124, * 20071109, * 20080711 | The impact of the world-famous Pennsylvanian house and the wider influence of its brilliant and prolific American creator. |
| 074 | Andre Gide - Fruits Of The Earth | 19990613 | * 20070209 | Alan Sheridan and Patrick Pollard discuss André Gide, France's favourite rebel, his life and his book Fruits of the Earth. |
| 075 | Orson Welles - Citizen Kane | 19990620 | * 20060921, * 20070207, * 20071123, * 20080722 | Peter Bogdanovich, David Thompson and Jonathan Rosenbaum discuss Orson Welles and his masterpiece. Peter Bogdanovich, David Thomson and Jonathan Rosenbaum discuss Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane. |
| 076 | Rabindranath Tagore - Broken Song | 19990627 | * 20060821, * 20070112, * 20071030, * 20080701 | Tagore is one of India's leading figures of the century. William Radice and Jatinder Verma discuss his poem, Broken Song. Tagore is one of India's leading figures of the century. William Radice and Jatinder Verma discuss his famous poem. |
| 077 | Pablo Picasso - Les Demoiselles D'avignon | 19990704 | ||
| 078 | Doris Lessing - The Golden Notebook | 19990711 | ||
| 079 | George Orwell - 1984 | 19990725 | ||
| 080 | Toni Morrison - Beloved | 19990801 | * 20060822, * 20070115, * 20071031 | Helen Taylor and David Dabydeen discuss the extraordinary achievements of Toni Morrison and her exceptional novel Beloved. |
| 081 | Guillaume Apollinaire | 19990808 | * 20060816, * 20070109, * 20071025, * 20080617 | Michele Roberts says Apollinaire created 'a new kind of poetry' - reading him is like walking through the streets of Paris. Clare Hughes (Producer) Paul Dodgson (rdr) Michele Roberts (Speaker) Andrew Rothwell (Speaker). Michele Roberts says Apollinaire created 'a new kind of poetry' - reading him is like walking through the streets of Paris. |
| 082 | William Faulkner - The Sound And The Fury | 19990815 | ||
| 083 | Luis Bunuel - Belle De Jour | 19990822 | ||
| 084 | Saul Bellow - Hetzog | 19990829 | ||
| 085 | Samuel Beckett - Waiting For Godot | 19990905 | Experts and writers attempt to unravel Beckett's best-known work, which has fascinated theatregoers for 50 years with its complex layers of meaning. | |
| 086 | Irish Murdoch - Under The Net | 19990912 | ||
| 087 | Henry Moore - Atom Piece | 19990919 | * 20060802, * 20061219, * 20071011, * 20080618 | A portrait of Henry Moore, who was inspired to become a sculptor after hearing a talk on Michelangelo at Sunday School. |
| 088 | Jorge Luis Borges - Fictions | 19990926 | * 20060830, * 20070123, * 20071108, * 20080716 | The Argentinian book of short stories was published in 1941 and had a deep impact on 20th century literature. With AS Byatt. |
| 089 | Charles Rennie Mackintosh | 19991003 | ||
| 090 | John Steinbeck - The Grapes Of Wrath | 19991010 | * 20060817, * 20070110, * 20071026 | The 1930s American depression provided much inspiration for US writers. It lead to Steinbeck's epic work of protest fiction. The 1930s American depression provided much inspiration for US writers. It led to Steinbeck's epic work of protest fiction. |
| 091 | Marcel Proust - A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu | 19991017 | * 20060818, * 20070111, * 20071029, * 20080625 | The book that launched a thousand memories of sponge cakes, discussed by Edmund White, John Sturrock and Alain de Botton. A la recherche du temps perdu - the book that launched a thousand memories of sponge cakes. Panellists include Alain de Botton. |
| 092 | Arthur Miller - Death Of A Salesman | 19991024 | * 20060811, * 20070101, * 20071022 | Professor Christopher Bigsby and TV/theatre director David Thacker discuss Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winner. This play propelled Arthur Miller to the forefront of American dramatists, winning him the Pulitzer prize. |
| 092 | Sigmund Freud - To Sleep To Dream | 19991024 | 20000724 | |
| 093 | Robert Lowell - Life Studies | 19991031 | ||
| 094 | Dylan Thomas - Under Milk Wood | 19991107 | ||
| 095 | Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years Of Solitude | 19991114 | * 20060815, * 20070108, * 20071024 | Professor Jason Wilson and writer Patrick Kane discuss Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. |
| 096 | J R R Tolkein - Lord Of The Rings | 19991121 | ||
| 097 | Yasujiro Ozu - Tokyo Story | 19991128 | * 20060810, * 20070105, * 20071019, * 20080704 | 'The work of a man in love with film'. A seminal Japanese film of the fifties comes under scrutiny. An examination of the seminal 1950s Japanese movie Tokyo Story. |
| 098 | Akira Kurosawa - The Seven Samurai | 19991205 | ||
| 099 | Alfred Hitchcock - Rear Window | 19991212 | * 20060913, * 20070130, * 20071115, * 20080707, * 20090227 | John Russell Taylor and Neil Brand celebrate Hitchcock and, his favourite of his own films, Rear Window. John Russell Taylor, and Neil Brand celebrate Alfred Hitchcock and, his favourite of his own films, Rear Window. Biographer John Russell Taylor and composer Neil Brand celebrate one of the influential film director's personal favourites. John Russell Taylor and composer Neil Brand celebrate Hitchcock's own favourite movie. |
| 100 LAST | Buster Keaton - The General | 19991226 | * 20060914, * 20070131, * 20071116, * 20080709 | Film historian David Robinson and writer David Thomson celebrate Buster Keaton and his movie machine. Film historian David Robinson and writer David Thomson celebrate this immaculate vehicle for Keaton's stone-faced genius. `The General' is a tale of a man and his two true loves - a wondrous steam engine and his sweetheart - caught up in the American Civil War. Keaton's greatest comedy, it was also one of his most painful failures. Film historian David Robinson and writer David Thomson celebrate the film star and his movie machine. |
| Cartier-bresson - The Decisive Moment | * 20080710 | 'Half-way between a tightrope walker and a pickpocket'. A celebration of the Frenchman who united art and documentary. | ||
| Kandinsky - Composition Iv | * 20080623 | As a pioneer of the abstract style, Vassily Kandinsky was one of the most influential artists of the century. |