What the corpus says about Network (1976)

The 50 lines php artisan corpus:ask hands a model, in the order it gets them, and nothing else. The model writes a clerk's answer from these and only these.

What was said about it (9)

[The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:19:27 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] A Few Good Men ↔ Network · programming · It is in the conversation for most rewatched movie of a lifetime, next to Network, Oz, Godfather, Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction. · "and a few good men is right there with it."
[The Rewatchables · 'The Player' · 1:27:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] The Player ↔ Network · lineage · In the meta-Hollywood movies discussion, Network, Argo, Tropic Thunder and Bamboozled are floated as the nearest cousins, none as acidic. · "But you have never seen a movie this acidic about, you know, the, and also involving the, the level of fit."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 1:18:13 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] All the President's Men ↔ Network · theme · Both are comfort rewatches though not comforting: the pros get the job done and do not fail. · "there's something about, you know, they're going to get the job done that is comforting to me."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:31:14 · unknown (0.30)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Network · theme · Network is called another movie that gets an impossible tone right, with dramatic actors rather than comedians. · "But that's another movie that's similarly like this gets sort of an impossible tone right."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:42:56 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Network ↔ Taxi Driver · contrast · Network is the extravagant experiment of collaborators at their peak; Taxi Driver is daring too, but less so. · "Taxi Driver is pretty pretty daring, but network is an extravagant experiment and a collision of people at the absolute height of their powers all working together."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:33:05 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Network · verdict · Network is also called really great in the 1976 best-picture relitigation; one host thinks Holden is better than Finch in it. · "Well, network's really great though."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:42:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Rocky ↔ Network · verdict · Rocky won over All the President's Men, Network and Taxi Driver in 1977, and is not better than any of them. · "Rocky is not a better film than any of the 3 films I just named, in my opinion."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:47:13 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Killing ↔ Network · narration · The narrator's too-slick, removed vibe recalls the narrator in Network. · "I forget who does the narration in network, but he has that same sort of vibe"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 1:00:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Stanley Kubrick ↔ Network · what-if · Kubrick was approached to direct Network, which would have been an interesting what-if. · "To direct network, which is an interesting what if?"

Films put beside it more than once (1)

[pairs] Network ↔ Rocky · said 2 times in 2 episodes

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (33)

[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 Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ · 0:15:13 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Misery ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Misery sits in Reiner's incredible trio, all now Rewatchables. · "But when Harry Met Ali, Misery, Few Good Men, is really the best of all of these different great actors, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ · 0:21:08 · Chris Ryan (0.45)] All the President's Men ⇒ The Insider (the host's read) · lineage · The Insider is hoped to capture the same wave of reaction that All the President's Men did. · "they're hoping to capture that same kind of that wave that people have when they saw all the president's men."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Lolita · 1:20:10 · unknown (0.00)] Lolita → Dr. Strangelove · programming · Unlike Strangelove, Lolita had no prior Kubrick-Sellers connection. · "Because it's not like Strange Love where you're like, okay, there's a pre-existing connection now."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:55:34 · Griffin Newman (0.35)] Murder by Contract ⇒ Taxi Driver (the host's read) · lineage · Murder by Contract is called a huge influence on Taxi Driver. · "very well-known for murder by contract, which was a huge influence on taxi driver"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:44:41 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Saturday Night Fever · programming · Watching Rocky made Chris Ryan want to watch Saturday Night Fever as a double feature. · "This movie made me want to watch Saturday Night Fever for some reason."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:11:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] The Pelican Brief ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Disqualified: legal thriller, not courtroom drama, operating outside the courtroom. · "operates almost entirely outside of the courtroom"
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ · 0:30:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Spotlight ↔ All the President's Men · lineage · Spotlight was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of All the President's Men, if not its style. · "it was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of all the president's men, if not the style."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:48:54 · David Sims (0.55)] Red Alert (novel) ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read) · lineage · The speaker says Dr. Strangelove is based on Peter George's serious nuclear thriller Red Alert. · "so he scoops up this book called Red Alert, which is, of course, what Dr. Strangelove is based on by Peter George that is a serious nuclear thriller."
[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."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:44:48 · Bill Simmons (0.45)] Rocky ↔ Rocky II · programming · Best double feature: go right from Rocky into Rocky 2 and skip the Adrian coma stretch. · "I think you have to go right from here into the 2nd one."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:12:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] 12 Angry Men ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · 12 Angry Men is a technicality: a morality play in a side room, not a courtroom drama. · "It's a morality play inside of a side room related to a courtroom"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:53:55 · David Sims (0.60)] Dr. Strangelove ⇒ Zucker Brothers (the host's read) · lineage · Speaker had a breakthrough that Strangelove must have been a big influence on the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams. · "I did finally have the breakthrough watching this of how much of an influence this movie must have been on the Zucker Brothers and John Abrahams."
[Blank Check · Star 80 · 0:02:35 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Star 80 ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · Every scene of Star 80 is likened to the porno scene in Taxi Driver turned up to 75. · "Like every scene of this movie is like the porno scene in Taxi Driver, but amped up to 75."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:50:04 · Bill Simmons (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Warrior · programming · If you did a UFC Rocky, Warrior is by far the best UFC movie so far. · "Warriors by far the best one."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:14:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] To Kill a Mockingbird ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Left off the list as more homework than pleasurable; the list favors twisty, speechifying, overacting movies. · "pleasurability factor of a lot of these movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 1:28:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Bob Newhart ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read) · lineage · Speaker feels Newhart's one-sided phone-call format and his 1960 albums were a heavy influence on the President's call with the Soviet premier. · "I feel like a heavy influence on the way the president's phone call with Russia play out in this movie."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ · 0:47:58 · Bill Simmons (0.85)] Saturday Night Fever ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · A list of distressed-New-York movies made in about six years, with this film among them. · "Mean streets, taxi driver, Death Wish, the Warriors"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:05:47 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Rocky ⇒ (the modern sports movie) (the host's read) · lineage · Rocky created the sports-movie prototype and the modern underdog. · "created the sports movie prototype, like just period."
[Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:06:13 · unknown (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ Aaron Sorkin · programming · A Few Good Men and The American President get folded into a Sorkin series, not a Reiner one. · "Few good men in American president."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:22:29 · David Sims (0.40)] Paths of Glory ↔ Dr. Strangelove · lineage · Strangelove is the nearest thing Kubrick made to Paths of Glory afterward, both being people talking through absurdity. · "the closest thing he's made to this since this is Strangelove, because Strangelove is also people talking through absurdity by and large"
[The Big Picture · The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 11 - 'The Wolf of Wall Street’ · 0:19:53 · unknown (0.40)] The Wolf of Wall Street ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · All Scorsese movies are about guys chasing something they think will ease unresolved pain. · "all the Scorsese movies are all about these unresolved pains, you know, the desire to be more famous, the desire to be more successful"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:06:09 · Chris Ryan (0.45)] The Longest Yard ⇒ Rocky (the host's read) · lineage · Longest Yard arguably started the big-event beats, but Rocky is what made the sports-movie recipe stick. · "which I guess you could say longest yard started it, but once Rocky did this."
[Blank Check · The Color of Money · 1:36:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ Heat 2 · lineage · A hypothetical Sorkin A Few Good Men sequel is compared to Heat 2 as a legacy-sequel recast by its original creator. · "it's not Fincher doing the legacyquel with an entirely different cast, but it is Sorkin making his own legacy."
[Blank Check — Patreon · A Clockwork Orange · 0:47:02 · Alex Ross Perry (0.50)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ A Clockwork Orange · theme · Strangelove, 2001, and this film are the clearest examples of his theme of technology that hastens man's downfall. · "Dr. Strangelove in 2001. And this movie are very literal examples of that, of that theme for sure."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ · 1:03:18 · Bill Simmons (0.45)] Taxi Driver ⇒ Thief (the host's read) · craft · Scorsese used wet streets in Taxi Driver before Mann made it a signature. · "Scorsese did a little bit in taxi driver"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:10:16 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Mean Streets · lineage · Rocky is essentially Stallone making Mean Streets. · "It's essentially like Stallone making mean streets."
[Blank Check · The Color of Money · 1:37:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ NCIS · lineage · A Few Good Men's JAG lawyer role is linked to the JAG/NCIS rights tangle as the joke legacy sequel. · "As we all know, NCIS is based on JAG. is a spinoff. technically a spinoff of the TV show, Jack."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:29:22 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Tootsie · theme · Speaker says Strangelove and Tootsie are both extremely funny but feel important to the industry. · "Well, this movie and Totsie have a lot in common, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:31:07 · David Sims (0.40)] Alien Resurrection ↔ Taxi Driver · craft · One crew member has a Travis Bickle gun-sling rig. · "So this guy has the, like, Travis Bickle... It's got the gun, the gun slings, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:11:32 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Rocky ⇒ The Karate Kid (the host's read) · lineage · Rocky is eight years before Karate Kid, which is called the 2.0 version of the same underdog story but a completely different movie in every respect. · "We're 8 years away from karate kid, which is the next, the 2.0 version of this movie."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:07:27 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Verdict ⇒ A Few Good Men (the host's read) · lineage · You cannot have A Few Good Men without The Verdict; everything on the courtroom checklist comes from it. · "you really, really cannot have a few good men without having the verdict"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 2:01:46 · David Sims (0.75)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Seven Days in May · theme · Seven Days in May is a serious political thriller with a similar vibe about the military clashing with the president. · "It's another political thriller with kind of a similar vibe, but it's serious,"

Who said it, by their latest sketch (4)

[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4

The shows' running bits (3)

[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)

The whole prompt

As the model gets it, from app/Ai/Prompts/CorpusAsk.md

You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished Network (1976) 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 Network (1976) 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.

[The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:19:27 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] A Few Good Men ↔ Network · programming · It is in the conversation for most rewatched movie of a lifetime, next to Network, Oz, Godfather, Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction. · "and a few good men is right there with it."
[The Rewatchables · 'The Player' · 1:27:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] The Player ↔ Network · lineage · In the meta-Hollywood movies discussion, Network, Argo, Tropic Thunder and Bamboozled are floated as the nearest cousins, none as acidic. · "But you have never seen a movie this acidic about, you know, the, and also involving the, the level of fit."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 1:18:13 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] All the President's Men ↔ Network · theme · Both are comfort rewatches though not comforting: the pros get the job done and do not fail. · "there's something about, you know, they're going to get the job done that is comforting to me."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:31:14 · unknown (0.30)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Network · theme · Network is called another movie that gets an impossible tone right, with dramatic actors rather than comedians. · "But that's another movie that's similarly like this gets sort of an impossible tone right."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:42:56 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Network ↔ Taxi Driver · contrast · Network is the extravagant experiment of collaborators at their peak; Taxi Driver is daring too, but less so. · "Taxi Driver is pretty pretty daring, but network is an extravagant experiment and a collision of people at the absolute height of their powers all working together."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:33:05 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Network · verdict · Network is also called really great in the 1976 best-picture relitigation; one host thinks Holden is better than Finch in it. · "Well, network's really great though."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:42:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Rocky ↔ Network · verdict · Rocky won over All the President's Men, Network and Taxi Driver in 1977, and is not better than any of them. · "Rocky is not a better film than any of the 3 films I just named, in my opinion."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:47:13 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Killing ↔ Network · narration · The narrator's too-slick, removed vibe recalls the narrator in Network. · "I forget who does the narration in network, but he has that same sort of vibe"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining · 1:00:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Stanley Kubrick ↔ Network · what-if · Kubrick was approached to direct Network, which would have been an interesting what-if. · "To direct network, which is an interesting what if?"
[pairs] Network ↔ Rocky · said 2 times in 2 episodes
[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 Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ · 0:15:13 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Misery ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Misery sits in Reiner's incredible trio, all now Rewatchables. · "But when Harry Met Ali, Misery, Few Good Men, is really the best of all of these different great actors, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ · 0:21:08 · Chris Ryan (0.45)] All the President's Men ⇒ The Insider (the host's read) · lineage · The Insider is hoped to capture the same wave of reaction that All the President's Men did. · "they're hoping to capture that same kind of that wave that people have when they saw all the president's men."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Lolita · 1:20:10 · unknown (0.00)] Lolita → Dr. Strangelove · programming · Unlike Strangelove, Lolita had no prior Kubrick-Sellers connection. · "Because it's not like Strange Love where you're like, okay, there's a pre-existing connection now."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing · 0:55:34 · Griffin Newman (0.35)] Murder by Contract ⇒ Taxi Driver (the host's read) · lineage · Murder by Contract is called a huge influence on Taxi Driver. · "very well-known for murder by contract, which was a huge influence on taxi driver"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:44:41 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Saturday Night Fever · programming · Watching Rocky made Chris Ryan want to watch Saturday Night Fever as a double feature. · "This movie made me want to watch Saturday Night Fever for some reason."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:11:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] The Pelican Brief ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Disqualified: legal thriller, not courtroom drama, operating outside the courtroom. · "operates almost entirely outside of the courtroom"
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ · 0:30:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Spotlight ↔ All the President's Men · lineage · Spotlight was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of All the President's Men, if not its style. · "it was closer to the spirit of the conclusions of all the president's men, if not the style."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:48:54 · David Sims (0.55)] Red Alert (novel) ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read) · lineage · The speaker says Dr. Strangelove is based on Peter George's serious nuclear thriller Red Alert. · "so he scoops up this book called Red Alert, which is, of course, what Dr. Strangelove is based on by Peter George that is a serious nuclear thriller."
[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."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:44:48 · Bill Simmons (0.45)] Rocky ↔ Rocky II · programming · Best double feature: go right from Rocky into Rocky 2 and skip the Adrian coma stretch. · "I think you have to go right from here into the 2nd one."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:12:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] 12 Angry Men ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · 12 Angry Men is a technicality: a morality play in a side room, not a courtroom drama. · "It's a morality play inside of a side room related to a courtroom"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:53:55 · David Sims (0.60)] Dr. Strangelove ⇒ Zucker Brothers (the host's read) · lineage · Speaker had a breakthrough that Strangelove must have been a big influence on the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams. · "I did finally have the breakthrough watching this of how much of an influence this movie must have been on the Zucker Brothers and John Abrahams."
[Blank Check · Star 80 · 0:02:35 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Star 80 ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · Every scene of Star 80 is likened to the porno scene in Taxi Driver turned up to 75. · "Like every scene of this movie is like the porno scene in Taxi Driver, but amped up to 75."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 1:50:04 · Bill Simmons (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Warrior · programming · If you did a UFC Rocky, Warrior is by far the best UFC movie so far. · "Warriors by far the best one."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 0:14:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] To Kill a Mockingbird ↔ A Few Good Men · programming · Left off the list as more homework than pleasurable; the list favors twisty, speechifying, overacting movies. · "pleasurability factor of a lot of these movies"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 1:28:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Bob Newhart ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read) · lineage · Speaker feels Newhart's one-sided phone-call format and his 1960 albums were a heavy influence on the President's call with the Soviet premier. · "I feel like a heavy influence on the way the president's phone call with Russia play out in this movie."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ · 0:47:58 · Bill Simmons (0.85)] Saturday Night Fever ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · A list of distressed-New-York movies made in about six years, with this film among them. · "Mean streets, taxi driver, Death Wish, the Warriors"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:05:47 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Rocky ⇒ (the modern sports movie) (the host's read) · lineage · Rocky created the sports-movie prototype and the modern underdog. · "created the sports movie prototype, like just period."
[Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:06:13 · unknown (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ Aaron Sorkin · programming · A Few Good Men and The American President get folded into a Sorkin series, not a Reiner one. · "Few good men in American president."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 0:22:29 · David Sims (0.40)] Paths of Glory ↔ Dr. Strangelove · lineage · Strangelove is the nearest thing Kubrick made to Paths of Glory afterward, both being people talking through absurdity. · "the closest thing he's made to this since this is Strangelove, because Strangelove is also people talking through absurdity by and large"
[The Big Picture · The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 11 - 'The Wolf of Wall Street’ · 0:19:53 · unknown (0.40)] The Wolf of Wall Street ↔ Taxi Driver · theme · All Scorsese movies are about guys chasing something they think will ease unresolved pain. · "all the Scorsese movies are all about these unresolved pains, you know, the desire to be more famous, the desire to be more successful"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:06:09 · Chris Ryan (0.45)] The Longest Yard ⇒ Rocky (the host's read) · lineage · Longest Yard arguably started the big-event beats, but Rocky is what made the sports-movie recipe stick. · "which I guess you could say longest yard started it, but once Rocky did this."
[Blank Check · The Color of Money · 1:36:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ Heat 2 · lineage · A hypothetical Sorkin A Few Good Men sequel is compared to Heat 2 as a legacy-sequel recast by its original creator. · "it's not Fincher doing the legacyquel with an entirely different cast, but it is Sorkin making his own legacy."
[Blank Check — Patreon · A Clockwork Orange · 0:47:02 · Alex Ross Perry (0.50)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ A Clockwork Orange · theme · Strangelove, 2001, and this film are the clearest examples of his theme of technology that hastens man's downfall. · "Dr. Strangelove in 2001. And this movie are very literal examples of that, of that theme for sure."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ · 1:03:18 · Bill Simmons (0.45)] Taxi Driver ⇒ Thief (the host's read) · craft · Scorsese used wet streets in Taxi Driver before Mann made it a signature. · "Scorsese did a little bit in taxi driver"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:10:16 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Rocky ↔ Mean Streets · lineage · Rocky is essentially Stallone making Mean Streets. · "It's essentially like Stallone making mean streets."
[Blank Check · The Color of Money · 1:37:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] A Few Good Men ↔ NCIS · lineage · A Few Good Men's JAG lawyer role is linked to the JAG/NCIS rights tangle as the joke legacy sequel. · "As we all know, NCIS is based on JAG. is a spinoff. technically a spinoff of the TV show, Jack."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 0:29:22 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Tootsie · theme · Speaker says Strangelove and Tootsie are both extremely funny but feel important to the industry. · "Well, this movie and Totsie have a lot in common, right?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:31:07 · David Sims (0.40)] Alien Resurrection ↔ Taxi Driver · craft · One crew member has a Travis Bickle gun-sling rig. · "So this guy has the, like, Travis Bickle... It's got the gun, the gun slings, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ · 0:11:32 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Rocky ⇒ The Karate Kid (the host's read) · lineage · Rocky is eight years before Karate Kid, which is called the 2.0 version of the same underdog story but a completely different movie in every respect. · "We're 8 years away from karate kid, which is the next, the 2.0 version of this movie."
[The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:07:27 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Verdict ⇒ A Few Good Men (the host's read) · lineage · You cannot have A Few Good Men without The Verdict; everything on the courtroom checklist comes from it. · "you really, really cannot have a few good men without having the verdict"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... · 2:01:46 · David Sims (0.75)] Dr. Strangelove ↔ Seven Days in May · theme · Seven Days in May is a serious political thriller with a similar vibe about the military clashing with the president. · "It's another political thriller with kind of a similar vibe, but it's serious,"
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
[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 Network (1976); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Network (1976) 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.