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All Seasons

Season 1989

  • S1989E01 Anthony Burgess

    • March 21, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In the first of an occasional series of revivals of the classic television interview, Anthony Burgess talks to Jeremy Isaacs. Stirred into writing by the prospect of fatal illness, Anthony Burgess is now regarded as one of the world's most celebrated writers. His novels include A Clockwork Orange, Earthly Powers and his latest, Any Old Iron. The first volume of his autobiography Little Wilson and Big God has been widely recognised as a contemporary masterpiece. Long resident outside Britain, Burgess talks about his life and art - and his attitude to the country of his birth.

  • S1989E02 Merce Cunningham

    • April 5, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In an occasional revival of the classic television interview format, Jeremy Isaacs talks to Merce Cunningham. At the age of 70, Cunningham is perhaps the world's best-known choreographer of modern dance. Since 1953, when he founded his own company, he has been at the forefront of modern experimentation. Cunningham talks about the motivation behind his unflagging creative energy, and his collaborations with artists such as John Cage , Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

  • S1989E03 David Hare

    • May 16, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In the revival of a classic television interview format, Jeremy Isaacs talks to playwright and film director David Hare. From Knuckle to Licking Hitler and Plenty, Hare's work has explored the morality of public and private life in post-war Britain. His current National Theatre play A Secret Rapture and two new films soon to be released, Paris By Night and Strapless, extend these themes of public and personal morality into the Thatcher era.

  • S1989E04 George Steiner

    • May 31, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In a revival of the classic television format, Jeremy Isaacs interviews George Steiner , one of Europe's most eloquent intellectuals.

  • S1989E05 Bernado Bertolucci

    • September 26, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In a revival of the classic interview format, Jeremy Isaacs talks to Bernado Bertolucci , director of such controversial films as The Conformist, 1900 and Last Tango in Paris - said by one critic to have 'altered the face of cinema'. With the unprecedented acclaim of the nine Oscars given to The Last Emperor, has the revolutionary finally joined the establishment?

  • S1989E06 JG Ballard

    • November 7, 1989
    • BBC Two

    In one of a series of occasional revivals of the BBC's classic Face to Face series, first broadcast in 1989, Jeremy Isaacs talks to science writer JG Ballard about his life, writing and fascination with the violence of the 20th century.

Season 1990

  • S1990E01 Oliver Sacks

    • January 24, 1990
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to American neurologist Oliver Sacks , author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. In this interview he describes how he has turned the case history into literature.

  • S1990E02 James Fenton

    • March 20, 1990
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to poet, critic and journalist James Fenton , who reported the conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia and whose poetry combines political awareness with a craftman's eye for detail.

  • S1990E03 Roger Corman

    • May 24, 1990
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs comes face to face with Roger Corman , maker of over 200 'B' movies with titles like Gods of Shark Reef and The Man with the X-ray Eyes. Current Hollywood talents such as Scorsese, Coppola, De Niro and Nicholson all made their debuts with Corman, and his instinct for the tacky and absurd in American life has earned him cult status among critics.

  • S1990E04 Oliver Stone

    • September 11, 1990
    • BBC Two

    American film-maker Oliver Stone , director of Platoon and Wall Street, talks to Jeremy Isaacs about his career and politics. Producer Julian Birkett

  • S1990E05 Professor Hans Eysenck

    • October 16, 1990
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs comes Face to Face with one of the world's most influential and controversial psychologists, Professor Hans Eysenck.

  • S1990E06 Edmund White

    • November 20, 1990
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs is Face to Face with American writer Edmund White , author of the novel A Boy's Own Story, whose play Trios has just opened in Britain.

Season 1991

  • S1991E01 David Attenborough

    • June 17, 1991
    • BBC Two

    David Attenborough , television presenter and pioneer of natural history programmes, is Face to Face with Jeremy Isaacs.

Season 1992

  • S1992E04 Derek Jarman

    • March 15, 1993

    The filmmaker in conversation with Sir Jeremy Isaacs.

Season 1993

  • S1993E01 Peter Hall

    • September 22, 1993
    • BBC Two

    Face to Face with Sir Peter Hall. Jeremy Isaacs talks to one of the great figures of contemporary British theatre.

  • S1993E02 Martin Amis

    • October 25, 1993
    • BBC Two

    Novelist Martin Amis, author of Money and London Fields, comes face to face with Jeremy Isaacs.

  • S1993E03 David Hockney

    • November 10, 1993
    • BBC Two

    Painter David Hockney talks to Jeremy Isaacs.

  • S1993E04 Kirk Douglas

    • December 13, 1993
    • BBC Two

    Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas, star of Spartacus and Lust for Life, comes face to face with Jeremy Isaacs. Editor Michael Poole

Season 1994

  • S1994E01 Joseph Heller

    • January 17, 1994
    • BBC Two

    American novelist, Joseph Heller (Catch 22), is interviewed by Jeremy Isaacs. Editor Michael Poole

  • S1994E02 Steven Spielberg

    • January 31, 1994
    • BBC Two

    One of the most successful film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, talks about his career to Jeremy Isaacs

  • S1994E03 Billy Connolly

    • February 28, 1994
    • BBC Two

    For decades Billy Connolly has been one of Britain's most popular comedians. Tonight he talks to Jeremy Isaacs about stand-up comedy, bodily functions and the night someone set fire to his hair.

  • S1994E04 V S Naipaul

    • May 16, 1994
    • BBC Two

    A rare television interview with one of Britain's greatest writers, V S Naipaul. Best known for his novels A House for Mr Biswas , A Bend in the River (winner of the Booker Prize), and The Enigma of Arrival, he talks with Jeremy Isaacs about his life and work.

  • S1994E05 Maya Angelou

    • June 6, 1994
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs asks the black American writer Maya Angelou about her life, her writing and her hopes for the future. What unfolds is a frank and sometimes shocking account of her journey to becoming an established author. The black American writer Maya Angelou won international acclaim with the publication of the first volume of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an eloquent memoir of a tragic childhood in the deep south. Raped by her mother's boy-friend at 8, she became mute for five years. Despite these harrowing accounts, her writing is full of hope, providing inspiration for a whole generation.

  • S1994E06 Jeanette Winterson

    • June 28, 1994
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to award-winning writer Jeanette Winterson, who discusses her love of writing and reflects on the ways in which her upbringing and sexuality have influenced her work. Winterson also explains her desire to avoid being categorised, either in terms of her work or her life, and the ways in which her non-conformist style of writing and 'taboo' subject matter reflect this and have, perhaps, contributed to her success.

  • S1994E07 Ken Loach

    • September 19, 1994
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs comes Face to Face with Ken Loach , one of Britain's best known and most provocative film-makers, who talks about his new film Ladybird Ladybird.

  • S1994E08 Salman Rushdie

    • October 10, 1994
    • BBC Two

    Novelist Salman Rushdie talks to Jeremy Isaacs.

Season 1995

  • S1995E01 Allen Ginsberg

    • January 9, 1995
    • BBC Two

    In his occasional interview series for The Late Show, Jeremy Isaacs meets US beat generation poet Allen Ginsberg , who describes his working and personal relationships with literary figures such as William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac , and the effect drug-taking has had on his work.

  • S1995E02 Arthur Miller

    • February 13, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs interviews American playwright Arthur Miller , as his latest play Broken Glass transfers to London's West End and A View from the Bridge begins a national tour.

  • S1995E03 Ken Dodd

    • March 13, 1995
    • BBC Two

    First transmitted in 1995, a special edition of The Late Show sees comedian Ken Dodd talking to Jeremy Isaacs about his career and unique approach to comedy. In this rare television interview, Dodd shares stories of his humble beginnings in 1930s Liverpool, his big break in 1965 at the London Palladium and his performance to the royal household at Windsor Castle. He also talks about his fears, regrets and philosophy of life.

  • S1995E04 Lauren Bacall

    • March 20, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaccs interviews Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall in this Late Show special. They discuss her film career, her two volumes of autobiography and her role in Friedrich D'Cirrenmatt's The Visit at this year's Chichester Festival.

  • S1995E05 Anthony Hopkins

    • September 18, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs comes face to face with Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins.

  • S1995E06 John Berger

    • October 2, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks candidly to John Berger , the Booker Prize-winning novelist and art critic.

  • S1995E07 Stephen Sondheim

    • October 9, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim about his work - which includes West Side Story, Follies and Sweeney Todd - his views and his life.

  • S1995E08 Martha Gellhom

    • October 16, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to Martha Gellhom , journalist, novelist and one of the great war correspondents of the century.

  • S1995E09 Norman Mailer

    • October 23, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to Norman Mailer , one of America's leading novel and non-fiction writers, whose personal life, as well as his work, has often kept him in the public eye.

  • S1995E10 Paul Eddington

    • October 30, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to actor Paul Eddington about his eminent career in both television and the theatre, and his battle against skin cancer.

  • S1995E11 Germaine Greer

    • November 6, 1995
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to feminist writer Germaine Greer.

Season 1997

  • S1997E01 Harold Pinter

    • January 21, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs opens a six-part series of interviews with guests from the arts and media by talking with playwright Harold Pinter. The writer speaks about his childhood in London's Hackney, and images and events which have inspired some of his most powerful dramas.

  • S1997E02 Kate Adie

    • January 28, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks with the BBC's chief news correspondent Kate Adie about her coverage of conflicts around the world.

  • S1997E03 Alan Parker

    • February 4, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to British-born film director Alan Parker , whose latest movie Evita follows a number of box office hits, including The Commitments, Mississippi Burning and Midnight Express. Parker talks about Hollywood, his career and violence in films, and recalls his childhood in London's Islington.

  • S1997E04 Roddy Doyle

    • February 11, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to novelist Roddy Doyle , author of The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van, and the Booker Prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

  • S1997E05 Diana Rigg

    • February 18, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Sir Jeremy Isaacs talks to actress Dame Diana Rigg, who became an overnight success when she starred as Avengers girl Emma Peel in the 1960s, and went on to award-winning lead roles in Medea, Mother Courage and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  • S1997E06 Bob Monkhouse

    • February 25, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Jeremy Isaacs talks to comedy veteran Bob Monkhouse about the difficulties of his childhood in Kent and the contemporary comedians he admires.