Francis Bacon

Adam Clayton retraces a trip artist Francis Bacon took to Ireland in 1929, painting a fresh picture of Bacon's relationship with the land of his birth.

For No Good Reason a film about Ralph Steadman. Johnny Depp guides the visually stunning journey, smashing narrative conventions, moving seamlessly from interview to animation and in the finest Gonzo tradition questions of witness and authenticity are challenged. Steadman's art is for the first time animated, including illustrations from Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas. Featuring Richard E Grant, Terry Gilliam, Bruce Robinson and with music from Slash, The All American Rejects, Jason Mraz, Crystal Castles, Ed Hardcourt and Beth Orton. A touching and at times funny film about honesty, friendship and the ambition driving an artist. This is a true record of the demise of the 20th Century counterculture and hipster dream with Ralph Steadman the last of the Gonzo visionaries.

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

A profile of British painter, Francis Bacon.

A collection of BBC archive material about painter Francis Bacon, including a previously unseen interview recorded in 1965.

An exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Francis Bacon, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith, Terry Southern, and William Burroughs Jr.

In his London studio, Francis Bacon discusses his work and approach with David Sylvester. His representations of the human figure in portraits and triptychs link him to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso, who also portrayed the intensity of life that Bacon calls “the brutality of fact.”

Francis Bacon revolutionised figurative painting in the 20th century. The English painter unmasked his subjects in a provocative and ruthless manner. Deformed bodies, grimacing faces and the materiality of colour make us aware of brutality and sexuality, existential abysses and the fears of existence. Author Melvyn Bragg accompanies the painter throughout his day. This begins in his London atelier, leads us on to his favourite pub and ends up in gambling club in Soho.

Includes 'portraits' of Marianne Faithfull, Thelonious Monk and 28 others, some known, some less so.

Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait explores the recurring themes in Bacon’s work, his influences and his life. The documentary is accompanied by a haunting score specially composed by Edwin Astley for the production.