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BBC Radio 4
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Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode guide us through the expanding universe of the moving image revealing fascinating links and hidden gems from cinema and TV to streaming and beyond.

  1. 5 DAGE SIDEN

    Hitmen

    The last few years have seen a number of new entries on the cinematic hit list, from David Fincher’s The Killer to Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. TV has also seen its fair share of hitmen in the last year; the reboot of the 2005 Brad and Angelina film Mr and Mrs Smith; Eddie Redmayne donning various elaborate disguises in a Day of the Jackal update, as well as Black Doves. It seems these days hitmen are among TV and film’s most wanted. Mark talks to critic Christina Newland about the history of crime cinema's enigmatic icon, exploring everything from cult oddities such as Branded to Kill to the female assassin of the 90's such as Nikita and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Ellen goes deep on cult classic Le Samouraï with Kill List and A Field in England director Ben Wheatley and academic Ginette Vincendeau; they discuss the relationship between hitmen and samurai in cinema. Produced by Queenie Qureshi-Wales A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.

  2. 24. JAN.

    Mike Leigh

    Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the visionary world of veteran British filmmaker Mike Leigh, as he returns with Hard Truths - his first film in six years. Born in 1943 and raised in Salford, Leigh started his career in the theatre, before moving to TV in the 1970s, making a string of plays and films for the BBC.  Since his very first film Bleak Moments in 1971, Mike Leigh has been at the cutting edge of British screen culture, creating a diverse body of work which ranges from the exquisitely excruciating 1970s comedy of manners Abigail’s Party, to his epic biopic of the 19th century painter Mr Turner.  Ellen attempts to get to grips with Leigh’s singular creative process - which involves assembling a group of actors and getting them to research and develop their characters in detail. She speaks to Mike Leigh himself about how he approaches each of his films, and about the unmade big budget project he’d still like to see realised. Mark learns about an actor’s role on a Mike Leigh project - speaking to Hard Truths lead actor Marianne Jean Baptiste, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in Leigh’s 1996 film Secrets & Lies. And Mark also speaks to American independent filmmaker Sean Baker - whose latest film Anora is shaping up as a major Oscar contender - about the profound impact Leigh's 1993 film Naked had on his career. Produced by Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.

  3. 17. JAN.

    Time Travel

    How does film and TV make time travel real? Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a quantum leap into the world of time travel and time loops on screen, from Back To The Future to Groundhog Day. Mark speaks to theoretical physicist Sean Carroll about how movies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Interstellar have handled the science of time travel - and whether it really is just the stuff of fantasy. And he talks to Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson about the dramatic allure of playing with time, and about Rian's 2012 film Looper, which starred Bruce Willis as a criminal sent back to the past to be eliminated by his younger self. Meanwhile, Ellen explores a sub-genre less concerned with mechanics and physics, and more with emotion and moral dilemmas - the time loop story. She speaks to Black Doves screenwriter Joe Barton about his time loop TV series The Lazarus Project. And film critic Anne Billson runs her through some examples of the genre she finds most - and least - captivating, from Palm Springs to About Time. Produced by Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.

  4. 10. JAN.

    Therapists

    Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how therapists have been portrayed on screen throughout cinema and television history. From the benign care of Claude Rains’ Dr Jaquith in Now, Voyager (1942), and the neuroses of Woody Allen, to the deadly Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991), they survey the archetypes, the foibles, and the dramatic potential of the psychotherapist - both fictional and real. Mark speaks with Richard Hughes, the TV producer and director turned psychotherapist, about his favourite screen therapists. And actor and writer Brett Goldstein talks about his Emmy nominated TV show, Shrinking, which features a therapist going off the rails. Ellen speaks to Dr Orna Guralnik from the TV show Couples Therapy about what it's like conducting real therapy sessions on screen and what film and TV gets wrong about its depiction of therapy. ‘Therapy Speak’ is everywhere on social media, but it’s also present in many film and TV shows - Ellen discusses its rise with journalist Billie Walker. Produced by Freya Hellier A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    42 min.

  5. 18.11.2024

    Musicals

    In the year that Jacques Demy’s beloved Umbrellas of Cherbourg turns 60, Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones reflect on their favourite aspects of the screen musical. According to some, we’re currently in the midst of a movie musicals revival, with Jon M Chu’s Wicked hot on the heels of Emila Perez and Joker: Folie à Deux, but will any of them match what Ellen considers to be the pinnacle of the form, the 1950s Hollywood musical? Her love of the classic MGM musicals primed Ellen to be a huge fan of the TV show Crazy Ex Girlfriend when it came along. This is the musical sitcom that took all of these essential elements of the 1950s Hollywood musical, then recombined them with a very 21st Century approach to relationships and mental health. Ellen speaks with Crazy Ex Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom about Disney, writing jokes for the screen, and spontaneous singing. But it’s essential to pay proper tribute to the classics, and in particular the work of American lyricist and producer Arthur Freed. Ellen sat down with writer, filmmaker and actor Manuela Lazic to talk about Freed’s masterpiece, 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain which stars Gene Kelly, who also co-directed with Stanley Donen. And Mark meets Janis Pugh, director of Chuck Chuck Baby, a low budget, British indie charmer set in a chicken processing factory that is deeply influenced by Jacques Demy’s 1964 French hit The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Janis Pugh is not alone in her love of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It follows the story of two young lovers whose future together is interrupted by the Algerian war, with the French dialogue entirely sung and set perfectly to the music of Michel Le Grand. Writer and editor of Little White Lies, David Jenkins, is a huge fan of Jacques Demy, and he speaks with Mark about the film’s influences and legacy. Produced by Freya Hellier. A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.

  6. 08.11.2024

    Las Vegas

    Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora is the latest in a long line of movies to use Las Vegas as a setting. So why is the desert gambling city such catnip for filmmakers? Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore Vegas on screen. Ellen speaks to author Shawn Levy about the unparalleled showbiz glamour of midcentury Las Vegas and the quintessential Rat Pack Vegas movie - Ocean’s 11. And she talks to DJ and producer David Holmes about his work on the soundtrack for director Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 Ocean’s Eleven remake, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Meanwhile, Mark looks at how the dark underbelly of the gambling city has been captured on screen by filmmakers from Martin Scorsese to Paul Verhoeven, with critic Christina Newland. And he talks to Mike Figgis about directing Nicolas Cage to Oscar glory in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas - the tale of an alcoholic who goes to the city to drink himself to death. Producer: Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.

  7. 01.11.2024

    Powell and Pressburger

    As November marks the TV premiere on BBC 2 of Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, as well as a season of films on the BBC and iPlayer, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the films of these two titans of British Cinema. Film and culture writer, Lilian Crawford shares with Mark why the works of Powell and Pressburger are a matter of life and death, and how the duo's technicolour films took their cue from the worlds of ballet and opera. Mark also speaks to British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, for whom Powell and Pressburger’s films hold a strong personal allure. She discusses the technical wizardry and in-camera magic found across their productions, and how that has inspired her own image-making. Meanwhile, Kevin Macdonald, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker and grandson of Emeric Pressburger, shares with Ellen how some Powell and Pressburger films are nuanced examples of wartime propaganda, and why some still resonate and remain relevant to Britain today. Producer: Mae-Li Evans A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    42 min.

  8. 25.10.2024

    Vampires

    With Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu - a remake of the 1922 adaptation of Dracula - hitting UK cinemas in the new year, Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones take a look at one of cinema's most enduring monsters, the vampire. Mark talks to friend of the show and vampire expert, Kim Newman, about the evolution of vampires over the last century. They discuss everything from Bela Lugosi’s career defining performance as Count Dracula to the Twilight series. Meanwhile, Ellen meets host and producer of The Evolution of Horror podcast, Mike Muncer. They go deep on teen vampire films and the everlasting appeal of cult classic The Lost Boys. Ellen also speaks to Jane Schoenbrun, director of the new film, I Saw the TV Glow. They discuss their shared love of TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its influence on Jane’s film about outsider teens who are obsessed with a fantasy TV show. Producer: Queenie Qureshi-Wales A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

    43 min.
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Om

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode guide us through the expanding universe of the moving image revealing fascinating links and hidden gems from cinema and TV to streaming and beyond.

Oplysninger

  • Skaber
    BBC Radio 4
  • Aktive år
    2021 - 2025
  • Episoder
    87
  • Vurdering
    Ikke anstødeligt
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2025
  • Websted for serie
    Screenshot
  • Leverandør

    BBC Studios Distribution Limited har identificeret sig selv som forhandler af denne podcast og har bekræftet, at produktet eller tjenesten er i overensstemmelse med EU-lovgivning. Adresse 1 Television Centre 101 Wood Lane London London W12 7FA Storbritannien Telefonnummer +44 7590176301 E-mail bbcstudiosaudiodistribution@bbc.com

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