The scarlet seductress. The crimson temptress. The woman in red. We’re not talking about any random dame who happens to be wearing a red frock. We’re talking about a deliberately traffic-stopping distraction-technique in female form, who, despite the difficulties of displaying her signature colour in black-and-white, has been a fixture of film culture since the dawn of cinema.
The astronaut’s spacesuit has been a repository for the imagination for a century of cinema - long before we actually launched into orbit. How has the space voyager’s suit been presented and dreamt up by the movie industry over the years?
Celebrating the big-screen collaborations of writer-director Nora Ephron and actress rom-com queen Meg Ryan: When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle and You've Got Mail.
During the turbulent era of Vietnam and Watergate, documentary and fiction films fiercely questioned the status quo. But how close did American cinema come to pin-pointing the troubling truths behind the 'silent majority'? Is there a reason so many of the most radical among them are forgotten now?
Doll's houses are metaphorical spaces of sanitised control, but they can be as unsettling as they are comforting. Why are we at once drawn to and repelled by these miniature worlds?
How director Tim Burton and production designer Anton Furst created Batman's moody metropolis in a Buckinghamshire backlot, raised the bar for practical filmmaking craft and set the standard for the ensuing three decades of superhero cinema.
In 1999, no one saw M Night Shyamalan's chilling drama The Sixth Sense and its shocking narrative curveballs coming. Here's how an unknown filmmaker delivered an unexpected horror hit and redefined the twist ending forever.
A peek behind the makeup as we find out what makes cinematic clowns so scary.
What does the size of an action star's biceps say about cinema and society at large? From silent cinema's athletic matinee idols to the ultra-buff super-hunks of the 21st Century, Inside Cinema examines how masculinity on the big screen reflects both pride and prejudice.
Bringing a new meaning to the phrase 'maneater', it's time to sink our teeth into a literal femme fatale: the female cannibal in film. Join us for a finger-licking look at how characters in films such as the ahead-of-its-time high-school horror Jennifer's Body, feverish French horror Raw and Claire Denis's dark drama Trouble Every Day explore female bodies, sensuality and desire.
One giant leap for dad... How the unknowable reaches of space are often the perfect location for examinations of the bonds of parenthood, from intergalactic space operas such as Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy to the hard sci-fi of Interstellar and Contact.
How a sound effect conquered cinema, appearing in hundreds of films from the 1950s to now. Lend us your ears, as Inside Cinema listens out for the ultimate movie in-joke, the Wilhelm Scream, in countless beloved classics, from the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises to the likes of Toy Story, Reservoir Dogs and Beauty and the Beast.
Lights, camera, drag queens - Trixie Mattel's guide to drag on film, from the fiercest, most sickening looks in golden-era cinema to divine cult hits and runway-ready modern classics, we're serving movie eleganza extravaganza. Category is: silver screen glamour realness, and girl, you better work.
Tearing up cinema for 60 years: youngsters on motorbikes, scooters and bicycles. Take a ride with Inside Cinema and the big-screen bikers who kickstarted a cultural revolution - from Marlon Brando's leather-jacketed Wild One to the parka-clad mods of Quadrophenia and beyond.
Robin Baker, Head Curator BFI National Archive & BFI Musicals Programmer, explores how three films from 1933 revolutionised the movie musical and brought sex and spectacle to the big screen: 42nd Street, Footlight Parade and Gold Diggers of 1933, all choreographed by the pioneering and highly influential filmmaker Busby Berkeley.
Cosy up with Inside Cinema as we unravel one of cinema's most pointedly-used garments: the humble jumper. Its purpose is simple: keeping our hero warm in cold weather, often to cosily endearing effect. But there's more to these narrative threads than that. From Mark Darcy's reindeer jumper to the Dude's dirty cardigan, we unpick what a man's knitwear on screen says about his masculinity and his power.
Who dies in a house like this? Join us for a guided tour of the home of your nightmares, a killer crib crafted by master filmmakers who know how best to chill us to the bone. Home is where the fear is, after all.
Are the villains of the Disney universe the real heroes we need? Inside Cinema turns rogue and celebrates the fabulous, scene-stealing, surprisingly sympathetic baddies found in Disney classics such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty.
Why are some of the most nightmare-inducing movies actually intended for children? Cower behind the sofa with Inside Cinema as we dig into cinema's most terrifying family films, showing how beloved kids classics from Watership Down and Pinocchio to Spirited Away and The NeverEnding Story play on very adult fears.
How the trend of "youthification" is conquering Hollywood, from Ang Lee de-aging Will Smith in Gemini Man to Martin Scorsese getting out the magic paintbrush to make Joe Pesci, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro several decades younger in The Irishman. Inside Cinema explores how the age of the actor has been tweaked over the years, from hiring a younger lookalike for flashbacks - Moneyball, for example - to using the performer's son (Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr. in Straight Outta Compton) to the more recent Marvel CGI chicanery in Iron Man 3, with Robert Downey Jr, and Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, with Kurt Russell.
Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple invariably know what they're doing, but the comically inept Inspector Clouseau-like sleuth is one of the mystery movie's tried-and-tested conventions. A look at how comic relief helps to offset the grisliness of murder, but also how the detective's seeming ineptitude - sometimes a deceptive act - encourages the viewer to play along and figure out the solution first.
Nikki Bedi takes Inside Cinema on a tour along the cutting-edge of socially-conscious Indian cinema, highlighting how big stars are lending their wattage to films tackling important issues, from the feminist wrestling drama Dangal to the taboo-breaking sanitary-product blockbuster, Pad Man.
Inside Cinema rifles through the robes, capes and costumes of a galaxy far, far away to explore what can be learned from a character's chosen get-up. From Darth Vader's fearsome duds to Queen Amidala's flashy frocks, the fashion is strong with this one...
Inside Cinema presents the perfect companion to our purr-fect companions: a history of felines on film that shows there's more to moggies in movies than witchcraft and villainy; rescuing our furry friends from the undeserved reputation that they are only seen in the laps of evil-doers and malcontents, and exploring how their inscrutable, aloof nature also resonates with the loners of cinema.
Inside Cinema explores how - and why - the best Christmas movies are far from heart-warming. From The Grinch to Bad Santa, It’s a Wonderful Life to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this festive trip to the cinema is guaranteed to bring an icy tear to your cheek.
Grab your avocado toast: Inside Cinema looks at a misunderstood generation’s life on film, exploring how this diverse group has been shaped by socio-political upheaval, economic recession, and dramatic developments in technology.
All aboard! Go trainspotting with Inside Cinema in this in-depth survey of trains on film, exploring how the train is a storytelling engine loaded with meaning beyond simple high-speed spectacle, stoking themes of class division and colonialist expansion, and providing the perfect location for social revolution, satire, and transcendent fantasy.
Bring a brolly, as Inside Cinema explores how films simply don't do light drizzle, and instead use rain as an epic intensifier, a romcom matchmaker, or a reliable way to take stories to the edge.
What is both concealed and revealed when characters in films apply make-up? And what do make-up scenes have to tell us about femininity, performance, and the masks we wear?
From Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs in THAT white dress, to Demi Moore receiving an entirely indecent proposal from Robert Redford, the naughty '90s were a high point for bold A-list casts baring all in twisted tales of glossy high-concept intrigue. These borrowed from a mash-up of horror, noir and glossy porn - and almost always seemed to feature Michael Douglas. Influenced by film noir and Alfred Hitchcock, these trashy blockbusters pulled in millions at the box-office and introduced phrases like "bunny boiler" to the lexicon. But then... they vanished. Join us as we investigate: who or what killed the erotic thriller of the early nineties? And what kind of films took its place? Where can today's audience turn for that heady mixture of A-list casts, hair-raising plots, and pulse-quickening intimacy? To find out, we'll have to closely examine the body of evidence.
Get into the groove with Inside Cinema's look at iconic dance scenes in '80s teen movies, exploring how dance on film changed radically from Fame to Dirty Dancing to The Breakfast Club. This was the era that waved to goodbye Broadway-style choreography and said hello to wild celebration and rough-around-the-edges freedom, all backed by the coolest contemporary pop.
Why is it that good things often come in pairs? And why do opposites often attract? Inside Cinema salutes cinema’s most iconic duos and explores what makes a great film friendship, from the cricket bat-wielding, undead-beating besties of Shaun of the Dead to the us-against-the world, law-defying companions of Thelma and Louise.
They say you can’t choose family. But the Fast and Furious franchise begs to differ. Crack open a cold one with Inside Cinema as we explore how the blockbuster series is fuelled by the human body’s natural nitrous oxide: love.
Spoofs, Bond spoofs. Inside Cinema takes aim at the subgenre of spies that have parodied 007, from the shaggadelic International Men of Mystery to the sharp dressed Kingsmen. These agents of comedy know James Bond's looks, villains, gadgets and missions better than Mr Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang himself.
Often, the most romantically-charged moments in films are those before the kissing starts... Join Inside Cinema for a steamy survey of cinema's subtle, seductive language of flirting - from the opposites-attract template of classic romcom Pretty Woman, to the sumptuous, unspoken romance of Wong Kar-Wai's In The Mood For Love.
Michael Leader explores how legendary Japanese filmmakers Studio Ghibli find magic in the everyday in beloved animated classics such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro - in which everything from cooking and cleaning to trains, planes and rain is made fantastical.
One, two, three, four! Elizabeth Sankey sings the praises of cinema's best bands, from the almost-famous groups that act like dysfunctional families to the head-banging pomp-rockers who take themselves far too seriously.
How does cinema treat women's lust? Christina Newland takes a close look at films that allow female desire to come to the fore - from Mae West's saucy one-liners to the rippling muscles of Magic Mike.
From Vertigo and Jaws to Raging Bull and Goodfellas... Tim Robey zooms in on a highly effective and ubiquitous camera technique that has left heads spinning for over 60 years.
In the age of Instagram, what is the function of the feature-length pop doc? And just how revealing can it be? Simran Hans explores why global superstars like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, MIA and Lady Gaga are handing over the camera and turning to the format of the all-access documentary.
25 years on from the release of Clueless, Rhianna Dhillon argues that the teen movie is the perfect setting for radical adaptations of classic literature, from She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You to Cruel Intentions and She's The Man.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... Whether your dream get-away is about falling in love in an elegant sun-drenched Tuscan villa, or getting a terrible tan on a lagered up lads' holiday in the Costa del sun, there's nothing like getting away from it all. But in the movies, a holiday can mean anything from a makeover to a murder spree. Join Inside Cinema in attempting to survive the ultimate movie vacation: relax by the pool in Call Me By Your Name, discover a new sense of self in Us, fake it til you make it with The Talented Mr Ripley - it's all about letting filmmakers show us how to really unwind, and hopefully make it back from The Beach in one piece.
From Drop Dead Gorgeous and Miss Congeniality to Little Miss Sunshine and Dumplin', Beth Webb explores how movies can subvert the patriarchal concept of the beauty pageant. Popular discourse may now believe that these beauty contests are superficial or sexist but in cinema, women can use the pageant as an opportunity to claim power and find community.
It’s the most tongue-in-cheek location in cinema: a cinema. From Scream 2 to Cape Fear and Scary Movie to Gremlins 2, when filmmakers set a scene in a cinema, they get to mess with our minds in a uniquely personal way, putting us directly in the shoes - or should that be seats - of their characters, whether that’s in order to make us laugh knowingly or freeze in terror. Just keep telling yourself: it’s only a movie...
Mike Muncer takes a peek behind the white picket fences to explore the dark, uncanny world of visionary filmmaker David Lynch and figure out what the term 'Lynchian' really means. From Blue Velvet to Twin Peaks, how is it that one director has so successfully lifted the curtain on the surreal nightmares that underpin the American Dream?
How have filmmakers used multiple points of view of the same event to challenge notions of truth in cinema? Jessica Kiang demystifies a storytelling technique that has kept viewers guessing since 1950, from Akira Kurosawa's pioneering murder-mystery to the recent whodunnit hit Knives Out.
Zing Tsjeng examines a Hollywood stereotype that has seen East and Southeast Asian actresses typecast as cold, crafty and even vicious characters, from Anna May Wong's trailblazing appearances in the 1920s, to Lucy Liu's fierce turns in Charlie's Angels, Ally McBeal and Kill Bill. But how is a new generation of Asian-American filmmakers, in films such as Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell, subverting the trope of the Dragon Lady?
We all love an iconic baddie, but this video essay isn't about them. This episode is about the smug, suit-wearing toerags who provide the banal face of evil in scores of 80s classics, from Harry Ellis in Die Hard and Walter Peck in Ghostbusters, to Carter Burke in Aliens, and beyond. What do these insufferable jerks say about Reagan-era cinema, and what purpose do they serve in crowd-pleasing popcorn flicks?
Lou Thomas raises a glass to the big screen boozer, a familiar film fixture that exposes a contradiction at the heart of British life: a place of both community and conflict, from the neighbourhood nucleus of the films of Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Terence Davies, to the forbidding locals of The Wicker Man, An American Werewolf in London and Withnail & I.
Elizabeth Sankey casts a critical eye over cinema's complex relationship with wickedly powerful women, from the devilish delights of The Witches of Eastwick and The Craft to the fiendishly subversive The Witch and The Love Witch.
Stop-motion puppet animation has an enduring appeal and power, from children's animated classics such as Bagpuss to the big screen productions of Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle of Dogs) and Tim Burton (Frankenweenie and Corpse Bride) while also embracing cutting-edge independent filmmaking. The craft holds a particular nostalgia for generations of British children raised on Pingwings, Postman Pat and El Nombre. It's something that British stop-motion talent has excelled at, and that hasn't gone unnoticed by American filmmakers who appreciate the craftsmanship. As a method of production it is delicate and time-consuming and the hand-crafted impact of the puppeteers can often be traced on-screen, creating a unique charm all of its own. It can also be more inexpensive to produce, attracting independent filmmakers with new possibilities in mind and challenging ideas. Though labour intensive, the result harbours rich storytelling for young and old.
Pamela Hutchinson gives a guided tour of the British coast on the big screen, investigating how filmmakers use the beach to examine British life, identity and social taboos.
Ellen E Jones spends a night on the town examining how the big and small screen likes to party, from the steamy housebound scenes of Lovers Rock to the beatific highs of the rave film.
What do you think of when you think of Cher? Singer. Fashion maverick. Queer icon. Meme queen. Punchline. How about Oscar-winning actor? In a special for International Women's Month, Anna Bogutskaya celebrates an all-time talent of stage and screen: Cher, the ultimate multi-hyphenate. Cher is one of the very few people who has made her name into an instantly recognisable brand. And, by the time she decided to act, she had been in the limelight for twenty years.
Hanna Flint teams up with some Strong Female Characters to look at whether kicking ass is always empowering. From Hotel Artemis to Thelma and Louise, via the action heroics of Birds of Prey and Captain Marvel, these action heroines are here to save the day. But are characters like Lara Croft feminist icons or sex objects - or maybe both?
From images where fatness is the butt of a joke, to thin people wearing fat suits, to people using the word "fat" as an insult: Grace Barber-Plentie asks what is cinema telling audiences about fat women - and is that ok?
Pamela Hutchinson sings the praises of film's faithful sisters, from Black Narcissus to Sister Act, reckoning with cinema's habit of using nuns for moral dilemmas and sacred singalongs. Movie nuns may appear to be here to save your soul and keep the sinners of the world on the straight and narrow, but their appeal is more than black and white, inspiring films ranging from the devout dramas of The Bells of St. Mary's, The Nun's Story and Heaven Knows, Mr Allison, to Ken Russell's shockingly subversive and sacrilegious The Devils. On screen, do we want to see another serene and saintly sister? Or a bad mother?
Boo! Mike Muncer examines a filmmaking technique used to jolt viewers out of their seats in everything from the most frightening horror films to family-friendly franchises. Are jump scares cheap ways to elicit a physical response from the audience, or an example of movie-making magic in its purest form? Inside Cinema investigates, drawing on films and filmmakers ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Stanley Kubrick, from Scream to Star Wars, from classic slasher horrors to the contemporary directors reclaiming the 'jump scare' for a new generation.
Why do so many big-screen villains seem to be pointedly camp? Caspar Salmon decodes a trope seen in films ranging from Psycho, to Skyfall, to several Disney animated classics, in which filmmakers (either intentionally or not) used harmful queer stereotypes as a way of making their characters seem more disturbing, unseemly or unheroic.
Dewi Evans waves lyrical about musicals that breathe new life into songs we know and love from the classic Singin In The Rain to the ultimate jukebox musical Moulin Rouge.
Ali Plumb explores how a movie in-joke has become a key part of the franchise toolkit, from the days of Hitchcock appearing in his own films, to the interconnected Marvel Universe.
Carl Anka assembles a squad of big-screen gems that best capture the power of football, from Gregory's Girl and Bend It Like Beckham to the innovative documentary, Diego Maradona.
Leila Latif explores how the Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène challenged the legacy of colonialism and pioneered a cinema by, for and about the people of Africa.
Tara Judah explores how the appeal of the body-swap comedy is far from skin-deep, offering characters and viewers an entertaining opportunity for understanding and self-reflection
Wendy Ide surveys the strange spaces created when films don't follow the laws of physics.
James King salutes the rise and rise of the one and only Keanu Reeves, from 90s hunk in the likes of Speed and Point Break to the 21st-century icon of The Matrix and John Wick franchises. Once seen as a pretty boy with a limited range, Keanu brought sensitivity to the action genre, survived memes and misfires, and finally ascended to the role of the ultimate movie star - even becoming something of a modern-day guru in the process.
Caitlin Quinlan champions the sports films that give the longshots their time to shine.
Fasten your seatbelts: How iconic Hollywood trailblazer Bette Davis broke the mould.
Championing the big screen fight, what exactly makes boxing films such a knockout?
These objects really tie a film together, but what precisely is a MacGuffin?
Zing Tsjeng asks why does Western cinema's vision of the future look so East Asian?
What does it take to shatter the glass ceiling and rule the boardroom on the big screen? From Working Girl to The Devil Wears Prada, Jan Asante salutes the defiant, complex women of the workplace comedy-drama, and the everyday struggles that make them who they are.
Limiting, outdated, stereotype - or potentially empowering representation? Maybe it's somewhere in-between. James Victoria Luxford looks at the GBF on screen.
How very! Charting the spectacular rise, fall and comeback of Gen-X icon Winona Ryder
Do not try this at home! Charles Bramesco digs into the cultural phenomenon of Jackass.
The B in LGBTQ+ sometimes gets shortchanged in cinema - Catherine Bray asks why.
From Seven Samurai to Rashomon, Jasper Sharp celebrates the films of Akira Kurosawa.
Bon Appetit! How the humble dinner table never fails to serve up delicious movie moments.
Leila Latif on what to expect when you're expecting on the big screen, from the familiar romcom cliches of morning sickness and crazy food cravings, to the films that deal with the more existential side of being pregnant, such as the classic psychological horror Rosemary's Baby, and Alice Lowe's low-budget gem Prevenge, which she wrote, directed and starred in while she herself was heavily pregnant.
How a working class boy from Bristol became one of the brightest stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the height of silver-screen sophistication in films ranging from His Girl Friday and An Affair to Remember, to Bringing Up Baby and North By Northwest. But while Cary Grant (born Archibald Leach) may have come to symbolise the epitome of Hollywood style and glamour, it was the irresistible tension between his on-screen persona and the real man behind it that fuelled his star appeal.
One franchise to rule them all... Catherine Bray explores how director Peter Jackson used both classic and cutting-edge techniques to craft his big-screen adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy. Made in the 20th century, and released in the 21st, The Lord of The Rings simultaneously bade farewell to modes of filmmaking that had existed for a century, while heralding the rise of new methods of storytelling that would inform the cinema of the next hundred years.
This is the end... or is it? Michael Leader sits through the credits and celebrates the films that litter their closing credit sequences with outtakes, teasers, and other treats. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe's mastery of the post-credits 'stinger' that introduces new characters and sets up epic franchise crossovers, to the reign of the 'blooper reel' in the comedies of the 1980s and 1990s, to the films that use their credit sequences to break the fourth wall and directly address the audience.
James King celebrates the Christmas film, exploring how cinema has brought yuletide cheer to our screens for over a century, from 1898's pioneering silent film Santa Claus, to the enduring festive classic It's A Wonderful Life, to the modern-day comedy cracker Elf, to the sometimes controversial, 'alternative' Christmas favourite, Die Hard.
How David Bowie looked to the silver screen to inspire his greatest creations and went through many ch-ch-changes as a film star, from The Man Who Fell to Earth to Labyrinth.
Matron! Mike Muncer examines a series that epitomised British comedy for a generation, and now serves as the perfect case study in changing tastes in cinema, culture and humour.
Tom Huddleston boldly goes where no Inside Cinema has gone before, with a deep dive into space, the final frontier, as portrayed in the big screen adventures of the crew of the Starship Enterprise.
From the romantic hesitations of Four Weddings and A Funeral to the camp villainy of Paddington 2, the evolution of Hugh Grant has been a delight to behold. Tim Robey celebrates a Very English actor.
Rowan Ellis explores how 'coming out' scenes on screen reflect changing social attitudes towards sexuality, from indie gems But I'm A Cheerleader and Beginners, to the landmark teen romantic drama Love, Simon, to the recent films and TV series that depict nuanced, complex personal journeys of characters who don't put a specific label on their identities.
From sitcom star to Oscar-winning screen royalty, Anna Smith charts the rise of the versatile British actress Olivia Colman.
From West Philadelphia to Hollywood Royalty, Rhianna Dhillon takes a look at the back catalogue of the man they call Big Will: the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 90s blockbuster icon, and current Oscar hopeful, Will Smith.
How a kid from the mean streets of Ne York became one of cinema's greatest filmmakers.
Celebrating the multi-talented and multi-faceted icon of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
James King celebrates the British actors who are simply the best at being bad, delivering the devilish goods in Hollywood blockbusters for close to a century.
Lights, camera, action! Jamie Maisner investigates the films that turn the camera on filmmaking itself, from Hollywood classics Sunset Boulevard and Singin' in the Rain, to indie gems Son of Rambow and One Cut of the Dead. Does cinema always paint a flattering portrait of itself, or does it expose the seedy side of the film industry? Or does it celebrate the spirit of creativity and teamwork that lies behind every production?
No one loves love as much as Hollywood, but what happens after the romance ends? For Inside Cinema, Ann Lee looks at big-screen breakups, from Legally Blonde and La La Land to (500) Days of Summer and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, exploring what films about the ends of relationships tell us about love, life and moving on to the next chapter.
A dazzling journey through jewellery in film, asking the question: are diamonds truly a girl's best friend, or are there deeper pearls of wisdom to mine? Nicole Davis explores how these prized objects relate to on-screen themes of obsession, desire, ownership and romance, in the likes of Pretty Woman, Titanic, Moulin Rouge and Uncut Gems.
That's all, folks! Inside Cinema celebrates the best and most memorable final lines in film history, from Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz, to The Italian Job and Back to the Future. What makes a great final line? And what do our favourite endings tell us about the magic of the movies?
Meet the Family, voiced by Kathy Burke (Nil by Mouth, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), puts cinematic families on the analyst's couch for a deep dive into what makes some of the most dysfunctional dynasties in cinema tick. How do film-makers go about dramatising the one thing we all have in life - family? Maybe it's about drawing directly from your own life, like Christina Crawford's account of being raised by a nightmare mother, A-list star Joan Crawford, in the infamous Hollywood scandal magnet, Mommie Dearest. Or maybe dramatising the furthest extremes that families will go to needs to involve fantasy, as in magical Oscar-winning fairy tale, Pan's Labyrinth, where a little girl escapes from her wicked stepfather into a dreamlike but dangerous underworld. Even when film-makers have their familial inspiration sorted out, families on the big screen still pose unique challenges, even to the greatest directors in cinema. How can you possibly make every single family member in a massive cinematic ensemble like Gosford Park memorable, when even people in real life have trouble remembering who their second cousins are? How do you know where to start and finish your story about a family, when every family stretches back through infinite generations? Perhaps, like Lars von Trier, you could start with the end of the world. And what about empathy? How do we know who to root for in a film like American Beauty, which only gives us one side of the story? Through the lens of films as varied as 8 Mile, Do the Right Thing, Tokyo Story, Aliens, Bicycle Thieves, The Hangover III, Dead Ringers, Home Alone, Ratcatcher, Back to the Future and many more, we zoom in on families in film, discovering how film-makers have imagined them on the big screen - and what that tells us about our place in our own families.
Documentary that explores the work of Jordan Peele, an era-defining horror auteur, incisive social critic and influential media mogul. Peele, who started out as a comedian with sketch show Key & Peele, captured the zeitgeist with his Oscar-winning horror Get Out, a film that showcased his deft balance of horror, comedy and social commentary. Peele is also an executive producer on TV shows ranging from a revamped Twilight Zone to Lovecraft Country. In this profile documentary, Inside Cinema traces Peele’s career as a comedian, film-maker and producer, in both film and television, and explores how a lifelong love for the horror genre has informed his inimitable style.
Documentary that explores the work of a film director of groundbreaking firsts. Ava DuVernay is the first black woman to win Best Director at Sundance, for her romantic drama Middle of Nowhere, the first black woman to direct a $100-million budget film, the youth fantasy drama A Wrinkle in Time, and the first black woman to direct a film Oscar-nominated for Best Picture - Selma, the first major feature film about Martin Luther King Jr. In this short documentary profile, Inside Cinema takes a look at the career of an extraordinary woman who, from picking up her first camera at the age of 32 and directing her first feature, hip-hop documentary This Is the Life, has consistently laid the groundwork for what would become her brand of putting black women first.
An exploration of the work of Barry Jenkins, a trailblazing film director whose Best Picture winner Moonlight made Oscar night history in 2017, beating La La Land to Best Picture following a dramatic and unprecedented envelope mix-up. Grace Barber-Plentie, a writer and programmer specialising in depictions of people of colour, particularly black women, in pop culture. explores Jenkins’s body of work, from his charming low-fi breakout, romantic drama Medicine for Melancholy, to his current status as only the second black director to make a film which has won the Oscar for Best Picture.
An exploration of the work of Ryan Coogler, a record-breaking film director, whose Oscar-winning and box office-conquering superhero adventure Black Panther scaled new heights for big-budget black cinema in Hollywood. Written and voiced Kambole Campbell, a writer and film critic for Empire Magazine, Little White Lies and Sight & Sound, this short profile documentary follows Coogler’s career from independent drama Fruitvale Station through Rocky franchise spin-off Creed to comic-book epic Black Panther.
What’s your favourite cinematic guilty pleasure? And why the guilt? Film critic Catherine Bray hosts a celebration of trashy films spanning Showgirls to Love Actually to Cats, with narration from comedian Mae Martin.
