Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

Author: BBC Radio 4 October 31, 1999 Duration: 35:42

Sue Lawley's guest this week is Ralph Fiennes. His first Hollywood film role was as the Nazi concentration camp leader in Schindler's List, a part which, he says, had a profoundly disturbing effect on him. His latest project, playing the jaded hero Onegin, is the culmination of a long held desire to bring Pushkin's novel to the big screen.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mir Ist So Wunderbar by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: A la Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Luxury: Pen and limited supplies of ink and paper


The archived conversations from Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000 offer a unique portal into a specific era, capturing the cultural and personal landscapes of the late twentieth century through a timeless format. This curated collection from BBC Radio 4 presents the original, unedited interviews, allowing listeners to hear the candid reflections of notable guests as they selected the eight pieces of music they would take with them into isolation. The choices themselves become a compelling narrative device, revealing unexpected passions, pivotal life moments, and the soundtracks to both private struggles and public triumphs. Within this podcast, the discussion naturally expands beyond mere musical preference, touching on themes of memory, identity, and resilience. Each episode is more than an interview; it is a biographical sketch painted in sound, where a chosen symphony or pop song can unlock a story of loss, love, or revelation. These archived sessions provide a raw and intimate listening experience, free from contemporary edits or updates, preserving the original tone and context of conversations with figures from the worlds of arts, politics, science, and society. Tuning into this archive is an act of historical listening, where the desert island premise becomes a profound catalyst for self-disclosure and a lasting study of the human condition through the universal language of music.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
Podcast Episodes
Luise Rainer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's guest this week is the actress Luise Rainer who recently appeared in the film The Gambler. In 1936 she won the first of two Oscars for her telephone scene in the film The Great Zeigfeld. Despite her success,…
Rt Hon Mo Mowlam MP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's castaway is Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam.Favourite track: Chicago by Frank Sinatra Book: The collected works by Seamus Heaney Luxury: A globe
Fay Maschler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's guest this week is the award-winning restaurant critic Fay Maschler. Twenty-seven years after she won a competition to write a column for the Evening Standard, she is still eating out three times a week, com…
Richard Curtis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's castaway is scriptwriter & Comic Relief founder Richard Curtis.Favourite track: And I Love Her by The Beatles Book: Guinness Book of Pop Luxury: Pizza Express in Notting Hill
Maria Ewing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:45
This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the opera singer Maria Ewing. Renowned for her acting ability as much as her voice - she portrayed Carmen as witty, clever and very very dangerous. Her Sheherazade was sex…
Nina Cassian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Sue Lawley's guest this week is the Romanian poet Nina Cassian. She was forbidden to return home, after a visit to New York, because of her outspoken critisism the Ceaucescu regime. The loneliness of the unwilling exile…
Andras Schiff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:25
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the pianist Andras Schiff. Born in Hungary, Bartok was the first composer he fell in love with and his music is still a regular part of his repertoire; despite making his fingers bleed. He…
Bill Bryson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:10
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the American travel writer Bill Bryson. His inspiration was his father; a great traveller who never quite made it to his intended destination. His best-selling books, Notes from a Small Is…
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:01
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Born in Germany, she came to England as a refugee and moved to India as a young bride where she wrote her first film screenplay in 1961 - in eight days. Si…
David Shepherd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:15
Sue Lawley's guest this week is the wildlife artist David Shepherd.Rejected from the Slade Art School on the grounds of having 'no talent whatsoever' he was taught to paint by a man he met at a cocktail party who told hi…