Renowned film critic Mark Kermode is one of the most prominent voices in the industry. He is the co-presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot, and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo’s Take and also a musician, radio presenter, television presenter, and author.
He contributes regularly to The Observer, for which he was chief film critic between 2013 and 2023. Kermode is also the author of several books on film and music, including It’s Only A Movie, The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex, Hatchet Job, and How Does It Feel? Here we take a look at the English film critics’ top 10 films of all time, as reported by Collider.
9. Céline and Julie Go Boating
Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974) is a French film co-written and directed by Jacques Rivette. Its synopsis reads: “When Celine (Juliet Berto) goes traipsing across a Parisian park, unwittingly dropping first a scarf, then other objects, Julie (Dominique Labourier) cannot help but follow her, picking up each item. So begins a fanciful relationship between the two, which soon sees Celine sharing Julie’s apartment and each of them playfully switching identities in their daily lives. As they increasingly indulge their fantasies, they find themselves trying to rescue a young girl from a supposedly haunted house.”
(Image: Les Films du Losange)
7. Bullet Boy
Bullet Boy is a 2004 British crime drama film directed by Saul Dibb, written by Saul Dibb and Catherine Johnson, and starring Ashley Walters. The synopsis states: “An inner-city London youth, Ricky (Ashley Walters) has served prison time for a stabbing but is trying to turn his life around. Ricky’s hopes for escaping the brutality of his neighbourhood quickly diminish, however, when he and his friend, Wisdom (Leon Black), get into a minor incident on the street that escalates into a feud with another young man. When Wisdom fuels the conflict, the situation gets increasingly dire, and soon further violence seems unavoidable.”
(Image: Verve Pictures)
6. Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit is a British supernatural black comedy film directed by David Lean, released in 1945. The film’s synopsis reads: “Charles, a novelist, seeks help from medium Madame Arcati for his work, but things take an amusing turn as the ghost of his first wife starts haunting him and Ruth, his second wife.”
(Image: General Film Distributors)