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BBC Radio 4
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 1, 2023 • 42min
Offices on screen
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 today.And Ellen investigates office politics in two very different comedy films, made nearly four decades apart - 1980's 9 to 5 and 2018's Sorry To Bother You. First, she speaks to legendary screenwriter Patricia Resnick, who co-wrote 9 to 5 in her mid-20s. Patricia discusses how she came to work on the seminal satire of sexism at work, and reveals the real-life stories that influenced her script. Ellen then talks to musician, activist and filmmaker Boots Riley, whose visionary debut film Sorry To Bother You focuses on a black telemarketer who achieves success when he discovers he can use his 'white voice' on sales calls. They discuss how the film was inspired by Boots' own successful stint in telesales, and why absurdist humour is so well suited for office-set stories.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 25, 2023 • 43min
Brits Abroad
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 tell us about national identity and class, and how 1989's Shirley Valentine stands apart from other films in the genre.Ellen looks at two more recent examples of the British holiday film, speaking first to director Molly Manning Walker about her debut feature How To Have Sex. Molly reveals how the resort of Malia proved the perfect setting for the film, which follows three teenage girls navigating the complexities of sex and consent on a rite of passage clubbing holiday.And Ellen then speaks to actor Samantha Morton about her starring role in director Lynne Ramsay's 2002 cult classic Morvern Callar. They discuss Samantha's own experiences as a Brit abroad, her close working relationship with Ramsay, and why Morvern Callar remains so influential two decades on from its first release. Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 18, 2023 • 42min
Latitude Festival 2023
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, aside from selling out shows at Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre, writes for the viral YouTube hit Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and Newsjack on Radio 4. She shares with Ellen and Mark the fictional comic who makes her feel most seen.Olga Koch is another rising star in the UK comedy scene who has appeared on Mock the Week, Pls Like, Pointless Celebrities and QI. She's written and starred in several award winning Radio 4 shows, including last year’s Olga Koch: Fight and Olga Koch: OK Computer. She tells Ellen and Mark which stand-up comedy scenes make her cringe the most.Romesh Ranganathan is a familiar face on British television, as host of shows like The Ranganation and The Weakest Link, and as a regular panellist on A League of Their Own. He hosts For The Love of Hip Hop on Radio 2 and co-hosts the hit podcast The Wolf And Owl with fellow comedian Tom Davis. Romesh explains to Ellen and Mark why stand-up on screen can go out of fashion fast.Finally, comedian Greg Proops joins us for a viewing note, revealing his favourite stand-up scene.Producer: Tom Whalley
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 11, 2023 • 42min
The Jukebox Soundtrack
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 music of the era provides an almost unbroken accompaniment to the action.Mark looks back on how American Graffiti revolutionised the use of music in movies, speaking to legendary film-maker Walter Murch, who was responsible for the unique sound of the film. Meanwhile, Ellen delves into the relationship between pop music and the screen, with the help of music supervisor Jen Malone - the woman responsible for a resurgence in the career of The Cramps after including them on the soundtrack of Netflix hit Wednesday. And she talks to DJ, record producer and creator of original soundtracks David Holmes about the intrinsic connection he feels between pop music and cinema.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

Jun 2, 2023 • 44min
Barbie on screen
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 doll.And Mark speaks to comic and culture critic Ashley Ray about some of the most fascinating uses of the Barbie figure in film and TV, from Toy Story to The Simpsons to Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - director Todd Haynes' biopic of the Carpenters' singer, told using Barbie dolls. Mark also talks to Film Threat magazine founder Chris Gore about his memories of Todd Haynes' Superstar, which became a cult, underground classic when it was refused a commercial release. This week's Viewing Note comes from actor and comedian Harry Trevaldwyn, who has a role in Greta Gerwig's Barbie film. Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

May 26, 2023 • 43min
Sports movies and TV
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 to Ted Lasso co-creator and star Brendan Hunt about the inspirations for the sitcom about an American football manager hired to manage a fictional Premier League team. He also talks to critic and programmer Ashley Clark about his favourite screen depictions of the beautiful game, from Escape to Victory to Sunderland 'Til I Die. Pioneering BBC Sport broadcaster and journalist Eleanor Oldroyd shares her Viewing Notes. Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

May 19, 2023 • 42min
Rep Cinema and the legacy of the Scala
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... which is a good way to see movies..." Among that membership were the burgeoning creative filmmakers of the 21st century - Christopher Nolan, Peter Strickland, Joanna Hogg and Ben Wheatley to name a few.Ellen E Jones separates truth from legend with the man who started it all - film producer and director Stephen Woolley. They discuss the infamous screenings, the intersection of music, politics and film, and the ‘collective of lost souls’ who came together over a shared love of film.Mark Kermode discusses the age of cinema before video and streaming with film writer and curator Anne Bilson. They remember trekking across London by bus to hunt down one-off screenings, and staying up all night for kung fu specials. Mark then talks to film programmer Andrew Woodyatt about invoking the spirit of The Scala for today’s audiences at his weekly Queer Cinema club, the Pink Palace at the Rio Cinema.And in this week’s Viewing Note, filmmaker Carol Morley remembers a Scala moment which has haunted her dreams ever since.Producer: Freya Hellier
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

May 12, 2023 • 43min
Girls coming of age on film
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. She also talks to director Domee Shi about the inspiration for her 2022 Pixar film Turning Red.And Mark talks to filmmaker and actor Marielle Heller about her directorial debut The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and why making a coming of age film can be a coming of age experience in itself.Plus Nida Manzoor, director of teen comedy-drama Polite Society, shares her favourite teen girls on screen in Viewing Notes. Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

May 5, 2023 • 42min
Home Movies
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 internet and Tik Tok.John Wilson, creator of the hit docufiction show How To... With John Wilson, also joins Ellen to discuss how his early experiences with found footage, and the documentaries of Bruce Brown, impacted his approach to film. Mark talks to Canadian auteur, Atom Egoyan, about how the advent of the digital camcorder and our changing relationship to video technology influenced his early films.This week's viewing note is from the director of Skate Kitchen and The Wolfpack, Crystal Moselle, who recommends a film that utilises home movie footage. Producer: Mae-Li Evans
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 28, 2023 • 43min
Strikes, Camera, Action!
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 has come to be known as the Battle of Orgreave. She also talks to cultural historian Christopher Frayling about some of the most interesting films about the labour movement to emerge in the UK, from The Proud Valley to It's All Right, Jack. And Mark investigates how activism is depicted on screen in the present day, speaking to How To Blow Up A Pipeline director Daniel Goldhaber, and activist Megan Kapler, whose work with advocacy group Prescription Addiction Intervention Now was recently portrayed in documentary All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. This week's Viewing Note comes from film director Lizzie Borden, who shares her favourite recent activist documentaries.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4