Funeral, i think it was 1965, seeing it on the television and just being told about the great man. The World Cup Final of 1966, where the nation stopped, and in our own household, my brother had a sort of flirtation with meningitis which was very dramatic, as you know, those can be fora minute, and then he was fine, thank goodness. But i watched the World Cup Final in a neighbours house and ijust remember in both those cases, in belfast, as i was, i was very aware of a national event, or at least it seemed to galvanise everybody and everything, and i was looking at images that said, the world is watching. Wow. And you mentioned belfast there. Some people, i think, are still surprised when they hear that you grew up in working class belfast. Uhhuh. And youve now written and directed a film called belfast. Uhhuh. How autobiographical a film is it . Well, its seen through the eyes of nine year old buddy. Its seen at 50 years distance from me. So inevitably, not everything happened absolut
So, this is radio drama studio. Hello, im john wilson. Welcome to this cultural life, a radio four podcast in which i ask leading creative figures about the influences and inspirations that have fired their artistic imagination. My guest in this episode is sir kenneth branagh. A huge talent, a star of stage and screen for more than four decades now. Hes an actor, director, writer and film maker whose credits range from hamlet to tenet, from henry v to thor. We spoke in the very atmospheric radio drama studio of bbc broadcasting house. Ken, welcome to this cultural life. Thank you. A show about cultural inspiration, cultural influences. What is your earliest cultural memory, do you think . Something that had a big impact . I think, early doors, i can remember Winston Churchills funeral, i think it was 1965, seeing it on the television and just being told about the great man. The World Cup Final of 1966, where the nation stopped, and in our own household, my brother had a sort of flirtat
So, this is a Radio Drama Studio. Hello, im john wilson. Welcome to this cultural life, a radio four podcast in which i ask leading creative figures about the influences and inspirations that have fired their artistic imagination. My guest in this episode is sir kenneth branagh. A huge talent, a star of stage and screen for more than four decades now. Hes an actor, director, writer and film maker, whose credits range from hamlet to tenet, from henry v to thor. We spoke in the very atmospheric Radio Drama Studio of bbc broadcasting house. Ken, welcome to this cultural life. Thank you. A show about cultural inspiration, cultural influences. What is your earliest cultural memory, do you think . Something that had a big impact . I think, early doors, i can remember Winston Churchills funeral, i think it was 1965, seeing it on the television and just being told about the great man. The World Cup Final of 1966, where the nation stopped. And in our own household, my brother had a sort of flir
english if i could borrow them. i liked the bright, shiny nature of them. i think i half heard in some distant part of my memory this name, olivier . anyway, i took them home and i was bowled over. already aware of sort of two extremes. in the olivier excerpts, which were from the soundtracks of the films, things like his account of hamlet s to be or not to be soliloquy which, in his brilliant film, has him atop a rocky outcrop, looking down onto the wild sea crashing against the rocks while he contemplate suicide. so he begins to be or not to be and goes through it, and william walton s music is soaring, shouting and trilling and supporting and the sound effects of the water and the wind and the waves. i mean, it s shakespeare plus a lot of bells and whistles in addition to olivier s beautiful voice. olivier: to be. or not to be. john gielgud by contrast, the ages of man being an account of his recital of great speeches from shakespeare that more
if i could borrow them. i liked the bright, shiny nature of them. i think i half heard in some distant part of my memory this name, olivier . anyway, i took them home and i was bowled over. already aware of sort of two extremes. in the 0livier excerpts which were from the soundtracks of the films things like his account of hamlet s to be or not to be soliloquy which, in his brilliant film, has him atop a rocky outcrop, looking down onto the wild sea crashing against the rocks, while he contemplate suicide. so he begins to be or not to be and goes through it, and william walton s music is soaring, shouting and trilling and supporting, and the sound effects of the water and the wind and the waves. i mean, it s shakespeare plus a lot of bells and whistles, in addition to 0livier s beautiful voice. olivier: to be. or not to be. john gielgud, by contrast, the ages of man being an account of his recital of great speeches from shakespeare that more or less