Christmas

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore festive screen favourites for Christmas Eve.

It’s the 75th anniversary of a beloved film that has come to dominate our screens over the holiday period - director Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life. 

Like James Stewart’s George Bailey, who is shown what the world would look like without him by guardian angel Clarence, Ellen learns what subsequent screen culture would look like without It’s A Wonderful Life. Cultural historian and fellow fan Christopher Frayling - who is the same age as the film - takes the role of a cinematic Clarence, guiding her through It's A Wonderful Life’s lasting impact on movies and TV.

Meanwhile, Mark talks to Olivier award-winning playwright turned filmmaker debbie tucker green about her haunting alternative nativity story, 2014’s Second Coming starring Nadine Marshall and Idris Elba.

And throughout the show, Ellen and Mark are joined by guests, including Gillian Anderson and Greg Proops, who share their all-time favourite Christmas movies and TV.

Screenshot is Radio 4’s guide to the ever-expanding universe of the moving image. Every episode, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode journey through the main streets and back roads connecting film, television and streaming over the last hundred years.

Producer: Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4