5-across – Brandy from Charente and Charente-Maritime : COGNAC

8-across – Swift’s "brutes in human form" : YAHOOS

9-across – Organisation representing 13 oil-exporting nations : OPEC

10-across – Martin __, director of the movie from which 11/15 is taken : SCORSESE

11-across – See 21 : RAGING

13-across – Polly __, producer and screenwriter and key figure in 21/23/11/15 : PLATT

15-across – See 21 : BULLS

17-across – Tom __, satirist known for poisoning pigeons in the park? : LEHRER

20-across – Currency union including 20 EU member states : EUROZONE

21-across – Peter Biskind’s history of 1960s and 1970s Hollywood : EASY

22-across – Half-__, rhyming slang for stolen : INCHED

23-across – See 21 : RIDERS

1-down – Dennis __, director of the movie from which 21/23 is taken : HOPPER

2-down – Region straddling northern Italy and western Austria : TYROL

3-down – Ski resort and town near Vancouver : WHISTLER

4-down – County bordered by Hampshire and Devon : DORSET

6-down – Where 10 set many of his movies : NYC

7-down – 10 movie starring Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone : CASINO

12-down – Another name for Calvary : GOLGOTHA

14-down – Streak of light that can be found in a celestial shower : METEOR

16-down – Political manoeuvres familiar to car drivers – and to students of the current government? : UTURNS

18-down – Christian prayer that begins with the Apostles’ Creed : ROSARY

19-down – Peter __, star of the movie from which 21/23 is taken : FONDA

21-down – __ al-Fitr, Muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan : EID

6-across – The __, large-scale installation artwork by Judy Chicago : DINNER

8-across – See 10 : GOTHIC

9-across – Lifestyle brand created by Gwyneth Paltrow : GOOP

10-across – Grant Wood’s 1930 portrait of a daughter and her father : AMERICAN

11-across – See 17 : KAHLO

12-across – A native of Juneau? : ALASKAN

15-across – Artist known for her Stripe Paintings and Cupid’s Quiver : BRIDGET

17-across – Mexican artist known for her self-portraits : FRIDA

20-across – Picasso’s 1937 protest at an atrocity of the Spanish Civil War : GUERNICA

22-across – Superman’s biological mother? : LARA

23-across – Popular hiking destination in the Austrian Alps – or a 1973 hit song for Elton John? : DANIEL

24-across – __ Swift, musician : TAYLOR

1-down – Mythical creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man : MINOTAUR

2-down – Trojan king and the father of Cassandra : PRIAM

3-down – The author of The War of the Worlds : HGWELLS

4-down – Eponymous low-carb diet popular in the 2000s : ATKINS

5-down – Italian city on the Arno : PISA

7-down – Country bordered by Tibet and India : NEPAL

13-down – Thomas A. __, birth name of Neo in the Matrix films : ANDERSON

14-down – Spanish city known for the Alcázar palace complex : SEVILLE

16-down – __ Medal, awarded by the Royal Society for contributions to biology : DARWIN

18-down – See 15 Across : RILEY

19-down – See 6 Across : PARTY

21-down – __ Beach, D-day landing site for Allied troops : UTAH

6-across – Ian __, author of the Rebus novels : RANKIN

8-across – Thomas __, US pioneer of electronic technologies : EDISON

9-across – Chris __, MP who resigned as Tory deputy chief whip after groping allegations : PINCHER

10-across – River flowing through Dundee : TAY

11-across – Sir __, ceramic artist : GRAYSON

12-across – __ Monsoon, character played by Jennifer Saunders in Absolutely Fabulous : EDINA

15-across – Welsh peninsula reaching into the Bristol Channel : GOWER

16-across – Frederick __, author of The Day of the Jackal : FORSYTH

18-across – Polish national airline : LOT

20-across – Family on whose story Succession is said to be based : MURDOCH

21-across – Asiatic wild ass : ONAGER

22-across – Planet whose rings so fascinated W.G. Sebald? : SATURN

1-down – US publisher owned by the 20’s News Corporation : HARPERCOLLINS

2-down – South Korea’s third city : INCHEON

3-down – See 11 Across : PERRY

4-down – Eartha __, singer who made a hit out of Santa Baby : KITT

5-down – Extraterrestrial beings who invaded Santa Mira, CA in 1956? : BODYSNATCHERS

7-down – Scottish peninsula which ends in its eponymous Mull : KINTYRE

13-down – 1981 German film set on a submarine : DASBOOT

14-down – __ Gump, character played by Tom Hanks : FORREST

17-down – Any one of several characters from a Belgian cartoon franchise by Peyo : SMURF

19-down – Country bordered by Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso : TOGO

7-across – The B in 15 : BRAZIL

8-across – The R in 15 : RUSSIA

9-across – G.I. __, special operations soldier played by Demi Moore in 1997 : JANE

10-across – Leonid __, president of Ukraine 1991-1994 : KRAVCHUK

11-across – Ravi __, Indian test cricketer and coach : SHASTRI

12-across – The S in 15 : SOUTH

15-across – Transnational alliance whose meeting Putin could not attend in person in 2023 : BRICS

17-across – Boris __, president of 8, 1991-1999 : YELTSIN

20-across – Volodymyr __, president of Ukraine : ZELENSKY

22-across – __ Park – a green space in London but a suburb in Leeds : HYDE

23-across – See 12 : AFRICA

24-across – Type of palm often used to make furniture : RATTAN

1-down – The job of the father of the only man who could move Dusty Springfield? : PREACHER

2-down – Ancient inhabitants of what is now Mexico : AZTECS

3-down – Marvel character and 2005 film starring Jennifer Garner : ELEKTRA

4-down – Trojan king, the father of Cassandra : PRIAM

5-down – Hitchcock psychological thriller starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins : PSYCHO

6-down – African great lake shared by Rwanda and the DRC : KIVU

13-down – The __, Orson Welles film written by Graham Greene : THIRDMAN

14-down – The city so good they named it twice? : NEWYORK

16-down – Long shingle beach in Dorset : CHESIL

18-down – The largest island in French Polynesia : TAHITI

19-down – Hebridean island known for its whiskies : ISLAY

21-down – Plots of land, especially in former Dutch colonies : ERFS

7-across – Biographer of Austen, Dickens and Wollstonecraft, amongst others : CLAIRETOMALIN

8-across – England’s World Cup captain, 2023 : MILLIE

9-across – See 8 : BRIGHT

10-across – Jessica, Bart, OJ or Ashlee? : SIMPSON

12-across – Tower of __, myth accounting for the existence of many human languages : BABEL

14-across – See 4 Down : MOORE

16-across – See 5 Down : WIEGMAN

19-across – England’s World Cup manager, 1966 : ALFRED

20-across – See 19 : RAMSEY

22-across – The Latin title for O Come, All Ye Faithful : ADESTEFIDELES

1-down – The personification of old age in Norse mythology : ELLI

2-down – Ian __, editor of Private Eye : HISLOP

3-down – English and Greek name for the Turkish island of Bozcaada : TENEDOS

4-down – England’s World Cup winning captain, 1966 : BOBBY

5-down – England’s World Cup manager, 2023 : SARINA

6-down – __ Coel, star of I May Destroy You : MICHAELA

11-down – Epithet associated with Margaret Thatcher : IRONLADY

13-down – __ Meloni, Italian prime minister : GIORGIA

15-down – __, legal principle governing gifts; also known as the ‘every effort rule’ : REROSE

17-down – A tool for woodwork, or a cocktail featuring gin and lime : GIMLET

18-down – Small snake, found in heathland : ADDER

21-down – The garden of paradise : EDEN