British Film Institute

Ridley Scott's space slasher, Alien, was released 40 years ago this September. To celebrate Anna and Hen dive into the film, wriggle around its inner-workings and burst out the other side. We're looking at what influenced Alien, what effect it had on screen culture and why it stills scares the bejusus out of viewers to this day. Plus! Inspired by Charles Dixon-Graham's piece for BFI.org, we talk about Alien as workplace drama, Anna unpacks the Netflix series Russian doll and Hen tells an involved story about the time he trod on a sea urchin. True body horror.The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleFor tickets to the Alien (+ Aliens) screenings at the BFI Southbank, go here: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=alien2019&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=Dig into this lot:Charles Graham-Dixon's piece on Alien as a working class hero story: https://ww

We're back, renamed as The Bigger Picture, but as bumbling, charming and cor-gosh-blimey British as ever!This episode - at the start of our second season - we're talking about Notting Hill, which has been re-released for Valentine's Day. Richard Curtis's film, about a famous film star who falls for an everyman, sold the world a vision of Britain that was posh, white and amiable. We talk about the film and its place in the rickety genre of British romcoms: what they were, why they happened and why they died. On the way we go gaga for Hugh Grant, because... why wouldn't you?The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleFlowers, chocolates, reading:• Why we fell out of love with the British romcom (via the Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/02/not-love-actually-british-romcoms-bridget-jones-relationship-go-so-wrong• Hugh Grant talks about his iconic film roles (via GQ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Y

Yippee-ki-yay Christmas lovers! It's our festive special, so we're talking about Die Hard (which is a Christmas film). Join Anna, Hen and Pete as we examine what makes John McTiernan's tower block action romp a classic, covering everything from Run-DMC to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Bolshoi Ballet to American imperialism. Plus! How Bruce Willis's feet changed the action genre for good.This is the last BFI podcast of this series, but we'll be back in February for series two. Get in touch with us to tell us what you'd like to hear from us in future (details below). In the meantime, happy holidays and thanks for listening.The BFI podcast is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleHo ho ho, now we have further reading:• 11 film-makers explain how Die Hard influenced them (via SlashFilm): https://www.slashfilm.com/die-hard-influence/• Family is a curse in Hereditary (via AV Club): https://film.avclub.com/family-is-a-curse-in-the-harrowing-deeply-frightening-182661660

Anna and Hen talk about The Old Man & The Gun, a heist film from director David Lowery that stars Robert Redford as a twinkly-eyed, charming bank robber. Why does the lovable rogue's popularity endure? Why do certain rogues beguile us so? And why has Hen taken to suggestive homoeroticism quite so passionately? Join us as we talk about the films that invite us to catch a thief... and give him a big hug.The BFI podcast is...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore leads:• The true story of seasoned bank robber Forrest Tucker (via the New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/01/27/the-old-man-and-the-gun• The Old Man & The Gun trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdLQb9zN9OE• See?! All of the best action films have "powerfully homoerotic undertones", says The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/point-break-all-the-best-action-films-have-powerful-homoerotic-u/  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out in

Join the crew - Anna, Hen and producer Pete - as they walk down a corridor in slow-motion towards this episode's topic: girl gangs. We talk about Mean Girls, Clueless, The Craft, Jawbreakers and Assassination Nation, director Sam Levinson's very 2018 take on the Salem witch trials.Assassination Nation paints a picture of an America pulled apart along gender lines, with a gang of young women thrown into violent rebellion against the men of their town after they're hacked and have their private communications leaked to the internet. Join us as we talk about gender, Trump, 90s alt-rock and - finally, FINALLY - Matt Damon's turn as a skate-punk god in the 2004 grossout comedy Euro-trip.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore:• Christine #1: Christine McConnell turned her parents house into a Halloween nightmare palace (via Eater): https://www.eater.com/2018/10/29/18037622/christine-mconnell-netflix-show-parents-house-halloween-decoration

Anna and Hen clock in to talk about 9 to 5 - the 1980 comedy, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton - in which a trio of women take down their tyrannical boss. We look at how film and TV has portrayed women office workers since the film was released and wonder what fictional female bosses, including Working Girl's Katharine Parker and The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly, say about our opinions of powerful women at work. PLUS! Hen raises workplace morale by instigating a sing-song.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleHomework:• Pure poetry in the original 9 to 5 trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R2WsyoS2FM&t=2s• Dolly on Oprah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-M0PlFYZeg&t=658s  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ayyyyyyyy-oh! And welcome to our music biopic special, performed - with Queen-ish grandiosity - in five movements. Join us as we work out what makes a musician's story sing on screen.This episode look at the crucial elements you need to compose a truly great film about musicians and their music. We ask whether the truth matters, who decides which music biopics get made, pick our favourites of the form and tell Hollywood which musical acts' stories they should be counting in next.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleRock on:• Hen on why the truth and music often sound off-key - The Guardian• The making of the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There - The New York Times• The actual best Queen song  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Slasher icon Michael Myers is as much part of Halloween as hiding behind the curtains hoping those 16-year-old Trick or Treaters will go away. This episode we look back at Mike's work by examining the venerable Halloween franchise and take a stab at reviewing David Gordon Green's revamp.Joining us to talk stabbing and screaming is Mike Muncer, creator and host of The Evolution of Horror podcast. Mike and Anna talk us through the Halloween franchise's history, talk about Jamie Lee Curtis's changing role in the story and explain how gender roles in the series have changed across the ages. Hen makes some scarily bad dad jokes.Plus! Recommends for Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, indie drama Blindspotting and AI point-and-click adventure2064: Read Only Memories.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleScarily good:• How to watch the Halloween films and have them make sense (via Digital Spy)• John Carpenter likes playing Destiny 2• Queens

Hollywood resurrects A Star is Born - the story of a young woman shepherded into stardom by a self-destructive older man - roughly once every other decade. The latest version, the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper, stars Lady Gaga as a club singer whose career is shot into the stratesphere after a chance meeting with Cooper's famous and grizzled country music star.In this episode of The BFI Podcast we look back at the three versions of the story that preceded Cooper's take - from the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s - and explore what they say about men and women, fame and their era.Plus! We explain why Killing Eve is killer.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleStellar content:The New York Times tries to get Bradley Cooper to explain A Star is Born.Hadley Freeman of The Guardian charts the story's changing gender politics.Anna's new favourite song.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This much is true: we made a podcast about the film American Animals and the spate of docu-dramas (The Imposter, The Act of Killing, Catfish etc) between 2010-12 that muddled fact and fiction into an entertaining, ethically-iffy new artform.American Animals, directed by Bart Layton, is the true-ish story of four college kids who decided to rob some rare books from their local university library. Told via interviews with the robbers and dramatisations of their story, the film leaves you with the impression that you're never quite being told the whole truth.Back in the 2010s there was a whole spate of films that did this. Films like Catfish, The Act of Killing, I'm Still Here and The Imposter (also directed by Bart Layton). We talk about why this moment happened, what it meant and where it's left us now. Plus, we hear from Bart about the importance of truth in documentary, even when you're repeating a lie.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter

Writer-director-actor Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behaviour) joins Anna and Hen in the BFI's "glitzy" green room (there are mirrors on the ceiling) to talk about her new film, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and her new TV series, The Bisexual. Desi talks about why America loves pro-life cinema, the art of the sex scene and why it's alright to remain a teen at heart. Elsewhere, Anna slaps Hen down for knowing nothing about Joan Crawford, while Hen goes ... bananas for Mike Leigh's Nuts in May. The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleThanks to our guest, Desiree Akhavan. Watch The Miseducation of Cameron Post trailer and find out more about The Bisexual. Screen therapy: • Watch Nuts in May (BBC iPlayer)• Five things you (and Hen) should know about Joan Crawford (BFI.org)• Listen to another brilliant Desiree Akhavan interview (WNYC)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

BlacKkKlansman, the latest film from Spike Lee, tells the story of the black Colorado cop who konned (sorry) the klan into accepting him as a member, then brought down a chapter of the white supremicist group from the inside. Critics Kelli Weston and Kambole Campbell join us to talk Spike, race, "passing" and, inevitably, Trump.Elsewhere, Anna's been CTRL+Ting herself silly thanks to her love of desktop documentaries, while Hen thinks Last Chance U - Netflix's documentary series about small-town American football - can't lose.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleSpecial thanks to our guests, Kelli Weston and Kambole Campbell.Things to see and do:• The Guardian's Charlie Phillips on desktop docs.• The Slenderman documentary, A Self-Induced Hallucination.• Transformers 4: The Pre-make.• GQ on Last Chance U• Spike Lee's alma mater - the traditionally black Morehouse College, invites white students to attend (from Vice).• The best (old) Sp

Check your damage at the door as we raise a cup of Hull Clean to the greatest, bleakest teen movie - Heathers. Thirty years old, but still looking fresh, the film's a cynical, nasty, brilliant work. Anna interviews its director, Michael Lehmann and actor Lisanne Falk, who played Heather McNamara.Elsewhere on the show ... Hen says CONTINUE to an article about the making of the Street Fighter film, we handle Sharp Objects and try to think about what The Rock is like in bed. AND... the definitive answer to the question that's been plaguing Heathers fans for 30 years.The BFI Podcast is ...BFI Southbank Programmer Anna BogutskayaBFI Digital editor Henry BarnesProducer Peter SaleMore Very:Seven Things We Love About HeathersSharp Objects Is Stunning, Raw, and Violently BeautifulThe Rock: Friend or Foe? 'I punched him so hard he cried': inside the Street Fighter movieThe Last Line  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maurice, released in 1987 was "the OG Call Me By Your Name" (says Anna). This episode we examine the impact the Hugh Grant-starring gay love story had on film culture, rave about Atlanta season 2 and review First Reformed, Paul Schrader's glorious sermon on grief, faith and capiltalism.Anna and Henry are on Twitter. More on producer Pete at his website. Further reading / watching / listening:Where to begin with Agnès Varda.Karina Longworth's You Must Remember This.That amazing New Yorker profile of Donald Glover.ScreenPrism's video essays.Hugh Grant on Maurice.Paul Schrader on First Reformed.This episode of the BFI podcast contains clips from the following: You Must Remember This. Written and performed by Karina Longworth, 2018. Atlanta Season 2 trailer, HBO / FX Network, 2018Maurice, directed by James Ivory in 1987. Re-released by BFI Distribution, 2018. A Very English Scandal, directed by Stephen Frears and released by the BBC, 2018. First Reformed, directed by Paul Schrader, released by A24 in 2018. Our th

We're talking about Westworld, so we'll need another host. Anna Bogutskaya - events programmer at the BFI Southbank - starts on the pod as co-host from this episode. We talk - well argue, really - about the Westworld season 2 finale, review the new British bullying drama Pin Cushion and hear from Arcadia director Paul Wright.When you're done with the show you can watch Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan's full Q&A, dig into Arcadia and get stuck into Anna's interview with Deborah Haywood about Pin Cushion. You can also contact Hen and Anna with your thoughts, fears and feedback and find out more about producer Pete. This episode of The BFI Podcast contains clips from the following: • Westworld, Season 2 (various promotional clips), released by HBO in 2018.• Arcadia, directed by Paul Wright and released by the BFI in 2018. Our theme tune is a song called Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland (2013) and used under licence through Audio Network.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-o

Archive chat this episode from Vanessa Redgrave, talking to Simon Callow in 1991 about Antonioni, the "terrifying" British film industry of the 1960s and shaving her head for the concentration camp film Playing for Time. Elsewhere we talk to Pin Cushion DoP, Nicola Daley about creating the candy-coloured world of the phantasmagoric bullying drama, discuss the future of film criticism with Cinema Rediscovered producer Tara Judah and find out what kind of babysitter revolutionary fashion designer Alexander McQueen was, thanks to his nephew, Gary. The BFI Podcast is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes. This episode contains clips from the following:Pin Cushion. Directed by Deborah Haywood and released in 2018 by Pinpoint.McQueen. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui and released in 2018 by Lionsgate. The following tracks are used under licence through Audio Network, unless otherwise credited:Throwback Jack, written and performed by Tim Garland and released in 2013.Lazy Daze, written and perform

From the stars to the gutter this episode as we plummet from the Star Wars galaxy - via an interview with Solo: A Star Wars Story third AD Donald Bentley - to the monstrous creations at the heart of Alex Winter's Freaked, which opens Glasgow's Weird Weekend festival (tickets here). Plus, Ian McKellen reminiscences about acting in his 1969 feature debut, A Touch of Love, and My Friend Dahmer director Marc Meyers wrestles with the issue of making a biopic of Jeffrey Dahmer's pre-murderous days.The BFI Podcast is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes. This episode contains clips from the following:In the Heart of the Sea. Directed by Ron Howard and released in 2015 by Ron Howard.Solo: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Ron Howard and released in 2018 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.My Friend Dahmer. Directed by Marc Meyers and released in 2018 by Aperture Entertainment.Freaked. Directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter and released in 1993 by 20th Century Fox.Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam. Directed by Çetin Ina

Move 'em on, head 'em up! Head 'em up, move 'em on! This episode we round up, rope, tie and brand some archive audio of Clint Eastwood as part of the BFI Southbank's Sergio Leone season. Speaking in 1985, the actor, writer and director talks about playing The Man With No Name, explains why female actors play better psychopaths and remembers the time Muhammed Ali requested that he run him out of town. AND! Special bonus content as listeners Christopher Attaway and Bethan Lewis introduce their audio series I've Never Seen a Western.Elsewhere, we mark the marriage of Harry and Megan with Wedding Bells, a collection of free films exploring how British wedding films have changed over the years, and talk to Bath Film director Holly Tarquini about the F-Rated Day, an event spun-off from her feminist film classification system, The F Rating. Finally, we interview Filmworker director Tony Zierra, who's documentary tells the story of Leon Vitali, a man who worked himself to exhuastion in the service of the great Stanle

We go wild this week with a menagerie of animal-based filmic bits and bobs from across the British film industry. Weekend and 45 Years director Andrew Haigh leads in Lean On Pete, his Pacific Northwest-set drama about a wandering teen and an ageing racehorse; Writer-director Michael Pearce introduces his sprightly, nasty debut Beast and film-maker John Bradburn displays an infectious enthusiasm for Pandemic, his interactive film about pig-human hybrids. Plus, we talk to New York film journalist Nick Pinkerton about The Other Side of the 80s, his extended feature about alternative 80s film-making, which makes Sight and Sound's front cover next issue. Nick is technically an animal, which we mention only to stretch our conceit to its breaking point. *Play Pandemic here! https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/pandemic-behind-the-scenes/* The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes: twitter.com/henryhbarnes?lang=en. This episode contains clip

The BFI Podcast: Hugh Grant, Rupert Everett and Robin Campillo We round up the highlights of BFI Flare, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival, which included Rupert Everett instructing an audience on the fine art of re-creating Oscar Wilde’s genitals, Robin Campillo explaining how his film, 120 BPM, carries the spirit of the French Aids activist group Act Up and Hugh Grant, reflecting on the experience of “playing gay” across the years and the time he snogged a Bear (Paddington Bear AKA Ben Whishaw ... in character ... for the BBC’s upcoming Jeremy Thorpe biopic). The BFI podcast - four stories from across the British film industry - is written, presented and produced by Henry Barnes: twitter.com/henryhbarnes?lang=en. This episode contains clips from the following: - Maurice, directed by James Ivory and released in 1987 by Cinecom Pictures. - 120 BPM, directed by Robin Campillo and released in 2018 by Memento Films. - Torch Song Trilogy, directed by Paul Bogart and released in 1988 by New Line Cinema.