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Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore depictions of alcohol in film and television over the years, from the hilarity of Dudley Moore in Arthur, to the tragedy of Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. Mark is joined by Little White Lies magazine's Hannah Strong to celebrate some of the most iconic drinkers in cinema, from Bridesmaids to Jaws. And he speaks to actor Richard E Grant about playing one o...

As Bristol claymation legends Aardman's new film hits screens, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at the enduring appeal of the most painstaking and time-consuming art form conceivable - stop motion animation. Ellen talks to director Guillermo del Toro about his 2022 Oscar winner Pinocchio, as well as some of his favourite stop motion films, from Jason And The Argonauts to The Nightmare Before Ch...

At this festive time of year it’s hard to escape those classic double acts and their equally classic Christmas specials, think Morecambe & Wise, the Two Ronnies, French & Saunders. In this episode, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the origins, legacy and evolution of the double act across film and TV, both in front of and behind the camera. Guests include one half of a very famous do...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode celebrate the life and career of the much-loved Liverpudlian screenwriter and director Terence Davies, who died earlier in 2023 at the age of 77. From an astonishing trilogy of early short films, to his final feature, 2021’s Benediction, Terence Davies seamlessly blended personal recollections with wider essential truths. His subjects ranged from autobiographically i...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode don their red raincoats to celebrate the 50th anniversary of haunting British thriller Don't Look Now. Originally released in 1973, Don't Look Now is a spine-tingling psychodrama in which Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play a married couple grieving the death of their young daughter in Venice. Adapted from a story by Daphne du Maurier and directed by Nicolas Ro...

To celebrate 50 years of the Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at the unsung heroes of cinema, stunt artists. Mark talks to stunt choreographer on the Oscar winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, Daniel Mah, and stunt historian Scott McGee about the history of stunts in Hollywood and how the Hong Kong style influenced cinema. Ellen then speaks to jou...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look to the silver screen to finally answer a big question. Cats or dogs - which are best? In the cat camp, Ellen enlists the help of film critic and author of the definitive book Cats On Film, Anne Billson. They discuss their favourite film felines, from Alien to Catwoman. Ellen also speaks to director Ceyda Torun and cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann, who are the...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode delve into the relationship between gaming and the movies, with help from a crack squad of video game experts. Mark is joined by pop culture critic Kayleigh Donaldson, who helps guide him through the messy and complicated history of game adaptations on the big screen, from Super Mario Bros to Doom. He also speaks to Duncan Jones, director of the first video game film...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode hit the road to explore the lovers on the run genre, and celebrate 50 years of Terrence Malick's film debut, Badlands. Since the film’s arrival in 1973, this dreamy and twisted fairy tale has inspired countless tales of lovers escaping dead end towns for the endless road - but it wasn't the first time this story had graced the silver screen. Mark enlists the help of...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a look at offices and office politics on screen. Mark is joined by director Terry Gilliam who, back in 1985, created one of the most influential and iconic depictions of an on-screen office - Brazil. They discuss the Stanley Kubrick film which inspired Brazil's set design, Terry's own experience as an office drone and why his cult classic film still resonates to...

Ellen and Mark explore Brits abroad in the movies, taking a look at everything from 1972's Carry on Abroad to 2023's Cannes prize-winner How To Have Sex. Mark talks to Steve Chibnall, Professor of British Cinema at De Montfort University, about some of the most notable examples of Brits on holiday in 20th century cinema. They discuss the mid-century travelogue trend, what British holiday films can...

Latitude Festival boasts the biggest comedy lineup in the UK, so Ellen and Mark take a visit to discuss the best and worst of stand-up comedy on screen. Ellen and Mark and joined by three of the UK's biggest and brightest comedy stars from Latitude’s 2023 comedy line-up - Ania Magliano, Olga Koch and Romesh Ranganathan. Ania Magliano is an up and coming talent in the British comedy scene who, asid...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode celebrate the power of pop music on screen, 50 years on from the release of George Lucas' American Graffiti, with its hits-packed soundtrack. First opening on 11 August 1973, coming of age classic American Graffiti was arguably the original ‘jukebox movie’. The film plays out over a single night in 1962, in a town where everyone is listening to the radio, and pop mus...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode devote the final episode of the current series of Screenshot to the world’s most famous doll, ahead of the release of director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie.  Ellen is joined by critic Christina Newland for a look at how movies like Legally Blonde, Clueless and The House Bunny brought 'Barbiecore' to the screen, decades before the new live action film about the Mattel...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore sport on screen, from Field of Dreams to Ted Lasso. Ellen looks at the life lessons to be gleaned from baseball movies such as Field of Dreams, The Natural and A League of Their Own, with the help of film critic Simon Brew and the first woman to coach men's baseball in the US - trailblazer Justine Siegal. And Mark focuses on football in film and TV, speaking...

With its outrageous audience, pioneering programme, all night film marathons and a particularly vicious house cat, The Scala cinema in London’s King’s Cross blazed a flamboyant trail across the repertory cinema scene of the 70s, 80s and 90s. As Jane Giles recounts in her book on The Scala, director John Waters describes it as “a country club for criminals and lunatics and people that were high......

As Judy Blume’s classic YA novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is adapted for the big screen, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how a recent wave of coming of age films have looked at the subject from a teenage girl’s perspective. Ellen speaks to critic Hannah Strong about the coming of age films that made her feel seen as a teen, from The Virgin Suicides to Welcome To The Dollhouse. S...

In May 1983, Sony released the first camcorder for domestic consumers, the Betamovie. This milestone in amateur filmmaking, 40 years on, prompts Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode to explore how home movies are depicted and used in feature film. Ellen meets academic Liz Czach to find out about the history of home movies, amateur filmmaking and and how its role has shifted in today's world of the inter...

Ahead of International Workers' Day, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how the struggle for workers' rights and other movements for change have been depicted on screen. Ellen speaks to artist Jeremy Deller, who in 2001 restaged and filmed perhaps the most pivotal and violent event of the 1984/85 miners' strike - the confrontation between police and picketing miners in South Yorkshire, which h...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode discuss how restaurants are portrayed throughout cinema and the small screen, from Big Night to Ratatouille. Mark is joined by film and TV journalist Roxana Hadadi to discuss an overview of the best depictions of restaurants on the silver screen and to define which ingredients make for a good restaurant movie. And Ellen talks to Philip Barantini, the director of one-...

Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones take the scenic route through slow cinema - a genre of film that might challenge your attention span, but is almost guaranteed to change the way you watch. There is one particular film that’s inspired this week’s show, Chantal Akerman’s 3-and-a-half hour, slow moving masterpiece from 1975 - Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080, Brussels In December 2022, Jeanne...

The Long Good Friday elevated the British gangster film to a level not seen for a decade since Get Carter, and sees London gangster Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) and his girlfriend Victoria (Helen Mirren) embroiled in a scheme to redevelop parts of London’s Docklands with finance from a New York mafia boss. The film features some prophetic scenes in which Harold espouses a new future for London, a Lo...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the dark arts of the film trailer, 110 years on from the first ever trailer, for Broadway musical The Pleasure Seekers. Ellen talks to writer and trailer aficionado Matt Schimkowitz about the origins of the trailer, its development since the early days of cinema, and the Christopher Nolan film that totally changed the landscape. And Mark speaks to director Ed...

Brendan Fraser has been garnering standing ovations and awards nominations for his moving performance as a reclusive, morbidly obese teacher in Darren Aronofsky’s film The Whale. His physical transformation into the 600lb Charlie, who is fighting for his life and his relationship with his daughter, required Fraser to gain weight and wear gruelling, high tech prosthetics. But in the 21st century, i...

As director Damien Chazelle's sprawling period epic Babylon hits UK cinemas, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode travel back to the Wild West of Hollywood's early years.  Mark tries to sort fact from fiction with author Shawn Levy and critic Christina Newland, as they discuss Kenneth Anger's notorious gossip bible Hollywood Babylon, and explore some of the most progressive and scandalous movies being m...