Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema

The critic enters a deadly world of jet-setting espionage, double agents and sinister conspiracies as he decodes that most thrilling of genres - the spy movie.

The critic returns to examines more of the techniques and conventions behind classic movie genres, beginning by looking at the tropes of British comedies. Mark argues that they win laughs by tapping into the public's abiding national preoccupations, from rooting for the underdog to the subversion of class and manners, as well as the audience's fascination with comedy and crime, and pastiches and parodies that take the big beasts of Hollywood down a peg or two.

Rebellion, romance, anarchy, excitement. Mark shows how the fusion of pop music and movies are a double act like no other.

The critic examines the qualities necessary for a film to become a cult classic, as well as the main types of a genre that is dictated by the audience rather than the film-maker. Marks reveals how some set out to shock and break taboos, while others are camp classics embraced by viewers who find new or hidden meanings in them.