What the corpus says about Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast · 0:07:23 · unknown (0.00)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · verdict · Jedi's performances are weaker than Empire's and the script is weaker. · "I will say I think the performances in this one are not as good as they were in Empire."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast · 0:07:29 · unknown (0.00)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · verdict · Ranks Empire a little better than A New Hope, A New Hope a lot better than the prequels, and Jedi a little worse than all of the originals. · "Empire's a little better than New Hope and New Hope's a little better than the prequel trilogy."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:14:48 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40)] Raging Bull ↔ Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · industry · Best Sound went to Empire rather than Raging Bull, with a joke about the high bar. · "Look, it did go to the Empire Strikes Back, which does have pretty good sound."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 2:37:47 · David Sims (0.40)] The Shining ↔ Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · industry · The Shining platformed against the wide release of The Empire Strikes Back. · "this movie came out platform against the wide release of another very famous movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl · 0:22:52 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back ⇒ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (unmade Fincher project) (the maker said so: in interviews) · model for the unmade film · In interviews Fincher says he wanted 20,000 Leagues to be his Empire Strikes Back, a dark film that still works for children. · "I wanted to make my Empire Strikes Back in that I have always found it astonishing how dark Empire Strikes Back is while working as a movie for children."
[pairs] Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back ↔ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi · said 2 times in 1 episode
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:29:55 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ The Mandalorian · programming · After The Mandalorian the speaker wants new characters, not known ones, as a model for future Star Wars. · "after Mandalorian, I'm like, don't give me characters we already know."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:44:35 · Van Lathan (0.45)] Rocky ↔ Raging Bull · programming · Another double-feature choice, Raging Bull, picked by one host. · "I go Raging Bull."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:31:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] The Shining ⇒ Doctor Sleep (the host's read) · lineage · Doctor Sleep uses grown-up Danny and a new generation, Abra Stone. · "Using a familiar figure from the original film in Danny, the grown up Danny"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 2:22:02 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens · programming · The next Patreon commentary is Force Awakens, ten days later. · "The next commentary episode is the Force Awakens."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:55:42 · unknown host (0.30)] Raging Bull ⇒ The King of Comedy (the host's read) · lineage · King of Comedy is a part-2 of sorts about a delusional comedian, echoing LaMotta's stand-up, and is part of a De Niro trilogy with Taxi Driver. · "There's the king of comedy, the spiritual sequel to Raging Bull."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:03:31 · David Sims (0.90)] Stephen King ↔ The Shining · lineage · The film is a Kubrick film King hated, which sits under the whole project. · "trying to do the thing Stephen King hated"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:04:31 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ The Hangover Part II · lineage · Death Star 2 is framed as a sequel that repeats the first one, like a Hangover sequel. · "It's like hangover two."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:58:33 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40)] Italianamerican ⇒ Raging Bull (the host's read) · lineage · Scorsese's parents fighting in Italianamerican and American Boy taught him the rhythm replicated in Raging Bull's family fight scenes. · "And so much of his parents fighting in Italian American is the feeling of the family fight scenes in this movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:12:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Shining ⇒ Doctor Sleep (the host's read) · lineage · Doctor Sleep is the sequel to Kubrick's The Shining, which is the whole sell and the whole problem. · "You're doing a sequel to The Shining."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:04:32 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read) · lineage · A second, bigger Death Star is called a lateral remake of the first. · "We're kind of, it's like a lateral remake."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:08:55 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40)] Rocky ⇒ Raging Bull (the maker said so) · theme · Scorsese shot in black and white to differentiate from Rocky-era bright red-white-and-blue boxing movies, and producer Winkler produced both. · "Number one, I want to differentiate from the Rockies and all the other sort of boxing movies right now."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 0:09:27 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Stephen King ⇒ The Shining (the host's read) · lineage · The film is the second Stephen King novel adaptation, after Carrie. · "This is the 2nd Stephen King film adaptation."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:12:57 · unknown (0.30)] Sydney Greenstreet ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read) · lineage · Jabba is said to be visually based on Sydney Greenstreet. · "He's based on Sydney Green Street, right?"
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:55:47 · unknown host (0.30)] Raging Bull ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · The speaker groups Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and King of Comedy as De Niro plumbing damaged psychologies. · "It's part of a trilogy with Taxi Driver."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 0:58:43 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Shining ⇒ Doctor Sleep (the host's read) · lineage · Doctor Sleep is the sequel to The Shining. · "Dr. Sleep, the sequel to, which I feel like is actually a better movie"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:13:00 · unknown (0.30)] Casablanca ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read) · lineage · Jabba's court is conceived as Sydney Greenstreet crossed with Casablanca. · "The concept is he's sort of like Sidney Green Street and then Casablanca, yeah."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 0:59:47 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40)] Raging Bull ↔ Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story · craft · Schrader's draft intercut a whole life like the later Dewey Cox style that many biopics now follow, before Raging Bull used bookends and one flashback. · "Dewey Cox style originally was more the structure of the movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 2:06:41 · David Sims (0.45)] The Shining ⇒ Bobby's World (TV) (the host's read) · lineage · The Bobby's World opening of Bobby on a big wheel is called an homage to The Shining. · "And it's so clearly has to be an homage to this"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:20:11 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace · lineage · Lucas's goofy special-edition additions anticipate the broad humor of the prequels, such as Jar Jar. · "It's weird how many of the Lucas alterations are like really goofy broad humor."
[Blank Check · Raging Bull · 1:33:33 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40)] Raging Bull ↔ Midnight Cowboy · craft · Midnight Cowboy has an innocent at the center to balance Ratso; Raging Bull is the Rizzo movie with no such cushion. · "But this is the Razzo Rizzo movie, sort of, and again, another reason, they don't they can't make this today."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 2:14:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Shining ⇒ Doctor Sleep (the host's read) · lineage · Doctor Sleep has to pay some homage to Kubrick while following a novel whose author hates the film. · "it has to thread paying some homage to Kubrick"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:29:00 · unknown (0.30)] Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ↔ Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens · lineage · Luke's lost lightsaber (his father's) turns up again in The Force Awakens. · "Which then reappears, of course, in The Force Awakens."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 2:26:19 · David Sims (0.40)] The Shining ⇒ Ready Player One (the host's read) · lineage · Ready Player One has a fun sequence set in the hotel. · "Ready player one, they go to the hotel."
[speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] Blank Check: The box office game (Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against); The sung theme ("Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.