# Moviedrome

Moviedrome was a British television cult film series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 8 May 1988 to 9 July 2000. Its remit was to broadcast a selection of cult films each with an introduction, first by film director Alex Cox and later by film critic Mark Cousins. The producer and director of the series was Nick Freand Jones. During its run, 207 different films were shown.

## History

Moviedrome went into development in the late 1980s, when BBC producer, Nick Freand-Jones put together the idea of screening a number of films available within the BBC archives, where they had licensing rights to titles, some of which that had not yet been broadcast. The idea followed a specific film, considered a cult classic, that would be shown on a weekly basis, preceded by an introduction on the film's background, much like a similar BBC series, titled The Film Club, which ran from 1986 to 1991.
Jones looked to director and screenwriter, Alex Cox to present the series. Cox, known for his directorial features Repo Man, Sid and Nancy and Walker, had previously introduced John Boorman's crime thriller Point Blank and Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye for The Film Club, and was chosen as the front-man for Moviedrome. Cox applied his own unique style to each introduction, as he would educate the viewer, in detail, on the particular film, exploring the genres and themes present within them. As a rule, early screenings of the series were limited to English language-only films, whereas, foreign acquisitions had to be dubbed.
On 8 May 1988, Moviedrome premiered on BBC2, and remained a popular late-night Sunday staple for several years, opening with a previously unseen version of The Wicker Man, containing newly restored footage. During Cox's era on the show, he presented 141 films over seven seasons; those selected consisting of a wide variety of genres, including westerns, Crime thrillers, horrors, sci-fi films and film noir. From the fourth season onwards, the series began to present some films in double bill format. Titles included Johnny Guitar, One-Eyed Jacks, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Five Easy Pieces, Halloween, An American Werewolf in London, Badlands, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Thing from Another World, Sweet Smell of Success, Sunset Boulevard, Carrie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its 1978 remake. Some even received UK network premieres, such as, The Long Hair of Death, Carnival of Souls, The Terminator, Vamp, Knightriders, Manhunter, Mad Max 2, Dead Ringers, Rabid, Cry-Baby, and Cox's 1987 film Walker. The final film presented was Kiss Me Deadly, when the series concluded on 11 September 1994.
The series was revived in 1997, when Alex Cox was replaced with filmmaker and critic, Mark Cousins. Cousins' presentation style differed greatly from Cox's, as well as the film selection being that of more contemporary works, rather than the usual classics. Cousins' was also less critical, where as Cox didn’t shy away from pointing out a particular film's bad points if necessary. on 8 June 1997, Moviedrome returned with Scarface, the first of 66 films presented by Cousins'. This was followed by Logan's Run, The Fog, Vanishing Point, All That Heaven Allows, Shaft, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Videodrome, Walkabout, Don't Look Now, and several network premieres, with Dazed and Confused, Exotica, La Haine, Spanking the Monkey, Darkness in Tallinn, Storyville, Liebestraum, Highway Patrolman, Funny Bones, Leon, Clockers and Prêt-à-Porter. The final episode screened on 9 July 2000 with The Last American Hero.

## Series overview

Opening with the title Moviedrome in neon lights, a lone saxophone wails as the camera pulls back to reveal the inside of a desert motel room into which Alex Cox casually enters. The saxophone is an excerpt from Tom Waits's "Small Change (Got Rained On With His Own .38)", from his 1976 album Small Change. In subsequent years, the title sequences became more elaborate and funny.
| Series | Presented by | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Presented by | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | Alex Cox | 18 | 18 | 8 May 1988 (1988-05-08) | 4 September 1988 (1988-09-04) |
| 2 | Alex Cox | 18 | 18 | 7 May 1989 (1989-05-07) | 10 September 1989 (1989-09-10) |
| 3 | Alex Cox | 17 | 17 | 6 May 1990 (1990-05-06) | 9 September 1990 (1990-09-09) |
| 4 | Alex Cox | 15 | 15 | 19 May 1991 (1991-05-19) | 8 September 1991 (1991-09-08) |
| 5 | Alex Cox | 14 | 14 | 24 May 1992 (1992-05-24) | 30 August 1992 (1992-08-30) |
| 6 | Alex Cox | 17 | 17 | 30 May 1993 (1993-05-30) | 26 September 1993 (1993-09-26) |
| 7 | Alex Cox | 17 | 17 | 15 May 1994 (1994-05-15) | 11 September 1994 (1994-09-11) |
| 8 | Mark Cousins | 10 | 10 | 8 June 1997 (1997-06-08) | 17 August 1997 (1997-08-17) |
| 9 | Mark Cousins | 9 | 9 | 4 January 1998 (1998-01-04) | 8 March 1998 (1998-03-08) |
| 10 | Mark Cousins | 9 | 9 | 20 September 1998 (1998-09-20) | 15 November 1998 (1998-11-15) |
| 11 | Mark Cousins | 11 | 11 | 18 April 1999 (1999-04-18) | 11 July 1999 (1999-07-11) |
| 12 | Mark Cousins | 7 | 7 | 14 May 2000 (2000-05-14) | 9 July 2000 (2000-07-09) |

## Presented by Alex Cox
### Season 1 (1988)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 1 | 1 | The Wicker Man | 1973 | 8 May 1988 |
| 2 | 2 | Electra Glide in Blue | 1973 | 15 May 1988 |
| 3 | 3 | Diva | 1981 | 22 May 1988 |
| 4 | 4 | Razorback | 1984 | 29 May 1988 |
| 5 | 5 | Big Wednesday | 1978 | 5 June 1988 |
| 6 | 6 | Fat City | 1972 | 12 June 1988 |
| 7 | 7 | The Last Picture Show | 1971 | 19 June 1988 |
| 8 | 8 | Barbarella | 1968 | 26 June 1988 |
| 9 | 9 | The Hired Hand | 1971 | 3 July 1988 |
| 10 | 10 | Johnny Guitar | 1954 | 10 July 1988 |
| 11 | 11 | The Parallax View | 1974 | 17 July 1988 |
| 12 | 12 | The Long Hair of Death | 1964 | 24 July 1988 |
| 13 | 13 | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | 1956 | 31 July 1988 |
| 14 | 14 | The Fly | 1958 | 7 August 1988 |
| 15 | 15 | One from the Heart | 1982 | 14 August 1988 |
| 16 | 16 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | 1976 | 21 August 1988 |
| 17 | 17 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | 1966 | 28 August 1988 |
| 18 | 18 | One-Eyed Jacks | 1961 | 4 September 1988 |

### Season 2 (1989)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 19 | 1 | The Man with X-Ray Eyes | 1963 | 7 May 1989 |
| 20 | 2 | Jabberwocky | 1977 | 14 May 1989 |
| 21 | 3 | D.O.A. | 1950 | 21 May 1989 |
| 22 | 4 | The Thing from Another World | 1951 | 28 May 1989 |
| 23 | 5 | The Incredible Shrinking Man | 1957 | 4 June 1989 |
| 24 | 6 | California Dolls | 1981 | 11 June 1989 |
| 25 | 7 | THX 1138 | 1971 | 25 June 1989 |
| 26 | 8 | Stardust Memories | 1980 | 2 July 1989 |
| 27 | 9 | Night of the Comet | 1984 | 9 July 1989 |
| 28 | 10 | The Grissom Gang | 1971 | 16 July 1989 |
| 29 | 11 | Ace in the Hole | 1951 | 23 July 1989 |
| 30 | 12 | Alphaville | 1965 | 30 July 1989 |
| 31 | 13 | Two-Lane Blacktop | 1971 | 6 August 1989 |
| 32 | 14 | Trancers | 1984 | 13 August 1989 |
| 33 | 15 | The Buddy Holly Story | 1978 | 20 August 1989 |
| 34 | 16 | Five Easy Pieces | 1970 | 27 August 1989 |
| 35 | 17 | Sweet Smell of Success | 1957 | 3 September 1989 |
| 36 | 18 | Sunset Boulevard | 1950 | 10 September 1989 |

### Season 3 (1990)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 37 | 1 | Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | 6 May 1990 |
| 38 | 2 | Brazil | 1985 | 13 May 1990 |
| 39 | 3 | Get Carter | 1971 | 20 May 1990 |
| 40 | 4 | Goin' South | 1978 | 27 May 1990 |
| 41 | 5 | Dead of Night | 1945 | 10 June 1990 |
| 42 | 6 | The Terminator | 1984 | 24 June 1990 |
| 43 | 7 | The Honeymoon Killers | 1970 | 1 July 1990 |
| 44 | 8 | Ulzana's Raid | 1972 | 8 July 1990 |
| 45 | 9 | The Loved One | 1965 | 15 July 1990 |
| 46 | 10 | An American Werewolf in London | 1981 | 22 July 1990 |
| 47 | 11 | Yojimbo | 1961 | 29 July 1990 |
| 48 | 12 | A Wedding | 1978 | 5 August 1990 |
| 49 | 13 | The Phenix City Story | 1955 | 12 August 1990 |
| 50 | 14 | Walk on the Wildside | 1962 | 19 August 1990 |
| 51 | 15 | The Big Silence | 1968 | 26 August 1990 |
| 52 | 16 | A Bullet for the General | 1966 | 2 September 1990 |
| 53 | 17 | Down by Law | 1986 | 9 September 1990 |

### Season 4 (1991)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 54 | 1 | The Beguiled | 1971 | 19 May 1991 |
| 55 | 2 | Vamp | 1986 | 26 May 1991 |
| 56 | 3 | Knightriders | 1981 | 2 June 1991 |
| 57 | 4 | Something Wild | 1986 | 9 June 1991 |
| 58 | 5 | Carnival of Souls | 1962 | 23 June 1991 |
| 59a | 6a | Badlands | 1973 | 30 June 1991 |
| 59b | 6b | The Prowler | 1951 | 30 June 1991 |
| 60 | 7 | Performance | 1970 | 7 July 1991 |
| 61 | 8 | At Close Range | 1986 | 14 July 1991 |
| 62a | 9a | The Duellists | 1977 | 21 July 1991 |
| 62b | 9b | Cape Fear | 1962 | 21 July 1991 |
| 63 | 10 | The Music Lovers | 1971 | 28 July 1991 |
| 64 | 11 | Manhunter | 1986 | 4 August 1991 |
| 65a | 12a | Hells Angels on Wheels | 1967 | 18 August 1991 |
| 65b | 12b | Rumble Fish | 1983 | 18 August 1991 |
| 66 | 13 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | 1962 | 25 August 1991 |
| 67 | 14 | Solaris | 1972 | 1 September 1991 |
| 68 | 15 | Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters | 1985 | 8 September 1991 |

### Season 5 (1992)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 69a | 1a | Mad Max 2 | 1981 | 24 May 1992 |
| 69b | 1b | F for Fake | 1973 | 24 May 1992 |
| 70a | 2a | Dead Ringers | 1988 | 31 May 1992 |
| 70b | 2b | Rabid | 1977 | 31 May 1992 |
| 71 | 3 | Junior Bonner | 1972 | 7 June 1992 |
| 72 | 4 | The Serpent and the Rainbow | 1988 | 14 June 1992 |
| 73 | 5 | Les Diaboliques | 1955 | 28 June 1992 |
| 74 | 6 | The Spider's Stratagem | 1970 | 5 July 1992 |
| 75 | 7 | Escape from New York | 1981 | 12 July 1992 |
| 76a | 8a | Alligator | 1980 | 19 July 1992 |
| 76b | 8b | Q – The Winged Serpent | 1982 | 19 July 1992 |
| 77a | 9a | Wise Blood | 1979 | 26 July 1992 |
| 77b | 9b | Witchfinder General | 1968 | 26 July 1992 |
| 78 | 10 | Lolita | 1962 | 2 August 1992 |
| 79 | 11 | Play Misty for Me | 1971 | 9 August 1992 |
| 80 | 12 | Walker | 1987 | 16 August 1992 |
| 81 | 13 | Tracks | 1976 | 23 August 1992 |
| 82a | 14a | The Day of the Locust | 1975 | 30 August 1992 |
| 82b | 14b | The Big Knife | 1955 | 30 August 1992 |

### Season 6 (1993)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 83 | 1 | Darkman | 1990 | 30 May 1993 |
| 84 | 2 | House of Games | 1987 | 6 June 1993 |
| 85a | 3a | Escape from Alcatraz | 1979 | 13 June 1993 |
| 85b | 3b | A Man Escaped | 1956 | 13 June 1993 |
| 86 | 4 | The Hill | 1965 | 20 June 1993 |
| 87a | 5a | Cry-Baby | 1990 | 27 June 1993 |
| 87b | 5b | Lenny | 1974 | 27 June 1993 |
| 88a | 6a | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | 1978 | 4 July 1993 |
| 88b | 6b | Romance of a Horsethief | 1971 | 4 July 1993 |
| 89a | 7a | Gothic | 1986 | 11 July 1993 |
| 89b | 7b | The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey | 1988 | 11 July 1993 |
| 90 | 8 | Weekend | 1967 | 18 July 1993 |
| 91a | 9a | Rebel Without a Cause | 1955 | 25 July 1993 |
| 91b | 9b | 200 Motels | 1971 | 25 July 1993 |
| 92a | 10a | Django | 1966 | 1 August 1993 |
| 92b | 10b | Grim Prairie Tales | 1990 | 1 August 1993 |
| 93a | 11a | Run of the Arrow | 1957 | 8 August 1993 |
| 93b | 11b | Verboten! | 1959 | 8 August 1993 |
| 94 | 12 | The Long Riders | 1980 | 15 August 1993 |
| 95 | 13 | The Big Combo | 1955 | 22 August 1993 |
| 96 | 14 | Face to Face | 1967 | 29 August 1993 |
| 97 | 15 | Requiescant | 1967 | 5 September 1993 |
| 98 | 16 | What Have I Done to Deserve This? | 1984 | 19 September 1993 |
| 99 | 17 | Carrie | 1976 | 26 September 1993 |

### Season 7 (1994)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 100a | 1a | The Andromeda Strain | 1971 | 15 May 1994 |
| 100b | 1b | Fiend Without a Face | 1958 | 15 May 1994 |
| 101 | 2 | Talk Radio | 1988 | 22 May 1994 |
| 102 | 3 | Carnal Knowledge | 1971 | 29 May 1994 |
| 103a | 4a | Coogan's Bluff | 1968 | 5 June 1994 |
| 103b | 4b | The Narrow Margin | 1952 | 5 June 1994 |
| 104 | 5 | The Harder They Come | 1972 | 19 June 1994 |
| 105 | 6 | Salvador | 1986 | 26 June 1994 |
| 106 | 7 | The People Under the Stairs | 1991 | 3 July 1994 |
| 107a | 8a | Halloween | 1978 | 10 July 1994 |
| 107b | 8b | The Baby | 1973 | 10 July 1994 |
| 108 | 9 | Carny | 1980 | 17 July 1994 |
| 109a | 10a | Girl on a Motorcycle | 1968 | 24 July 1994 |
| 109b | 10b | Psychomania | 1973 | 24 July 1994 |
| 110a | 11a | Race with the Devil | 1975 | 31 July 1994 |
| 110b | 11b | Detour | 1945 | 31 July 1994 |
| 111a | 12a | Rope | 1948 | 7 August 1994 |
| 111b | 12b | 84 Charlie Mopic | 1989 | 7 August 1994 |
| 112a | 13a | To Sleep with Anger | 1990 | 14 August 1994 |
| 112b | 13b | Contempt | 1963 | 14 August 1994 |
| 113a | 14a | Excalibur | 1981 | 21 August 1994 |
| 113b | 14b | Nothing Lasts Forever | 1984 | 21 August 1994 |
| 114a | 15a | Naked Tango | 1990 | 28 August 1994 |
| 114b | 15b | Apartment Zero | 1989 | 28 August 1994 |
| 115a | 16a | Major Dundee | 1965 | 4 September 1994 |
| 115b | 16b | Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | 1974 | 4 September 1994 |
| 116 | 17 | Kiss Me Deadly | 1955 | 11 September 1994 |

## Presented by Mark Cousins
### Season 8 (1997)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 117 | 1 | Scarface | 1983 | 8 June 1997 |
| 118a | 2a | Westworld | 1973 | 15 June 1997 |
| 118b | 2b | Demon Seed | 1977 | 15 June 1997 |
| 119a | 3a | The Fly | 1986 | 22 June 1997 |
| 119b | 3b | Society | 1989 | 22 June 1997 |
| 120 | 4 | Exotica | 1994 | 29 June 1997 |
| 121a | 5a | Blue Collar | 1978 | 13 July 1997 |
| 121b | 5b | American Gigolo | 1980 | 13 July 1997 |
| 122a | 6a | Dazed and Confused | 1993 | 20 July 1997 |
| 122b | 6b | The Sex Lives of the Belgians | 1994 | 20 July 1997 |
| 123a | 7a | The Girl Can't Help It | 1956 | 27 July 1997 |
| 123b | 7b | Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana | 1994 | 27 July 1997 |
| 124a | 8a | The Warriors | 1979 | 3 August 1997 |
| 124b | 8b | La Haine | 1995 | 3 August 1997 |
| 125 | 9 | Spanking the Monkey | 1994 | 10 August 1997 |
| 126a | 10a | Logan's Run | 1976 | 17 August 1997 |
| 126b | 10b | Fahrenheit 451 | 1966 | 17 August 1997 |

### Season 9 (1998)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 127a | 1a | The Fog | 1980 | 4 January 1998 |
| 127b | 1b | Darkness in Tallinn | 1993 | 4 January 1998 |
| 128a | 2a | Storyville | 1992 | 11 January 1998 |
| 128b | 2b | Ruthless | 1948 | 11 January 1998 |
| 129a | 3a | Vanishing Point | 1971 | 18 January 1998 |
| 129b | 3b | The Devil Thumbs a Ride | 1947 | 18 January 1998 |
| 130 | 4 | Targets | 1968 | 1 February 1998 |
| 131 | 5 | Liebestraum | 1991 | 8 February 1998 |
| 132 | 6 | Bad Timing | 1980 | 15 February 1998 |
| 133 | 7 | The Conversation | 1974 | 22 February 1998 |
| 134a | 8a | All That Heaven Allows | 1955 | 1 March 1998 |
| 134b | 8b | The Reckless Moment | 1949 | 1 March 1998 |
| 135 | 9 | Highway Patrolman | 1991 | 8 March 1998 |

### Season 10 (1998)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 136 | 1 | Trespass | 1992 | 20 September 1998 |
| 137a | 2a | Shaft | 1971 | 27 September 1998 |
| 137b | 2b | Force of Evil | 1948 | 27 September 1998 |
| 138 | 3 | Funny Bones | 1995 | 4 October 1998 |
| 139 | 4 | Cat People | 1982 | 11 October 1998 |
| 140 | 5 | The Killers | 1946 | 18 October 1998 |
| 141 | 6 | Caged Heat | 1974 | 25 October 1998 |
| 142 | 7 | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | 1974 | 1 November 1998 |
| 143 | 8 | Carrie | 1976 | 8 November 1998 |
| 144a | 9a | Leon | 1994 | 15 November 1998 |
| 144b | 9b | Le Samouraï | 1967 | 15 November 1998 |

### Season 11 (1999)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 145 | 1 | Clockers | 1995 | 18 April 1999 |
| 146a | 2a | Ed Wood | 1995 | 25 April 1999 |
| 146b | 2b | The Body Snatcher | 1945 | 25 April 1999 |
| 147 | 3 | Prêt-à-Porter | 1994 | 2 May 1999 |
| 148a | 4a | Videodrome | 1983 | 9 May 1999 |
| 148b | 4b | Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | 1950 | 9 May 1999 |
| 149 | 5 | Carlito's Way | 1993 | 16 May 1999 |
| 150 | 6 | The Osterman Weekend | 1983 | 23 May 1999 |
| 151 | 7 | Mommie Dearest | 1981 | 6 June 1999 |
| 152 | 8 | Johnny Guitar | 1954 | 11 June 1999 |
| 153 | 9 | Branded to Kill | 1967 | 18 June 1999 |
| 154 | 10 | The List of Adrian Messenger | 1963 | 20 June 1999 |
| 155 | 11 | One-Eyed Jacks | 1961 | 11 July 1999 |

### Season 12 (2000)

| No. overall | No. in season | Film | Year | Broadcast date |
| 156a | 1a | Blood and Wine | 1996 | 14 May 2000 |
| 156a | 1a | Plein Soleil | 1960 | 14 May 2000 |
| 157a | 2a | Rumble in the Bronx | 1995 | 21 May 2000 |
| 157a | 2a | Clubbed to Death | 1997 | 21 May 2000 |
| 158a | 3a | The Underneath | 1995 | 4 June 2000 |
| 158a | 3b | The Hitch-Hiker | 1953 | 4 June 2000 |
| 159a | 4a | The Killers | 1964 | 11 June 2000 |
| 159a | 4a | On Dangerous Ground | 1951 | 11 June 2000 |
| 160a | 5a | Walkabout | 1971 | 18 June 2000 |
| 160a | 5b | Don't Look Now | 1973 | 18 June 2000 |
| 161 | 6 | White of the Eye | 1987 | 2 July 2000 |
| 162 | 7 | The Last American Hero | 1973 | 9 July 2000 |
Note: Although some episodes (including both singular, and the second film of the double bill episodes) were broadcast after 12:00am and into the early hours of Monday mornings, they will still remain as dated for the Sunday night broadcast schedules, to avoid confusion.