Jonathan Meades

Actor

January 21, 1947 (79 years)

Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK

Biography

Jonathan Turner Meades is an English writer and film-maker, primarily on the subjects of place, culture, architecture and food. His work spans journalism, fiction, essays, memoir and over fifty highly idiosyncratic television films, and has been described as "brainy, scabrous, mischievous", "iconoclastic" and possessed of "a polymathic breadth of knowledge and truly caustic wit".

Filmography

6.0

Mark Lawson Talks To

Self

A series in which arts presenter Mark Lawson has a 60-minute in-depth conversation with a notable figure.

N/A

Building Sights

Self - Presenter

Personal reflections on the best of 20th Century architecture.

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Travels with Pevsner

Series in which presenters explore architecture in the footsteps of Nikolaus Pevsner.

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Bunkers Brutalism and Bloodymindedness

Himself

Two-part documentary in which Jonathan Meades makes the case for 20th-century concrete Brutalist architecture in an homage to a style that he sees a brave, bold and bloodyminded. Tracing its precursors to the once-hated Victorian edifices described as Modern Gothic and before that to the unapologetic baroque visions created by John Vanbrugh, as well as the martial architecture of World War II, Meades celebrates the emergence of the Brutalist spirit in his usual provocative and incisive style. Never pulling his punches, Meades praises a moment in architecture he considers sublime and decries its detractors.

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Jonathan Meades: Off Kilter

Self

Jonathan Meades takes a quixotic tour of Scotland, a country which has intrigued him since he first encountered lists of towns only known from football coupons

5.8

Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dali

The Nihilist

A comic drama about the weird and wonderful world of Salvador Dali and the Surrealists. This film charts Dali's meteoric rise from obscurity to the world's most publicised artist.

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Jonathan Meades: Abroad Again

Himself

Jonathan Meades Explores architecture and the British psyche once again in this series.

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Victoria Died in 1901 and is Still Alive Today

Self

Jonathan Meades's personal, entertaining and deliberately provocative journey through Victorian architecture. From fantasy castles to the House of Parliament, he explores the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of Victorian society, using a combination of comic sketches, dance routines and riotous bad taste. Meades concludes that the British obsession with escapism and the desire to live in the past means Queen Victoria is still very much alive today.

9.0

Abroad Again in Britain

Self

Jonathan Meades gives a personal perspective of British history.

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Abroad in Britain

Himself

Series in which Jonathan Meades considers unusual homes or architecture around Britain.

10.0

Jonathan Meades on Jargon

In this provocative television essay, writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades turns his forensic gaze on that modern phenomenon that drives us all up the wall - jargon. In a wide-ranging programme he dissects politics, the law, football commentary, business, the arts, tabloid-speak and management consultancy to show how jargon is used to cover up, confuse and generally keep us in the dark. He contrasts this with the world of slang, which unlike jargon actually gets to the heart of whatever it's talking about even if it does offend along the way. With plenty of what is called 'strong language', Meades pulls no punches in slaying the dragon of jargon.

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tv-ssfbm ehkl Surreal Film

Surreal. Totally surreal. Well surreal. Double surreal. What does "surreal" mean? Does it mean anything? Documentary about Surrealism

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Jonathan Meades On France

Jonathan Meades scrutinises the 95 per cent of France that Brits drive through and don't notice en route to the 5 per cent that conforms to their expectation

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Further Abroad With Jonathan Meades

Set In a distant Present. In a land where there is no such word as 'ordinary' and where every.... AAhh.. AATCHOO!

6.5

Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism

Himself

Having previously investigated the architecture of Hitler and Stalin's regimes, Jonathan Meades turns his attention to another notorious 20th-century European dictator, Mussolini. His travels take him to Rome, Milan, Genoa, the new town of Sabaudia and the vast military memorials of Redipuglia and Monte Grappa. When it comes to the buildings of the fascist era, Meades discovers a dictator who couldn't dictate, with Mussolini caught between the contending forces of modernism and a revivalism that harked back to ancient Rome. The result was a variety of styles that still influence architecture today. Along the way, Meades ponders on the nature of fascism, the influence of the Futurists, and Mussolini's love of a fancy uniform.

9.0

Jonathan Meades - Magnetic North

Self

Jonathan Meades travels from the flatlands of Flanders to Germany's spectacular Baltic coast in an attempt to decipher exactly what northernness entails.

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Even Further Abroad With Jonathan Meades

My name is Jonathan Meades and this Series is called 'Even Further Abroad'. It peels off the drab grey overcoat of preconception to reveal the lime green posing pouch of reality beneath.

7.0

Jerry Building: Unholy Relics of Nazi Germany

Himself - Presenter

Jonathan Meades explores the architecture of Nazi Germany, from its holiday camps to its concentration camps.

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Franco Building with Jonathan Meades

Self

Writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades turns his gaze onto Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

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Joe Building: The Stalin Memorial Lecture

Himself - Presenter

Jonathan Meades examines the cult of Stalinism through its buildings and monuments.

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