Mark Kermode | |
|---|---|
 Kermode at the 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival | |
| Born | Mark Fairey (1963-07-02)2 July 1963 (age 62) London, England |
| Education | St Mary's CoE Primary School, Finchley,[1]Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | Freelance |
| Television | The Film Review The Culture Show Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema[2] |
| Spouse | [3] |
| Children | 2 |
Mark Kermode (/ˈkɜːrˌmoʊd/,KUR-moh-d;[4]né Fairey;[5] born 2 July 1963)[6][7] is an Englishfilm critic,musician,radio presenter,television presenter, author andpodcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of theBBC Radio 4 programmeScreenshot, and co-presenter (alongside long-time collaboratorSimon Mayo) of the film-review podcastKermode & Mayo's Take. Kermode is a regular contributor toThe Observer, for which he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023.[8]
Kermode is the author of several books on film and music, includingIt's Only A Movie,The Good The Bad and The Multiplex,Hatchet Job andHow Does It Feel?. He is the co-author ofHollywood: Sixty Great Years (with Jack Lodge, John Russell Taylor, Adrian Turner, Douglas Jarvis and David Castell),[9]The Movie Doctors (with Simon Mayo),[10] andMark Kermode's Surround Sound (with Jenny Nelson).[11] He has also written three volumes for the BFI's Modern Classics series – onThe Exorcist,The Shawshank Redemption andSilent Running. Since the late 1980s he has contributed to the BFI's film magazineSight & Sound and its predecessorThe Monthly Film Bulletin, and since January 2016 he has presented a monthly live show,MK3D, at theBritish Film Institute (BFI),South Bank. It is the BFI's longest-running live show.[12]
Kermode previously co-presented theBBC Radio 5 Live showKermode and Mayo's Film Review, and previously co-presented theBBC Two arts programmeThe Culture Show. Between 2018 and 2021, he co-wrote and presented three seasons of theBBC Four film documentary seriesMark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema, and between 2019 and 2024 he presented a weekly film music show onScala Radio. He is a member of theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts and a founding member of theskiffle bandthe Dodge Brothers, for which he playsdouble bass. Since 2008, the Dodge Brothers (withNeil Brand) have provided live accompaniment forsilent films such asBeggars of Life,Hell's Hinges,White Oak andThe Ghost That Never Returns.
Kermode was born in theRoyal Free Hospital in the London Borough of Camden.[1] He was educated at the state-fundedChurch of England primary school St Mary's at Finchley,[1] and was granted a Barnet-council-funded free place atThe Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School inElstree, Hertfordshire under theDirect grant grammar school[13] scheme in 1974, at the same time as actorJason Isaacs.[14][15][16]
Kermode's mother was a GP, who was born inDouglas, Isle of Man, and practised inGolders Green, north London. His father, the son of a travelling flour salesman, worked in the London Hospital inWhitechapel.[1] His grandmother wasSwiss German.[17] He was raised as aMethodist, and later became a member of theChurch of England.[18][19] His parents divorced when he was in his early twenties, and he subsequently changed his surname to his Manx mother's maiden name bydeed poll.[19] He earned hisPhD inEnglish at theUniversity of Manchester in 1991, writing athesis onhorror fiction.[7]
Kermode began his film career as a print journalist, writing for Manchester'sCity Life, and thenTime Out andNME in London. He has subsequently written for a range of publications includingThe Guardian,The Observer,The Independent,Vox,Empire,Flicks,20/20,Fangoria,Video Watchdog andNeon.[20]
Kermode began working as a film broadcaster on LBC in 1988, after which he moved to BBC Radio 5 (later rebranded as 5Live). Between February 1992 and October 1993, he was the resident film reviewer onBBC Radio 5'sMorning Edition withDanny Baker. He became the film critic forBBC Radio 1 in 1993, on a regular Thursday night slot calledCult Film Corner onMark Radcliffe'sGraveyard Shift session.[21] He later moved toSimon Mayo's BBC Radio 1 morning show. He hosted a movie review show withMary Anne Hobbs on Radio 1 on Tuesday nights calledClingFilm.[22]
From 2001 until 2022, Kermode reviewed and debated new film releases with Mayo on theBBC Radio 5 Live showKermode and Mayo's Film Review.[23][24] The programme won Gold in the Speech Award category at the 2009Sony Radio Academy Awards on 11 May 2009.[25] On 11 March 2022, it was announced by Simon Mayo, at the start ofKermode and Mayo's Film Review, that the last episode would be broadcast on 1 April 2022.
Kermode and Mayo launched a non-BBC film and television podcast calledKermode & Mayo's Take in May 2022.
Kermode has worked on film-related documentaries includingThe Fear of God: 25 Years ofThe Exorcist,[26]Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection ofKen Russell'sThe Devils,Alien: Evolution,[27]On the Edge ofBlade Runner,[28]Mantrap: Straw Dogs – The Final Cut,Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature,The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing the French Connection,Salo: Fade to Black,The Real Linda Lovelace[29] andThe Cult ofThe Wicker Man.[30]
From 2001 to 2005, Kermode reviewed films each week for theNew Statesman.[31] Prior to becoming chief film critic in 2013, he wrote "Mark Kermode's DVD round-up" forThe Observer, a weekly review of the latest releases.[32] He also writes for theBritish Film Institute'sSight and Sound magazine.[33] From 1995 to 2001, Kermode was a film critic and presenter forFilm4 andChannel 4, presenting the weeklyExtreme Cinema strand. He has written and presented documentaries for Channel 4 and the BBC,[20] and until 2023 appeared onThe Film Review forBBC News at Five.[34] For BBC Two'sThe Culture Show, Kermode hosted an annual "Kermode Awards" episode, which presented statuettes to actors and directors not nominated forAcademy Awards that year.[35]
In 2002, Kermode challenged theBritish Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the censor for film in the UK, about its cuts to the 1972 filmThe Last House on the Left.[36] In 2008, the BBFC allowed the film to be re-released uncut.[37] He has since stated that the BBFC do a good job in an impossible situation and expressed his approval of their decisions.[citation needed]
In a 2012Sight & Sound poll of cinema's greatest films, Kermode indicated his ten favourites, a list later published in order of preference in his bookHatchet Job, asThe Exorcist,A Matter of Life and Death,The Devils,It's a Wonderful Life,Don't Look Now,Pan's Labyrinth,Mary Poppins,Brazil,Eyes Without a Face andThe Seventh Seal.[38]
From September 2013 to September 2023, Kermode was the chief film critic forThe Observer.[39]
In 2018, he began to present his own documentary seriesMark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema onBBC Four. A second series followed, as well asdisaster movie, Christmas, andOscar winners specials.
Between 2019 and 2024, Kermode presented a soundtrack-themed show on classical radio stationScala Radio.[40][41][42]
Kermode produces an annual "best-of-the-year" and "worst-of-the-year" movie lists, thereby providing an overview of his critical preferences. His top choices were:
In February 2010,Random House released hisautobiography,It's Only a Movie, which he describes as being "inspired by real events".[85] Its publication was accompanied by a UK tour.[86] In September 2011, he released a follow-up book entitledThe Good, the Bad and the Multiplex, in which he expresses his opinions on the good and bad of modern films, and vehemently criticizes the modernmultiplex experience and the3D film craze that had grown in the years immediately preceding the book's publication.[87] In 2013,Picador publishedHatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics in which he examines whether professional "traditional" film critics still have a role in a culture of ever increasing numbers of online bloggers and amateur critics.[88]
In 2017, he collaborated with his idolWilliam Friedkin on the feature documentaryThe Devil and Father Amorth, as a writer. The film had its first showing at theVenice Film Festival on 31 August 2017.[89]
Kermode was a regular presenter onBBC Two'sThe Culture Show and appeared regularly onNewsnight Review. During a 2006 interview with Kermode forThe Culture Show inLos Angeles,Werner Herzog was shot with anair rifle. Herzog appeared unflustered, later stating: "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid".[90][91]
Kermode co-hosted an early 1990s afternoon magazine show on BBC Radio 5 calledA Game of Two Halves, alongside formerBlue Peter presenterCaron Keating.[92]
Kermode appeared in a cameo role as himself in the revival of theBBC'sAbsolutely Fabulous on 1 January 2012.[93]
In April 2008, Kermode started a twice-weeklyvideo blog hosted on the BBC website, in which he discussed films and recounts anecdotes. He retired the podcast for its tenth anniversary at the close of 2018, with special episodes on his most and least favourite movies of the previous decade.[94]
Kermode has recorded DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HDaudio commentaries forTommy (with Ken Russell),The Devils (with Ken Russell and Mike Bradsell),The Ninth Configuration (with William Peter Blatty),The Wicker Man[95] (with Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Robin Hardy),Gregory's Girl,Cruising[96] (with William Friedkin),Bait,[97]Enys Men[98] (both with Mark Jenkin) and (withPeter O'Toole)Becket.[99] He appears in the DVD extras ofLost in La Mancha, interviewingTerry Gilliam, andPan's Labyrinth, in which he interviewsGuillermo del Toro about the film, which he has called a masterpiece. Kermode has written books, published by the BFI in itsModern Classics series, onThe Exorcist,[100]Silent Running[101] andThe Shawshank Redemption[102][103] and his documentary for Channel 4,Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature, is on the film's tenth anniversary special edition DVD.[104]
Kermode's family connections with theIsle of Man have led to him playing a role inManx culture and the arts. This has seen him host various talks on the island.[105] He has also been involved with the annual Isle of Man Film Festival.[106]
Kermode became patron of the SirJohn Hurt Film Trust in November 2019.[107] He is a visiting fellow at theUniversity of Southampton.[108]
Kermode playeddouble bass for askiffle/rockabilly band called the Railtown Bottlers in the early 1990s. They were the house band on the BBC showDanny Baker After All for a series, starting in 1993,[109][110] in which he performed with theMadness lead singerSuggs,Nick Heyward,Alison Moyet,Aimee Mann,Nanci Griffith,Tim Finn andSqueeze.[citation needed] In 2001 he formed skiffle quartetthe Dodge Brothers, playing double bass.[110]
Talking about playing thechromatic harmonica with an orchestra at theRoyal Festival Hall, he said: "Somehow I got away with it. You can listen to it. It's not terrible, it's not brilliant, but it's fine." Kermode says that sheer persistence is the key to his musical success: "I'd rate enthusiasm and persistence over talent. And that's been a guiding light, that you shouldn't be put off by being unprepared or technically inept. I have managed to surround myself with other people who can play. And actually that's the trick."[111]
Kermode is married toLinda Ruth Williams, a professor who lectures on film at theUniversity of Exeter. From October to November 2004, they jointly curated aHistory of the Horror Film season and exhibition at theNational Film Theatre in London.[112] Kermode and Williams have two children.[19]
Kermode has been described as "afeminist, anear vegetarian (he eats fish), a churchgoer and a straight-arrow spouse who just happens to enjoy seeing people's heads explode across a cinema screen".[113]
In the mid-1980s, Kermode was an "affiliate" of theRevolutionary Communist Group (RCG) and was involved in theViraj Mendis Defence Campaign, against the deportation of one of the group's members toSri Lanka.[114] This developed into a high-profile national campaign involving people from left-wing groups such as the RCG, local residents ofManchester and extending to church leaders and Labour PartyMembers of Parliament.[115] Kermode describes himself in this period as "a red-flag wavingbolshie bore with a subscription toFight Racism Fight Imperialism and no sense of humour."[113]
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sony Radio Academy Awards | Best Specialist Contributor of the Year | Gold[116] |
| 2009 | Sony Radio Academy Awards | Speech Award | Gold[117] |
Kermode is a patron of the charitable trust of thePhoenix Cinema in North London,[118] which was his favourite cinema during his childhood inEast Finchley.[119] The tenth-anniversary episode ofKermode and Mayo's Film Review was broadcast from the venue as part of its relaunch celebrations in 2010.[120]
In 2013, Kermode was appointed an Island of Culture Patron by theIsle of Man Arts Council.[105]
In 2016, Kermode was made an honorary Doctor of Letters at theUniversity of Winchester.[121]
In 2018, Kermode was appointed Honorary Professor in the Film Studies Department at theUniversity of Exeter.[122]
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ... [produced] quite a vintage crop in [Isaacs'] time: fellow pupils includedSacha Baron Cohen,David Baddiel andMatt Lucas. 'I've seen Baddiel a few times', Isaacs says, and he sees the others occasionally at awards ceremonies. ... [N]ot all the Habs stars of the time were Jewish, though, and Isaacs has a lot of time for another alumnus, theBBC's film critic, Mark Kermode: 'He is always incredibly lovely and says hello on hisRadio 5 podcasts, which I've listened to in Auschwitz and many other strange places. He's said I was too cool [at school], but he was at the epicentre of the in-crowd.'
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