Main content

Anthony Minghella

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Anthony Minghella.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the playwright and film director Anthony Minghella. He grew up on the Isle of Wight in a close-knit family of Italian descent, and says that he has never felt truly English. It is not surprising therefore that his most successful film explores questions of identity and nationality. That film, The English Patient, won nine Oscars. It is, he admits, unashamedly moving, since for him the purpose of fiction is to "exercise the emotional muscle". Music, too, plays an important part in his life. He listens to music as he writes and the structure of many of his plays and film scripts are influenced by it.

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

Favourite track: Mache Dich, Mein Herze, Rein by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Collected Piano Works by Bach
Luxury: Piano

Available now

40 minutes

Last on

Fri 14 Nov 1997 09:05
大象传媒 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

John Julius Norwich

Next

Thelma Holt

See all episodes from Desert Island Discs

Music Played

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      St Matthew Passion - Mache dich, mein Herze

      Conductor: Karl Richter Orchestra: Georges Salminen/Munchener Bach Orchestra

      • St Matthew Passion.
      • Archiv.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Goldberg variations - Aria

    Soloist: Glenn Gould

    • The Goldberg Variations.
    • CBS Records.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 1 in G major - 3rd movement

    Soloist: Glenn Gould, Leonard Rose

    • Bach: The Sonatas For Viola Da Gamba.
    • CBS Records.

  • Van Morrison

    Here Comes The Night

    • No Gura No Method No Teacher.
    • Mercury.

  • John Martyn

    Couldn't Love You More

    • Couldn't Love You More.
    • Permanent Records.

  • Giacomo Puccini

    Tu, che di gel sei cinta (from Turandot)

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonica Conductor: Herbert von Karajan Soloist: Barbara Hendricks

    • Turandot.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Leos Jan谩膷ek

    String Quartet No. 1 'Kreutzer Sonata'

    Orchestra: Smetana Quartet

    • The Smetana Quartet Plays Dvorak & Janacek.
    • Testament.

  • Ella Fitzgerald

    Cheek to Cheek

    • The English Patient Soundtrack.
    • Fantasy.

  • Book Choice

    • Collected Piano Works - Bach

  • Luxury Choice

    • Piano

Credits

Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest Anthony Minghella

Broadcasts

  • Sun 9 Nov 1997 12:15
    大象传媒 Radio 4
  • Fri 14 Nov 1997 09:05
    大象传媒 Radio 4

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast