Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore a once-popular genre of cinema which flourished in the mid-20th Century with films like Now Voyager, Mildred Pierce and All That Heaven Allows, and is still alive and kicking today - albeit often in unexpected ways.Ellen speaks to film critic Pamela Hutchinson about the melodramatic women's pictures of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and about why the melodrama genre may be thriving in the current day, in the form of the male melodrama. Meanwhile, Mark talks to two directors from either side of the Atlantic, both well acquainted with the 21st century melodrama.British-Moroccan director Fyzal Boulifa talks about the influence of a 1950s Joan Crawford melodrama noir on his 2022 indie film The Damned Don't Cry, and about the post-revolutionary roots of the melodrama form. And American indie darling Todd Haynes discusses how melodrama runs through his filmography, from 2002's Far From Heaven, which reimagined the world of director Douglas Sirk for a 21st Century audience, to the ‘queer-melodrama’ classic Carol.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
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Frankenstein
Ellen and Mark explore the enduring appeal of Frankenstein.Mark speaks to director Guillermo Del Toro on his new adaptation of the classic novel and why the Frankenstein story has had such an influence on his career. Ellen then talks to critic Anne Billson about the history of Frankenstein throughout cinema history as well as speaking to director Bomani J. Story on his interpretation in his film, The Angry Black Girl and her Monster.Producer: Queenie Qureshi-Wales
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
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The Naked Civil Servant
Mark and Ellen celebrate 50 years of the ground breaking TV drama, The Naked Civil Servant. Mark speaks to Rob Halford of Judas Priest about how The Naked Civil Servant changed his life. Mark then talks to filmmaker and drag queen Amrou Al-Kadhi about how forward thinking the show was and its influence on their own work. Ellen talks to historian Stephen Bourne about the impact of The Naked Civil Servant on British television.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
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Translation
This week, Ellen and Mark read between the lines, and find out what can get lost in translation. Mark speaks to the film critic, Manuela Lazic, who discusses the impossibility of translation, and her experiences of watching films and television across languages. Next, the translator and film critic, Irina Margareta Nistor details her role in overdubbing bootlegged VHS tapes during the Ceaușescu dictatorship in Romania. During the 1980s, her work allowed local audiences an escape from the regime through the medium of foreign cinema. Meanwhile, Ellen discusses the poetry of translation with Darcy Paquet. The translator has produced subtitles with collaborators including the South Korean film director, Bong Joon Ho, on the Oscar award winning film, Parasite. Darcy shares the challenges found in a set character count, and some of the cultural specificities he's noted along the way.Producer: Mae-Li Evans
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
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Death
Viewers are so used to seeing death and dying on screen, often in dramatic or unrealistic ways. Ellen and Mark explore how films and TV are drawn to personifications of death, why we need more realistic depictions and who is making them. Mark speaks to film critic Kim Newman about the way in which personifications of death have been portrayed throughout cinema history, from The Seventh Seal to the Final Destination series. Mark then talks to director Kristen Johnson about her film, Dick Johnson is Dead.Ellen talks to academic Michele Aaron about how death and dying has been depicted in film and if we need more realistic depictions.Producer: Hester Cant
A Prospect Street production for 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.
Australia