Mise-en-sc\u00e8ne

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Sidney Lumet And The Crisis Of Liberalism

20190715

20210823 (R3)

Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne of films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event.

Sidney Lumet embodied through his work the high tide and long decline of New Deal Liberalism. That may or may not have been his intention.

In films like The Hill and Network, he (and his screenwriters) brilliantly show humane, reasonable people under inhumane, illiberal pressure. After terrible ordeals, liberal order is re-established and progress resumes. The message is that justice in the end triumphs.

Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne films from the 1960s and 1970s.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The Meaning Of Sam

20190716

20210824 (R3)

Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event.

Sam Peckinpah films nowadays are almost always discussed in terms of their artistically depicted violence, where they fit in the Western genre, and the director's self-destructive alcoholism. But they are much, much more than that.

They are profound meditations on history. In this essay, Michael talks about his masterpieces, Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

Aside from their cinematic virtues, these are films about men who outlive their historical times and how they respond to that displacement.

Michael Goldfarb explores the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of Sam Peckinpah.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The Summation

20190717

20210825 (R3)

The word transgressive is one of the most overused by critics on BBC arts programmes. Jarman was the real deal - a genuinely transgressive genius.

A considerable amount of his aesthetic had been formed in New York at the time Michael was driving a cab. They had long conversations about the great NYC avant-garde filmmakers who he knew and whose work he summarised in his films.

This is an essay not just about Jarman but also the New York avant-garde scene of the 1970s, when the forms of film-making were multitudinous and the lifestyle of film-makers had more in common with the avant-garde of early 20th-century bohemian Paris than Hollywood.

Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of Derek Jarman.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The Ghost Of The Time

20190718

20210826 (R3)

What films give the best idea of what it was like to be an American starting out in adult life as the 1960s bled into the 1970s? No mainstream films ever really got to grips with the Vietnam/Woodstock zeitgeist. Not Apocalypse Now, or The Deer Hunter, or The Big Chill. They were big budget, big studio imaginings.

But the zeitgeist called for films made well outside the studio system. Withnail, Performance, Tracks, Cutter's Way. These four films - two American-based, two English-based - made outside the studio system - or mutilated by it - get at the anarchic heart of the era.

Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne films about Vietnam and Woodstock.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

The Women In The Cutting Room... And Elsewhere

20190719

20210827 (R3)

There were women making films in this decade, but very, very few. And they had to stay in their lanes.

The biggest impact women had on the 70s mise-en-sc耀ne was in the cutting room: Thelma Schoonmaker, who cut the Scorsese films, and Dede Allen, who was house editor for Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn and Warren Beatty.

They brought shape and pace and a second set of directorial eyes to the films the three men made in that decade which is still referred to as Hollywood's Last Golden Age.

Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of female editors and directors.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Sidney Lumet And The Crisis Of Liberalism	20190715	20210823 (R3)	Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne of films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event. Sidney Lumet embodied through his work the high tide and long decline of New Deal Liberalism. That may or may not have been his intention. In films like The Hill and Network, he (and his screenwriters) brilliantly show humane, reasonable people under inhumane, illiberal pressure. After terrible ordeals, liberal order is re-established and progress resumes. The message is that justice in the end triumphs. Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne films from the 1960s and 1970s. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
02	The Meaning Of Sam	20190716	20210824 (R3)	Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event. Sam Peckinpah films nowadays are almost always discussed in terms of their artistically depicted violence, where they fit in the Western genre, and the director's self-destructive alcoholism. But they are much, much more than that. They are profound meditations on history. In this essay, Michael talks about his masterpieces, Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Aside from their cinematic virtues, these are films about men who outlive their historical times and how they respond to that displacement. Michael Goldfarb explores the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of Sam Peckinpah. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
03	The Summation	20190717	20210825 (R3)	Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event. The word transgressive is one of the most overused by critics on BBC arts programmes. Jarman was the real deal - a genuinely transgressive genius. A considerable amount of his aesthetic had been formed in New York at the time Michael was driving a cab. They had long conversations about the great NYC avant-garde filmmakers who he knew and whose work he summarised in his films. This is an essay not just about Jarman but also the New York avant-garde scene of the 1970s, when the forms of film-making were multitudinous and the lifestyle of film-makers had more in common with the avant-garde of early 20th-century bohemian Paris than Hollywood. Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of Derek Jarman. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
04	The Ghost Of The Time	20190718	20210826 (R3)	Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event. What films give the best idea of what it was like to be an American starting out in adult life as the 1960s bled into the 1970s? No mainstream films ever really got to grips with the Vietnam/Woodstock zeitgeist. Not Apocalypse Now, or The Deer Hunter, or The Big Chill. They were big budget, big studio imaginings. But the zeitgeist called for films made well outside the studio system. Withnail, Performance, Tracks, Cutter's Way. These four films - two American-based, two English-based - made outside the studio system - or mutilated by it - get at the anarchic heart of the era. Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne films about Vietnam and Woodstock. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
05	The Women In The Cutting Room... And Elsewhere	20190719	20210827 (R3)	Michael Goldfarb remembers the political and social mise-en-sc耀ne films from the 1960s and 1970s, including work by Sam Peckinpah, Sidney Lumet and Derek Jarman. 'Mise-en-sc耀ne' means the arrangement of the scenery, props, on the set of a film or, more broadly, the social setting or surroundings of an event. There were women making films in this decade, but very, very few. And they had to stay in their lanes. The biggest impact women had on the 70s mise-en-sc耀ne was in the cutting room: Thelma Schoonmaker, who cut the Scorsese films, and Dede Allen, who was house editor for Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn and Warren Beatty. They brought shape and pace and a second set of directorial eyes to the films the three men made in that decade which is still referred to as Hollywood's Last Golden Age. Michael Goldfarb remembers the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne filmwork of female editors and directors. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.