What the corpus says about Gladiator (2000)

The 60 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 (25)

  1. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original. · "it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original."
  2. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison. · "it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing."
  3. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion. · "I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people"
  4. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat. · "And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:03:34 · Richard Lawson (0.60)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · lineage · Richard, seeing Spartacus for the first time, says it is the main thing Gladiator riffs on. · "this is really the main thing the gladiators are riffing on."
  6. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · craft · Gladiator II brings back the original film's cinematographer, John Mathieson, as part of a returning crew. · "The cinematographer, John Matheson, is back."
  7. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · craft · Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text. · "it is, is a classic case of reconning."
  8. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · contrast · The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure. · "Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise."
  9. [The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:56:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Insider ↔ Gladiator · people · Russell Crowe inverts his Gladiator body into a dad bod in The Insider. · "changing his gladiator bod to dad bod."
  10. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:33:49 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · people · Gladiator, like Spartacus, is loaded with supporting actors who are thespian gems, which the speaker says Scott recognized. · "as Ridley Scott recognized about this movie, is like loaded up with supporting actors who are like just thespian gems."
  11. [Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 3:02:25 · David Sims (0.40)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Gladiator · industry · The pitch to adults was 'Russell Crowe doing Gladiator on a boat', which should have meant an automatic 40 million opening. · "we've got Russell Crowe doing gladiator on a boat."
  12. [Blank Check · An Angel at My Table · 1:47:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Spider-Man ↔ Gladiator · industry · Gladiator showed May could open a movie; Spider-Man made May the preferred month. · "Spider-Man has the biggest weekend of all time in May, and then I think officially may becomes the month you want to release it."
  13. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:26 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator ↔ The Lord of the Rings · industry · Gladiator came right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man changed summer blockbusters. · "And it's right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man."
  14. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:47:21 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Gladiator · industry · The Oscar race looked even between Gladiator, Traffic and CTHD. · "But I feel like people thought it was a pretty even race between gladiator traffic and crouching tiger that it could go any one of the 3 ways."
  15. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:48:58 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Gladiator · industry · Gladiator beat CTHD for Best Picture with 12 nominations to 10. · "Glad you got 12."
  16. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:16 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · what-if · Make Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective: Macrinus, who wants to upend Roman society. · "The pitch could have been, we're going to do Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective."
  17. [Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:08:49 · unknown (0.50)] The 13th Warrior ↔ Gladiator · what-if · Banderas was supposedly cast here and so dropped out of Gladiator, which was built for him. · "And it's because of fucking Benderas being cast in the wrong movie, which causes him to drop out of the right movie."
  18. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:14:49 · unknown (0.35)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · scene reused · The trident thrown into the stands in Spartacus is in Gladiator too, with Russell Crowe doing it. · "that's literally in Gladiator."
  19. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:33:00 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ↔ Gladiator · compared endings · Spartacus does not Hollywoodize its ending; Gladiator at least lets its hero go to heaven. · "Because, I mean, like Gladiator at least sort of lets him go to heaven."
  20. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 2:06:08 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Kingdom of Heaven (the host's read) · followed · Ridley tried to repeat Gladiator with Kingdom of Heaven and again later. · "And even Ridley tried to do it. Kingdom of Heaven. Two more times."
  21. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 2:06:43 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Troy (the host's read) · followed · Troy coasts off the goodwill from Gladiator. · "Troy is the one that coasts off of the Goodwill from Gladiator"
  22. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:13:26 · unknown (0.40)] Woody Strode → Gladiator · theme · Speaker imagines Ridley Scott deciding to keep the Draba-type character alive the whole movie. · "Ridley Scott was like, what if we keep him alive the whole movie?"
  23. [Blank Check · As Good as It Gets · 1:05:43 · Chris Gethard (0.60)] Joaquin Phoenix ↔ Gladiator · craft · Chris likes Phoenix's Gladiator performance. · "I'll say, I really appreciated his performance in Gladiator."
  24. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:29:30 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Paul Mescal ↔ Gladiator · contrast · Lucius's feats never match the first time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe. · "never really match up to the 1st time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe."
  25. [Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:09:18 · David Sims (0.40)] Ridley Scott ↔ Gladiator · people · Screenwriter John Logan, brought on to Covenant, had worked with Scott on Gladiator. · "And so they bring in John Logan, who worked with Ridley Scott on Gladiator."

Films put beside it more than once (3)

  1. [pairs] Gladiator ↔ Gladiator II · said 8 times in 1 episode
  2. [pairs] Gladiator ↔ Spartacus · said 4 times in 1 episode
  3. [pairs] Gladiator ↔ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · said 2 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (5)

  1. [The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:15:21 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Gladiator · fun · Raftery says he hears Elizabeth Taylor saying 'Gladiator' weekly, more than he thinks about the film. · "I'm not kidding when I say that I hear Liz Taylor saying gladiator in my head at least once a week."
  2. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:10:35 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator · fun · Joaquin Phoenix's rise, Crowe's peak and patching together Oliver Reed's performance after his death made it lightning in a bottle. · "Like, you know, being able to patch together the Oliver Reed performance, even though he passes away during production."
  3. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Gladiator · fun · Chris calls the original arguably the last truly practical blockbuster, right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man. · "it's arguably the last truly practical blockbuster."
  4. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:12:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Gladiator · fun · The never-made Nick Cave sequel, where Maximus fights his way through hell, still floats around online. · "You can see online still, where Maximus fights his way through hell."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:08:45 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator · fun · Banderas was reportedly cast here instead of Gladiator, which starts with a Spaniard played by Russell Crowe. · "Gladiator starts with Russell Crowe being like, of course I'm a Spaniard."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (19)

  1. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Wicked · programming · Gladiator II's CGI baboons made it feel like being dumped into Wicked. · "I actually felt like we got dumped into Wicked or something, you know?"
  2. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:59:30 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ⇒ Dell Comics (the host's read) · lineage · Spartacus got a Dell Comics color adaptation, like a tie-in of its era. · "that this had a Dell comics color adaptation"
  3. [The Big Picture · Did Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Experiment Work? A Binge Mode Investigation · 0:28:58 · Jason Concepcion (0.80)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ⇒ Mulan (the host's read) · lineage · The remake's wuxia/mystical style follows the wave of Chinese films that grew popular after Crouching Tiger and the Zhang Yimou films. · "they've gotten very big, kind of post, crouching tiger hidden dragon, and the Jang Yi-Mu films"
  4. [Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:40:33 · David Sims (0.60)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Hornblower (TV films) · programming · Britons grew up on Hornblower in the 90s; it is the near-only other Napoleonic naval storytelling, and Griffin's friend was steered to it as a substitute. · "I want to watch like a master and commander thing, but not master and commander because I've seen enough master and commander."
  5. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:47:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Conclave · theme · Both films feel resonant with the election cycle without mapping neatly. · "the same way that conclave, which is like so heavily leaning into like, hey, isn't this just like this election cycle?"
  6. [Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 1:45:25 · David Sims (0.50)] Paths of Glory ↔ Spartacus · lineage · Kubrick makes Spartacus next partly because Paths of Glory made him no money. · "Which is one reason he's going to Spartacus because he really needs to make some money."
  7. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 0:23:14 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Westerns (genre) · lineage · Lee reviving an old genre like making a Western, but engineered for a worldwide audience. · "It was like if somebody made a Western, but it also was implicitly built to and engineered to appeal to a worldwide audience as much as it appealed to an American one."
  8. [Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:16:54 · David Sims (0.50)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ The Truman Show · theme · Asked how the studio sold a Weir boat movie, the hosts note the poster could not say 'from the director of The Truman Show' but both films have sailing scenes. · "They do both have sailing scenes."
  9. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:09:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Gladiator II ↔ Anora · theme · Anora's idea that there is no dream undercuts Macrinus's rise from nothing to the top. · "one of the key ideas of Anora is like, There is no dream."
  10. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:08:18 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ↔ Cleopatra · theme · Cleopatra was the end of the epic era's escalation; it cost three times as much. · "Cleopatra was like the end of an error"
  11. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 0:24:55 · David Sims (0.40)] King Hu ⇒ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (the host's read) · lineage · CTHD plays in the milieu of King Hu and the wuxia classics, but with a more modern sensibility. · "this movie is playing in a, in a Milu that is inherent to like King Hu movies and Musha, like the classics"
  12. [Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:41:35 · unknown (0.40)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Waterloo · theme · Napoleonic-era films from the 40s to 60s were mostly about land war, like Waterloo, so naval ones are scarce. · "I think most of the Napoleonic stuff back then, it's more the land."
  13. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:26:18 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Prometheus · craft · Macrinus's rise is Scott with the safety off, like Prometheus's birth sequence. · "This is actually the Ridley Scott with the safety off thing, the Prometheus, um, you know, uh, birth sequence"
  14. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:09:25 · unknown (0.40)] Hail, Caesar! → Spartacus · theme · Hail, Caesar! mocks the self-important Hollywood epic that Spartacus belongs to. · "Hail Caesar, which is mocking that"
  15. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:07:21 · Griffin Newman (0.30)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Last Action Hero · lineage · Jen worshipping Shu Lien and living her dreamed-of story is very Last Action Hero. · "It's very last action hero."
  16. [Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 2:10:24 · unknown (0.45)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Star Trek (franchise, generally) · theme · The 'are you being too prideful?' friend who can challenge the captain is a Star Trek trope; Maturin/Aubrey is different from Kirk and Bones because they are a marriage. · "any fucking Star Trek has that too, of like, there's the one guy who can say like, captain."
  17. [The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:38:38 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Apocalypse Now · craft · Sean demands real animals, citing the tiger in Apocalypse Now. · "You're not responding like the way Frederick Forrest responds to the tiger in apocalypse now"
  18. [Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:14:15 · David Sims (0.40)] Sergei Prokofiev ↔ Spartacus · craft · Kubrick played a Prokofiev concerto on set to draw Strode's final close-up out of him. · "The music was a Prakofi of Concerto, a haunting passage."
  19. [Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:46:30 · David Ehrlich (0.35)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Brokeback Mountain · lineage · CTHD as the first of Lee's 'fuck mountain diptych' of transgressive sex movies, with Brokeback. · "This is the 1st of Angley's fuck mountain diptych."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (6)

  1. [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
  2. [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
  3. [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'
  4. [speaker] Mallory Rubin · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday Night Lights’ · Devoted to the Friday Night Lights show and cares most about its marriage, character work and Texas setting. Loves a high school football film, small-town Texas and Billy Bob; a sucker for Kyle Chandler, Tammy and Eric. Can't stand the film leaving Sharon unused. · stances: The TV show can't be matched, but that does not slight the film; Coach Taylor's speeches beat Coach Gaines's; The film needed a Gaines marriage sex scene; The reboot must stay in Texas; Cruise would make a deranged, mesmerizing Gaines
  5. [speaker] Brian Raftery · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Loves slow-burn tension and scenes built on dialogue, naming the Ellis kitchen scene the best of the 2000s. Is drawn to films that capture their national moment. Has little patience for the word classic, and dry humor about presidents and haircuts. · stances: No Country for Old Men is about inevitability and powerlessness; Its 2007 release resonated with Bush-era anxiety; W. was undone by timing, not quality; Stone's late-2000s movies are best read through the decade's politics
  6. [speaker] Chris Gethard · latest sketch, Blank Check · As Good as It Gets · Loves an unapologetic dickhead performance and Star Wars minutiae (memorized the encyclopedia in high school); a sucker for Helen Hunt and for underdog films like Breaking Away. Can't stand Poe Dameron's mutiny, bad-movie-in-theaters stories, or romances where a straight man and woman can't just respect each other. · stances: Kinnear's performance is the best in the film and may be his career peak; Poe Dameron is a war criminal; Wants straight male/female friendships that stay non-romantic; Nicholson in this film is top three for lovable dickheads

The shows' running bits (2)

  1. [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)
  2. [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)

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 Gladiator (2000) 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 Gladiator (2000) 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 · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original. · "it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison. · "it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion. · "I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people"
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · lineage · Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat. · "And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:03:34 · Richard Lawson (0.60)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · lineage · Richard, seeing Spartacus for the first time, says it is the main thing Gladiator riffs on. · "this is really the main thing the gladiators are riffing on."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · craft · Gladiator II brings back the original film's cinematographer, John Mathieson, as part of a returning crew. · "The cinematographer, John Matheson, is back."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · craft · Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text. · "it is, is a classic case of reconning."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50)] Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read) · contrast · The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure. · "Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise."
[The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:56:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Insider ↔ Gladiator · people · Russell Crowe inverts his Gladiator body into a dad bod in The Insider. · "changing his gladiator bod to dad bod."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:33:49 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · people · Gladiator, like Spartacus, is loaded with supporting actors who are thespian gems, which the speaker says Scott recognized. · "as Ridley Scott recognized about this movie, is like loaded up with supporting actors who are like just thespian gems."
[Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 3:02:25 · David Sims (0.40)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Gladiator · industry · The pitch to adults was 'Russell Crowe doing Gladiator on a boat', which should have meant an automatic 40 million opening. · "we've got Russell Crowe doing gladiator on a boat."
[Blank Check · An Angel at My Table · 1:47:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] Spider-Man ↔ Gladiator · industry · Gladiator showed May could open a movie; Spider-Man made May the preferred month. · "Spider-Man has the biggest weekend of all time in May, and then I think officially may becomes the month you want to release it."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:26 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator ↔ The Lord of the Rings · industry · Gladiator came right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man changed summer blockbusters. · "And it's right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:47:21 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Gladiator · industry · The Oscar race looked even between Gladiator, Traffic and CTHD. · "But I feel like people thought it was a pretty even race between gladiator traffic and crouching tiger that it could go any one of the 3 ways."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:48:58 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Gladiator · industry · Gladiator beat CTHD for Best Picture with 12 nominations to 10. · "Glad you got 12."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:16 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Gladiator · what-if · Make Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective: Macrinus, who wants to upend Roman society. · "The pitch could have been, we're going to do Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:08:49 · unknown (0.50)] The 13th Warrior ↔ Gladiator · what-if · Banderas was supposedly cast here and so dropped out of Gladiator, which was built for him. · "And it's because of fucking Benderas being cast in the wrong movie, which causes him to drop out of the right movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:14:49 · unknown (0.35)] Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read) · scene reused · The trident thrown into the stands in Spartacus is in Gladiator too, with Russell Crowe doing it. · "that's literally in Gladiator."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:33:00 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ↔ Gladiator · compared endings · Spartacus does not Hollywoodize its ending; Gladiator at least lets its hero go to heaven. · "Because, I mean, like Gladiator at least sort of lets him go to heaven."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 2:06:08 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Kingdom of Heaven (the host's read) · followed · Ridley tried to repeat Gladiator with Kingdom of Heaven and again later. · "And even Ridley tried to do it. Kingdom of Heaven. Two more times."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 2:06:43 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator ⇒ Troy (the host's read) · followed · Troy coasts off the goodwill from Gladiator. · "Troy is the one that coasts off of the Goodwill from Gladiator"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:13:26 · unknown (0.40)] Woody Strode → Gladiator · theme · Speaker imagines Ridley Scott deciding to keep the Draba-type character alive the whole movie. · "Ridley Scott was like, what if we keep him alive the whole movie?"
[Blank Check · As Good as It Gets · 1:05:43 · Chris Gethard (0.60)] Joaquin Phoenix ↔ Gladiator · craft · Chris likes Phoenix's Gladiator performance. · "I'll say, I really appreciated his performance in Gladiator."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:29:30 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Paul Mescal ↔ Gladiator · contrast · Lucius's feats never match the first time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe. · "never really match up to the 1st time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:09:18 · David Sims (0.40)] Ridley Scott ↔ Gladiator · people · Screenwriter John Logan, brought on to Covenant, had worked with Scott on Gladiator. · "And so they bring in John Logan, who worked with Ridley Scott on Gladiator."
[pairs] Gladiator ↔ Gladiator II · said 8 times in 1 episode
[pairs] Gladiator ↔ Spartacus · said 4 times in 1 episode
[pairs] Gladiator ↔ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · said 2 times in 1 episode
[The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:15:21 · Brian Raftery (0.95)] Gladiator · fun · Raftery says he hears Elizabeth Taylor saying 'Gladiator' weekly, more than he thinks about the film. · "I'm not kidding when I say that I hear Liz Taylor saying gladiator in my head at least once a week."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:10:35 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator · fun · Joaquin Phoenix's rise, Crowe's peak and patching together Oliver Reed's performance after his death made it lightning in a bottle. · "Like, you know, being able to patch together the Oliver Reed performance, even though he passes away during production."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Gladiator · fun · Chris calls the original arguably the last truly practical blockbuster, right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man. · "it's arguably the last truly practical blockbuster."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:12:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Gladiator · fun · The never-made Nick Cave sequel, where Maximus fights his way through hell, still floats around online. · "You can see online still, where Maximus fights his way through hell."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior · 1:08:45 · unknown (0.40)] Gladiator · fun · Banderas was reportedly cast here instead of Gladiator, which starts with a Spaniard played by Russell Crowe. · "Gladiator starts with Russell Crowe being like, of course I'm a Spaniard."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Wicked · programming · Gladiator II's CGI baboons made it feel like being dumped into Wicked. · "I actually felt like we got dumped into Wicked or something, you know?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:59:30 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ⇒ Dell Comics (the host's read) · lineage · Spartacus got a Dell Comics color adaptation, like a tie-in of its era. · "that this had a Dell comics color adaptation"
[The Big Picture · Did Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Experiment Work? A Binge Mode Investigation · 0:28:58 · Jason Concepcion (0.80)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ⇒ Mulan (the host's read) · lineage · The remake's wuxia/mystical style follows the wave of Chinese films that grew popular after Crouching Tiger and the Zhang Yimou films. · "they've gotten very big, kind of post, crouching tiger hidden dragon, and the Jang Yi-Mu films"
[Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:40:33 · David Sims (0.60)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Hornblower (TV films) · programming · Britons grew up on Hornblower in the 90s; it is the near-only other Napoleonic naval storytelling, and Griffin's friend was steered to it as a substitute. · "I want to watch like a master and commander thing, but not master and commander because I've seen enough master and commander."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:47:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Conclave · theme · Both films feel resonant with the election cycle without mapping neatly. · "the same way that conclave, which is like so heavily leaning into like, hey, isn't this just like this election cycle?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Paths of Glory · 1:45:25 · David Sims (0.50)] Paths of Glory ↔ Spartacus · lineage · Kubrick makes Spartacus next partly because Paths of Glory made him no money. · "Which is one reason he's going to Spartacus because he really needs to make some money."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 0:23:14 · David Sims (0.40)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Westerns (genre) · lineage · Lee reviving an old genre like making a Western, but engineered for a worldwide audience. · "It was like if somebody made a Western, but it also was implicitly built to and engineered to appeal to a worldwide audience as much as it appealed to an American one."
[Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:16:54 · David Sims (0.50)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ The Truman Show · theme · Asked how the studio sold a Weir boat movie, the hosts note the poster could not say 'from the director of The Truman Show' but both films have sailing scenes. · "They do both have sailing scenes."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:09:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50)] Gladiator II ↔ Anora · theme · Anora's idea that there is no dream undercuts Macrinus's rise from nothing to the top. · "one of the key ideas of Anora is like, There is no dream."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:08:18 · unknown (0.40)] Spartacus ↔ Cleopatra · theme · Cleopatra was the end of the epic era's escalation; it cost three times as much. · "Cleopatra was like the end of an error"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 0:24:55 · David Sims (0.40)] King Hu ⇒ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (the host's read) · lineage · CTHD plays in the milieu of King Hu and the wuxia classics, but with a more modern sensibility. · "this movie is playing in a, in a Milu that is inherent to like King Hu movies and Musha, like the classics"
[Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 0:41:35 · unknown (0.40)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Waterloo · theme · Napoleonic-era films from the 40s to 60s were mostly about land war, like Waterloo, so naval ones are scarce. · "I think most of the Napoleonic stuff back then, it's more the land."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:26:18 · Sean Fennessey (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Prometheus · craft · Macrinus's rise is Scott with the safety off, like Prometheus's birth sequence. · "This is actually the Ridley Scott with the safety off thing, the Prometheus, um, you know, uh, birth sequence"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:09:25 · unknown (0.40)] Hail, Caesar! → Spartacus · theme · Hail, Caesar! mocks the self-important Hollywood epic that Spartacus belongs to. · "Hail Caesar, which is mocking that"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:07:21 · Griffin Newman (0.30)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Last Action Hero · lineage · Jen worshipping Shu Lien and living her dreamed-of story is very Last Action Hero. · "It's very last action hero."
[Blank Check · Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World · 2:10:24 · unknown (0.45)] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ↔ Star Trek (franchise, generally) · theme · The 'are you being too prideful?' friend who can challenge the captain is a Star Trek trope; Maturin/Aubrey is different from Kirk and Bones because they are a marriage. · "any fucking Star Trek has that too, of like, there's the one guy who can say like, captain."
[The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:38:38 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] Gladiator II ↔ Apocalypse Now · craft · Sean demands real animals, citing the tiger in Apocalypse Now. · "You're not responding like the way Frederick Forrest responds to the tiger in apocalypse now"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus · 1:14:15 · David Sims (0.40)] Sergei Prokofiev ↔ Spartacus · craft · Kubrick played a Prokofiev concerto on set to draw Strode's final close-up out of him. · "The music was a Prakofi of Concerto, a haunting passage."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · 1:46:30 · David Ehrlich (0.35)] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ↔ Brokeback Mountain · lineage · CTHD as the first of Lee's 'fuck mountain diptych' of transgressive sex movies, with Brokeback. · "This is the 1st of Angley's fuck mountain diptych."
[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] 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
[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'
[speaker] Mallory Rubin · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday Night Lights’ · Devoted to the Friday Night Lights show and cares most about its marriage, character work and Texas setting. Loves a high school football film, small-town Texas and Billy Bob; a sucker for Kyle Chandler, Tammy and Eric. Can't stand the film leaving Sharon unused. · stances: The TV show can't be matched, but that does not slight the film; Coach Taylor's speeches beat Coach Gaines's; The film needed a Gaines marriage sex scene; The reboot must stay in Texas; Cruise would make a deranged, mesmerizing Gaines
[speaker] Brian Raftery · latest sketch, The Big Picture · 5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘W.’ | Mission Accomplished · Loves slow-burn tension and scenes built on dialogue, naming the Ellis kitchen scene the best of the 2000s. Is drawn to films that capture their national moment. Has little patience for the word classic, and dry humor about presidents and haircuts. · stances: No Country for Old Men is about inevitability and powerlessness; Its 2007 release resonated with Bush-era anxiety; W. was undone by timing, not quality; Stone's late-2000s movies are best read through the decade's politics
[speaker] Chris Gethard · latest sketch, Blank Check · As Good as It Gets · Loves an unapologetic dickhead performance and Star Wars minutiae (memorized the encyclopedia in high school); a sucker for Helen Hunt and for underdog films like Breaking Away. Can't stand Poe Dameron's mutiny, bad-movie-in-theaters stories, or romances where a straight man and woman can't just respect each other. · stances: Kinnear's performance is the best in the film and may be his career peak; Poe Dameron is a war criminal; Wants straight male/female friendships that stay non-romantic; Nicholson in this film is top three for lovable dickheads
[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)

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 Gladiator (2000); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Gladiator (2000) 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.