BBC Four ran a series of programmes based around the fact that this year is the centenary of Graham Greene's birth.
Graham Greene is a writer who fascinates me, yet one about whom I've read very little - I've probably seen more of his films that read his books. I suppose that I'm deliberately not hurrying through his books so that I have plenty to read as I get older. Well something like that anyway.
BBC Four showed a few films, including the excellent The Third Man and the not so excellent The Human Factor. They also reshowed the famous Arena documentary from 1983, and the documentary narrated by Greene about The Other Graham Greene detailing another man who maskeraded as Greene around the world. There were also a couple of new programmes. One was an in depth piece examining the circumstances of the making of The Third Man. I'm sure that this will turn up on the next DVD release of this classic. The other Arena programme was a real oddity. One of the most famous things about Greene was his reluctance to allow himself to be photographed or, particularly, filmed. So when he spoke at the NFT in 1984 in one of their Guardian lectures, he wanted to ensure that they didn't videotape it, as was their habit. But it was filmed surreptitiously from a booth near the back, on a poor quality VHS camcorder. This second Arena documentary, was this tape. It was obviously a single camera position, but it actually makes for fascinating watching. Greene obvioulsy hated many of the productions based around his works, and I suppose it's a shame that he didn't get to see some of the more recent adaptations like The End of the Affair and The Quiet American - both of which are superior to their earlier screen incarnations. A great rare interview, and a surprising treat.
Incidentally, a throw away remark made by Greene in the NFT interview has revealed a series to me that I never knew existed. Called Shades of Greene, it was a series of short stories adapted by Thames TV's offshoort - Euston Films. That probably explains why the same company later adapted Monsigneur Quixote (which I note has recently been released on DVD). I'd love to see Shades of Greene given a DVD release.
Posted by adambowie at October 6, 2004 03:40 PM