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Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at how popstars - and their fans - have been depicted in film and TV over the years. Mark speaks to record producer and documentary director Jeremy Dylan about some of the most memorable pop idols on screen, from A Hard Day’s Night to Spice World. And he talks to legendary songwriter Paul Williams about his dual role as both star actor and music composer on Bria...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a deep dive into Spike Lee’s incendiary 1989 drama about simmering racial tension in and around a Brooklyn pizzeria. We celebrate 35 years of a film that announced itself like a beat box on full blast. Set within a single inner city block in Brooklyn, New York City on the hottest day of the summer, the movie depicts racial tensions that simmer, as things look se...

The Great American Western is having a resurgence - from Yellowstone and Bass Reeves on TV, to Beyoncé's acclaimed country album Cowboy Carter. Kevin Costner is back in the director’s saddle too, with his Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 - the first in a planned series of epic Westerns - recently riding into cinemas. But has the cinematic Western adapted to the modern age or is it trapped in a...

In the past year, triangular love stories have loomed large in cinema - Past Lives, Challengers and Passages all had different angles on the spiky geometry of three-cornered relationships. Since Casablanca, these complicated love affairs have fascinated filmmakers and audiences alike. They can be the subject of romantic comedies, at the centre of a melodrama or the motive for murder in a thriller...

From early, Oscar-winning roles in The Deer Hunter and Sophie's Choice, through to Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep has earned a reputation as the greatest actress of our times. As the star receives an honorary Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode discuss the remarkable depth, breadth and legacy of her career. Ellen speaks to writer Michael Schulman, aut...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore whether films and TV can change the world. First up, Ellen talks to the award-winning independent filmmaker Eliza Hittman, whose critically acclaimed 2020 drama, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, charts the odyssey of 17 year-old Autumn, played by newcomer Sidney Flanigan from her home town in rural Pennsylvania, to her nearest accessible abortion clinic in New...

In 1974, Chinatown - now widely considered to be among the greatest films ever made - was nominated for 11 Oscars. Despite the creative confidence and freedom of the era, the 1970s were a time of tolerance for the morally questionable, or even downright illegal, behaviour of some of the powerful men creating these movies. Chinatown’s director, Roman Polanski, is the most totemic of those figures....

Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones examine the rich history of style and the moving image, from Pret A Porter to The Devil Wears Prada. Ellen talks to fashion historian and curator Amber Butchart about the close relationship between couture and cinema. They discuss the timeless influence on high fashion of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Powell & Pressburger's The Red Shoes, and the movies that inspir...

As rising British director Rose Glass (St Maud) brings us Love Lies Bleeding - a film about female bodybuilders - Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones examine the precedents, including the action stars of the 80s like Schwarzenegger who broke out of the gym and into the mainstream, as well as how gyms make a rich setting for drama and action. Mark explores what bodybuilders have brought to the screen ov...

Andrew Scott is the latest in a long line of actors to play Thomas Ripley - the seductive, sociopathic conman created by American crime writer Patricia Highsmith, and immortalised in films from Plein Soleil to The Talented Mr Ripley. Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at Ripley and other social strivers on screen, asking how these interlopers have insinuated themselves into our hearts and minds....

As the British Board of Film Classification publishes its new guidelines, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode delve into the long, chequered history of film censorship and classification in the UK. Mark speaks to BBFC President (and original Strictly Come Dancing winner) Natasha Kaplinsky about her role, and about her reaction to the new guidelines. And he discusses the Board's controversial history, a...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at divorce in film and TV, from His Girl Friday to The Split. Ellen looks at comedic takes on divorce, first discussing marriage, divorce and remarriage in the 1930s screwball comedy genre with critic Pamela Hutchinson. She then speaks to comedian Rob Brydon, who made what she considers to be the greatest TV programme about divorce - the BBC2 sitcom Marion and G...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a deep dive into the cinematic subconscious to explore dreams in film and television. Mark talks to Sandra Hebron, psychotherapist and head of screen arts at the National Film and Television School, about the origins and history of dreams in film. He also speaks to director Bernard Rose, best known for his 1992 film, Candyman. They discuss his debut film, Paperh...

Forty years on from 1984 and the release of the John Hurt-starring big screen adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore dystopian visions from British film and TV. Mark speaks to film critic Kim Newman about the literary roots of the dystopia, from 1984 to A Clockwork Orange. And he talks to actor Brian Cox about how, in a career that has included roles as Dr Hann...

In the year of a Presidential election, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode investigate the murky world of American Elections on screen. Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 Presidential election, inspired many film lovers to reconnect with two films - John Frankenheimer’s 1962 political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, and David Cronenburg’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s sci-fi horror The Dead Zo...

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...