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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...

As new film Tar hits UK cinemas, starring Cate Blanchett as a brilliant, highly-celebrated and highly-problematic conductor, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how genius is portrayed on-screen - and celebrated off-screen. Mark speaks to director Nick Moran about his 2008 film Telstar: The Joe Meek Story, which focused on another problematic musical genius, and to journalist Jon Ronson about 2...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore folk horror on screen. The genre is commonly associated with British film from the 70s, but Ellen and Mark investigate how it resonates across the globe and its resurgence over the last decade. Ellen speaks to the author and director of the folk horror documentary, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, Kier-La Janisse about the first folk horror films, the hallm...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the legacy of Rashomon, directed by Japanese cinematic master Akira Kurosawa. Mark examines Kurosawa's enduring screen legacy and why he is one of the most influential directors in film history. He talks to director Asif Kapadia, who is co-programmer of the BFI's upcoming Kurosawa retrospective. They discuss Kurosawa's filmography and what makes him one of th...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how a couple of Christmas TV traditions have developed over the years - the made-for-TV Christmas romcom and the festive ghost story. Inspired by The Hallmark Channel's first ever gay Christmas film, Ellen speaks to made-for-TV film aficionado Linda Holmes. They discuss what The Hallmark Channel is and why it has taken until 2022 for the channel to feature a...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode investigate whodunnits and murder mysteries on screen, ahead of the streaming release of new Knives Out mystery Glass Onion. Mark talks to Glass Onion director Rian Johnson about why whodunnits are so enduring, who left him star-struck on set, and the classic films and books that inspired his new mystery. And Ellen takes a deep dive into the camp 1973 cult whodunnit...

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode revisit Titanic in its 25th anniversary year, looking at James Cameron's epic blockbuster as both a disaster film and a story of immigration. Ellen explores the forgotten tales of immigration onboard the Titanic, talking to journalist Ray Hanania about the Syrian refugee stories only hinted at in the 1997 film. She also speaks to Sally El-Hosaini, director of new Net...

From the melodramatic gestures of silent movies to the immersive, intricate performances made possible by 21st century technology, acting styles have gone in and out of fashion. But no acting technique is more mythologised or misunderstood than The Method. Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones are getting under the skin of method acting to find out what it is, how it changed the face of American cinema,...

Inspired by the record-breaking success of huge action epic RRR, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the global popularity of contemporary Indian cinema, with the help of some of its key players. Ellen takes a closer look at the box office smash that is RRR. She talks to the film's director SS Rajamouli, who is responsible for three of the top five highest-grossing Indian films of all time. The...

Ellen and Mark take a turn into the exclusive gated community of housewives in cinema and television, ahead of the release of new film Don't Worry Darling. Ellen investigates why we're so drawn to housewives on screen, from original housewife satire The Stepford Wives to global reality TV phenomenon The Real Housewives, with the help of critic Anna Bogutskaya and Real Housewives exec producer Andy...

Ellen and Mark examine the legacy of the quintessential blonde bombshell ahead of the release of Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde. Mark speaks to Blonde’s director Andrew Dominik and US pop culture critic Angelica Jade Bastien about the very different personal connections both feel to Monroe and the reasons for her enduring star power. Meanwhile, Ellen explores some of the bombshells compared to Monro...