Alan Bennett
Also Known As: not available
Biography: Alan Bennett is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research medieval history at the university for several years. His collaboration as writer and performer with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival brought him instant fame. He gave up academia, and turned to writing full time, his first stage play Forty Years On being produced in 1968. His output includes The Madness of George III and its film incarnation The Madness of King George, the series of monologues Talking Heads, the play The History Boys, and popular audio books, including his readings of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie-the-Pooh. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alan Bennett, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Department: Writing
Place of Birth: Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK
Adult: No
Birthday: May 09, 1934
Age: 91 years old
Gender: Male
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Known For:
In Love and War
Overview: After teenage ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway takes shrapnel in the leg during World War I, he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a beautiful older nurse at the hospital where he's sent to recover. Their affair slowly blossoms, until Hemingway boldly asks Agnes to be his wife and journey to America with him.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-12-18
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Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Overview: The Secret Policeman benefit shows for Amnesty International brought together comedy grand masters - from Python and Beyond the Fringe - and performers then relatively unknown, like Rowan Atkinson. Narrated by Dawn French, the programme includes interviews with many of the comedians and musicians who took part: John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Sting, Lenny Henry and many more. The shows and their stars had a huge effect on modern British comedy. There are few comics today whose careers have not been heavily influenced by the anarchic and surreal humour of these events.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-12-09
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Beyond the Fringe
Overview: A TV version of the stage show originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe (August 1960) and in London (Fortune Theatre, May 1961) and Broadway (October 1962).
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1964-12-12
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Pleasure at Her Majesty's
Overview: The first of the Amnesty International comedy benefit galas. The title is a play on the phrase at Her Majesty's pleasure (the show was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre, London). This show came to be considered part of the Secret Policeman's Ball series of shows that it inspired, although it pre-dated the first show in the series by three years. The event was organized by a team of three: Monty Python member John Cleese, Amnesty's Assistant Director Peter Luff and Transatlantic Records executive Martin Lewis. It featured the cream of Britain's comedic talent of the era, setting a precedent that would inspire many subsequent Amnesty galas...
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-12-29
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The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
Overview: Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.
Genres: Comedy Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-03-01
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Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook
Overview: A documentary about the life of British satirist and founder of 'Private Eye' Peter Cook.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-12-19
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The Willows in Winter
Overview: Hailed as the "rightful heir" to "The Wind in the Willows", William Horwood's critically acclaimed sequel comes to magical life in this beautifully animated feature-length classic. Join four of the best-loved characters in children's literature for their heart-warming and hilarious new adventure along the Riverbank, narrated by Academy Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave.
Genres: Animation Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-12-26
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The Wind in the Willows
Overview: Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself.
Genres: Family Animation Adventure Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-12-24
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Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
Overview: One of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, Eric Ravilious, is killed in a plane crash while on commission as Official War Artist in Iceland in 1942. His life is as compelling and enigmatic as his art, set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspire him. This film brings to life this unique and still grossly undervalued British artist caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, whose legacy largely sank without trace, until now…
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-07-01
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Selling Hitler
Overview: In 1981, Gerd Heidemann, a war correspondent and reporter with the German magazine Stern, makes what he believes is the literary and historical scoop of the century: the personal diaries of Adolf Hitler. Over the next two years, Heidemann and the senior management figures at Stern secretly pay 10 million German marks to a mysterious 'Dr Fischer' for the sixty volumes of 'Hitler's diaries'. However, to the dismay of all, it is discovered after the publication of first extract that the diaries are crude forgeries, faked by Stuttgart criminal Konrad Kujau.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-06-11
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Stewart Lee: Tornado
Overview: The Bafta-winning Stewart Lee performs his latest touring show, focusing on a bizarrely erroneous description of his work on Netflix and a mind-boggling review from Alan Bennett.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-09-29
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Books: The Last Chapter?
Overview: Will the rise of electronic books mark the final chapter in the love story between traditional books and their readers? Alan Yentob discusses the subject with a host of writers.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-12-13
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Intensive Care
Overview: When Denis Midgley's father is rushed to hospital, Midgley drops everything to be by his side. They've never really got on, so Midgley wants to be sure he's there if his father ever regains consciousness. As he hates his job as a schoolteacher, and his home-life with his wife, her senile mother and their insolent teenage son, he has no qualms about lingering around the hospital. But as days turn into weeks, his father obstinately refuses to 'slip away', and Denis' motivation for staying by his father's bedside has more and more to do with Valery, a young nurse.
Genres: Comedy Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-11-09
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Afternoon Off
Overview: 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.
Genres: Drama Romance TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-02-03
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Talking Heads
Overview: Six monologues tell the stories of six different repressed souls: a man dominated by his mother, a vicar's wife, an inveterate letter writer, a hopeful actress, a recently widowed woman, and an elderly shut-in.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-04-19
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The Madness of King George
Overview: Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.
Genres: Comedy Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-12-28
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Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
Overview: Animation telling of the adventures of Mouse, Mole, Rat and Owl. Before giving a Twelfth Night party, Mouse makes a snowmole for Mole. In a dream, Snowmole takes him to a land where his every wish is granted. But dreams can become nightmares and wishes can sometimes backfire!
Genres: Animation TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-12-16
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Little Dorrit
Overview: A drama based on the novel by Charles Dickens which tells the story of Arthur Clennam who is thrown into a debtor's prison. There he meets a young seamstress whose father has been imprisoned for twenty-five years. A film originally released in two parts.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-12-11
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Alice in Wonderland
Overview: Alice in Wonderland (1966) is a BBC television play based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was directed by Jonathan Miller, then most widely known for his appearance in the long-running satirical revue Beyond the Fringe.
Genres: Family Fantasy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-12-28
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The Young Visiters
Overview: The Young Visiters, written in twelve days by nine-year-old Daisy Ashford in 1890, is a surreal blend of naiveté, precocious perception and inadvertent social satire.
Genres: TV Movie Comedy Drama Family Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-12-26
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Dreamchild
Overview: Eighty-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honor of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice had a close friendship with the writer, and their relationship was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. However, as Alice reflects on her experiences with the author, she realizes the complexity of their bond has had lasting, deeply felt ramifications.
Genres: Drama Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-10-04
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The Native Hue of Resolution
Overview: A documentary celebrating 20 years of the work of Kaleidoscope, an organisation devoted to the preservation of archive television.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-12-21
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Alan Bennett's Diaries
Overview: Documentary about British author and actor Alan Bennett. Recorded over the course of a year, the film features a number of intimate encounters with Bennett, including a trip to New York to receive an award from the city's public library, a national radio appearance and a visit to his local community-run library in Primrose Hill, London. Reflecting on key periods of his life as well as providing observations on current events.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-11-16
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The Importance of Being Morrissey
Overview: Featuring interviews by famous fans and followers, this rare documentary encapsulates the essence of the controversial, enigmatic, and deliciously melancholic bard.
Genres: TV Movie Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-06-08
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National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Overview: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the National Theatre of Great Britain presents National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage, bringing together the best British actors for a unique evening of unforgettable performances, broadcast live from London to cinemas around the world.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-11-02
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Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Overview: A repressed night-school teacher, secretly homosexual, struggles to cope with his demanding, eccentric mother.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-12-02
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My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
Overview: 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.
Genres: TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-01-16
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Being Alan Bennett
Overview: Documentary providing a rare glimpse into the life of Alan Bennett, one of the UK's best-loved writers, with interviews, archive footage and new work.
Genres: TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-12-05
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Every Home Should Have One
Overview: Teddy works for a large advertising company. Given the seemingly impossible task of selling frozen porridge, he decides to produce commercials that make the product seem sexy. This leads him to confrontation with the "Keep Television Clean" movement, of which his wife is a senior member.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1970-03-05
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Long Shot
Overview: Against the backdrop of the 1977 Edinburgh Film Festival, two low-budget filmmakers attempt to talk up some finance as they hunt for cash, cast and ‘name director’ Sam Fuller to shoot their Aberdeen-set oil-boom adventure ‘Gulf and Western’. Along the way, they encounter a plethora of filmmaking luminaries including Wim Wenders, Stephen Frears, John Boorman, Bill Forsyth and Alan Bennett.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-11-17
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A Visit from Miss Prothero
Overview: Arthur Dodsworth has recently retired. He lives alone except for his budgie and memories of his late wife Winnie. One afternoon his nap is interrupted by the doorbell; his former secretary, Peggy Prothero, has come to visit. A brash, charmless woman who seems to take no pleasure in anything but putting people down, Miss Prothero wants to fill her old boss in on all the changes that have taken place at work since he left. Dodsworth isn't very curious, and as the visit wears on it puts a little strain on his politeness and patience. Miss Prothero doesn't enjoy it much either, but lingers on as there's a bombshell she wants to drop. The docketing system Dodsworth introduced thirty years earlier, which revolutionised the firm, has been scrapped by her adored new boss Mr Skinner. The crowning achievement of Dodsworth's career has just become obsolete, and she wants to tell him all about it.
Genres: Drama Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-01-11
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Portrait or Bust
Overview: Alan Bennett's personal overview of art, filmed in the atmospheric location of a Leeds art gallery.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-04-04
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Dinner at Noon
Overview: Writer Alan Bennett visits a hotel in the north of England, observes the guests, and reminisces about his experiences of staying in boarding-houses as a child.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-08-08
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Did I Say Hairdressing? I Meant Astrophysics
Overview: This animated clip comments on different educational opportunities for boys and girls, and points out the positive impact of making all opportunities available to both sexes.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-01-01
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The Lady in the Van
Overview: The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-10-30
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The Merry Wives of Windsor
Overview: When Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is beseiged by suitors.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-12-28
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Julie Walters and Friends
Overview: Julie Walters stars in new sketches by four accomplished writers who helped make her famous.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-12-29
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The Drinking Party
Overview: An interpretation of Plato's Symposium as a picnic organised by a University don for his students. Each guest is asked to explain the nature of love before the Don, through a series of questions, reaches a unifying conclusion.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1965-11-14
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Stop All the Clocks: W.H. Auden in an Age of Anxiety
Overview: Thirty years after his BBC film The Auden Landscape, director Adam Low returns to the poet and his work. Following surges of popularity - from featuring in Four Weddings And A Funeral to being the poet New Yorkers turned to after 9/11 - Low reveals how Auden’s poetry helps us to better understand the 21st century and the tumultuous political climate in which we now live.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-09-30
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Alan Bennett: 90 Years On
Overview: In May 2024, Alan Bennett turned 90. This film celebrates the life and long career of one of Britain's best-loved playwrights. Part frank reflection on the ageing process, part remembrance of the joys of youth, Alan is aided by the films he has written and the documentaries he has presented in his quest to understand the person he has become.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2024-12-13
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