Season 8

2007 · 10 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1Lauren Laverne kicks off a new series with Mark Kermode gaining a rare interview with Canadian country music star Neil Young. The acclaimed songwriter talks about his forthcoming album Chrome Dreams 2 and looks back at the changes of direction his music has taken over the past four decades. Elsewhere, Quentin Tarantino provides a masterclass in creating the perfect movie soundtrack, Andrew Graham-Dixon takes an aerial tour of Britain's land art, and Tim Samuels saturates a Scottish village with copies of this year's Booker-nominated novels to find out who gets the villagers' vote for the prize. Plus music from Oxford indie trio the Young Knives.
2Episode 2Lauren Laverne meets fashion designer Matthew Williamson ahead of his upcoming exhibition at the Design Museum, and Andrew Graham-Dixon visits the Tuscan city of Siena to assess its role in the Renaissance. In Reykjavik, Verity Sharp talks to Icelandic band Sigur Ros about their film Heima, which focuses on the group's series of unannounced gigs performed across their home country in 2006. Elsewhere, Tom Dyckhoff profiles some of Britain's best young architects and Mark Kermode reviews the week's movie releases.
3Episode 3BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner reviews the latest films which deal with the war on terror, including Lions for Lambs and Rendition. Verity Sharp talks to Cate Blanchett about Elizabeth: The Golden Age and her role as Bob Dylan in the Oscar-tipped I'm Not There. Plus fresh from the Electric Proms, Handsome Family perform live.
4Episode 4Tom Dyckhoff gets a sneak preview of the newly refurbished St Pancras International station in London, before embarking on a tour of Europe's most striking train stations. Elsewhere, Andrew Graham-Dixon visits the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille, while actor and Oscar-winning director Robert Redford talks to Mark Kermode about his latest drama Lions for Lambs. Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant , and Alison Krauss , bluegrass diva, discuss their new album Raising Sand, which is winning enormous critical acclaim. Plus a backstage report of life on the road with Canadian singer/songwriter Feist, and music from experimental pop singer Bishi.
5Stephen Poliakoff: A Culture Show Special[Episode 5] In a wide-ranging and frank interview, Stephen Poliakoff talks to Mark Kermode about the themes he explores in his works and how he has maintained his status as an auteur. There are also contributions from some of the leading actors who have worked with Poliakoff including Sir Michael Gambon, David Walliams, Rupert Penry-Jones, Ruth Wilson and Kelly Reilly. [Episode 5]
6Episode 6Tim Samuels examines the enduring power of Beowulf, an epic eighth-century Anglo-Saxon poem that has recently been dramatised into a film starring Ray Winstone. Elsewhere, actor and director Steve Buscemi talks to Mark Kermode about making Interview with Sienna Miller; Scottish electro-pop star Calvin Harris takes us behind the scenes of his UK tour; and Radio Times's Grace Dent casts her acid eye over the flood of US TV series starring British actors such as Bionic Woman, which features former EastEnders star Michelle Ryan. Plus, reviews of Ridley Scott 's American Gangster and the much-anticipated dramatisation of Monica Ali's novel Brick Lane.
7Episode 7Actor and director Kenneth Branagh talks to Mark Kermode about his latest films Sleuth and The Magic Flute. Elsewhere, PJ Harvey talks to Verity Sharp about her new album White Chalk, designer Peter Saville journeys to the heart of the Bauhaus movement in East Germany and John Waters, cult director of films such as Hairspray, teaches a bad-taste masterclass. Plus music from Ray Davies of the Kinks, and Scottish rock band Sons and Daughters.
8Episode 8Andrew Graham-Dixon marks the 250th anniversary of William Blake 's birth with a profile of the poet. painter and printer, while Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers perform their version of Blake's Jerusalem. Elsewhere, Tom Dyckhoff travels to Brazil to meet controversial architect Oscar Niemeyer ahead of his 100th birthday, Jimmy Carr attempts to tell the history of the joke.... in under ten minutes, and Mark Kermode talks to director Todd Haynes about the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There. Plus music from Richard Hawley.
9Episode 9Screen legend Dustin Hoffman talks to host Lauren Laverne about his enduring career and new film, Mr Magorium 's Wonder Emporium, while Oscar-winning director Ang Lee chats to Mark Kermode about his latest espionage thriller, Lust Caution. Elsewhere, comedian Russell Brand takes us behind the scenes of his debut performance at the Oxford Union; KT Tunstall performs a track from her new album Drastic Fantastic; and Radio Times's Grace Dent looks back at the year in which ITV, the BBC and Channel 4 eroded some of their viewers' trust.
10Episode 10Host Lauren Laverne casts her eye over the best bits of the series, which has seen her interview and jam with Sir Paul McCartney, point guns at Quentin Tarantino and flirt with Lou Reed, while Andrew Graham-Dixon took a helicopter journey over Britain to survey natural art galleries. Plus, revisiting exhibitions from the Chapman brothers and David Lynch; behind-the-scenes looks at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Biennale and the re-opening of London's Royal Festival Hall; and interviews with the Coen Brothers, Michel Gondry, David Cronenberg and Danny Boyle.