Ribbon of Memes

It's been over a century and a quarter since the first moving picture was committed to celluloid - the "ribbon of dreams", as Orson Welles mellifluously intoned.

And so, welcome, one and all, to Ribbon of Memes, a new podcast in which Roger Bell_West and Nick Marsh supply grateful listeners hot takes about films considered masterpieces by critics or filmgoers in general.

The rules: we choose one "masterpiece" from every year from the earliest days of cinema to our dreadful modern dystopia. Do we agree these films are classics? Are we entertained? Did we even understand what the film was trying to say? The questions are endless!*

We start in 1973 (for reasons explained in the first podcast) and progress vaguely chronologically (unless we think of another film that makes an interesting comparison to the one we have just seen, or are otherwise distracted by shiny new things).

Yes, that's right, we decided that what the world really needed was two more uninformed middle-aged white guys telling the world about media largely produced by similar people. Find out whether we were right or not herein!

*Actually, no, that's most of them.

We're also on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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Robin Hood 30 December 2023

Roger and Nick don our tights and feathered hats to consider Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Robin Hood (1973), Robin and Marian (1976), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

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It's a Wonderful Miracle on 34th Street 23 December 2023 - 4 comments

Nick and Roger discuss Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

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Train Rec to Busan 16 December 2023

Roger and Nick pick two foreign-language fruits from the zombie tree, with [•REC] and Train to Busan. Featuring Roger's Railway Corner!

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Cabinet of Dr Caligari 09 December 2023

Nick and Roger get distorted with our earliest film yet, 1920's The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.

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Moon (2009) 02 December 2023 - 1 comment

Roger and Nick confront questions of their own identity in Moon (2009).

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The Thomas Crown Affairs 25 November 2023 - 2 comments

Nick and Roger get into cool crime and smooth jazz with The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and its remake The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).

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La Jetee (1962)/12 Monkeys (1995) 11 November 2023

Roger and Nick attempt to avoid time paradoxes as we look at 1962's La Jetée and the film it inspired, 1995's 12 Monkeys

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The Wages of Fear (1953) 04 November 2023

Nick and Roger practice their truck drivin' songs for 1953's The Wages of Fear.

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The 13th Warrior (1999) 21 October 2023

By request of listener Aqi Draco, Roger and Nick get all Dark Ages, and ask: was 1999's The 13th Warrior John McTiernan's last great film?

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Sweet Smell of Success (1957) 14 October 2023

By request of listener Gus, Nick and Roger dive back into noir and come out dirty, in 1957's Sweet Smell of Success.

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The Most Dangerous Game (1932) 07 October 2023 - 4 comments

Roger and Nick visit possibly one of the most widely remade and imitated films: The Most Dangerous Game (1932).

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Renfield (2023) 30 September 2023 - 2 comments

Nick and Roger go back to the Nic Cage well—but will it be one time too many, as he plays Dracula to Nicholas Hoult's Renfield?

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The Thin Man (1934) 23 September 2023

Roger and Nick go back to the glorious seven months between the end of Prohibition and the enforcement of the Production Code, with The Thin Man (1934).

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Big Trouble in Little China (1986) 16 September 2023 - 2 comments

Nick and Roger rewatch the film that could have been Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fourteen years early: Big Trouble in Little China.

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The Birds (1963) 09 September 2023 - 3 comments

Roger and Nick conclude our Hitchcock-a-thon with The Birds (1963). Ca-caw!

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North by Northwest (1959) 02 September 2023 - 4 comments

Nick and Roger watch the first James Bond film, or at least the one that gave them most of their ideas: North by Northwest (1959).

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Vertigo (1958) 26 August 2023

Roger and Nick watch a film that's gradually come to be regarded as the Best Ever: Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).

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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 19 August 2023

Nick and Roger watch another Huston/Bogart collaboration: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

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After Indy 12 August 2023 - 3 comments

Roger and Nick watch a couple of films derided as ripoffs of Raiders of the Lost Ark: High Road to China (1983) and Romancing the Stone (1984).

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Commando, Predator and The Running Man 05 August 2023

Nick and Roger discuss three classics (?) of Arnold Schwarzenegger's early career: Commando (1985), Predator (1987) and The Running Man (1987).

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Double Indemnity (1944) 29 July 2023

Roger and Nick return to our spiritual noir homes with Double Indemnity (1944).

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The Call of Cthulhu (2005), Die Farbe (2010), The Whisperer in Darkness (2011) and Color Out of Space (2019) 22 July 2023 - 2 comments

Nick and Roger indulge in a second slate of Lovecraft adaptations, with The Call of Cthulhu, Die Farbe, The Whisperer in Darkness and Color Out of Space.

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Second Anniversary 15 July 2023 - 3 comments

Roger and Nick look back on our second year of podcasting. We made it to the present day! How did we get here and what will we do next?

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Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022) 08 July 2023

Nick and Roger delve into murder mystery with Rian Johnson's Knives Out and Glass Onion.

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The Matrix tetralogy (1999-2021) 01 July 2023

Roger and Nick discuss all four Matrix films: The Matrix, Reloaded, Revolutions and Resurrections.

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Pig (2021) 10 June 2023

Nick and Roger discuss the Nic Cage revenge drama Pig.

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Promising Young Woman (2020) 03 June 2023

Roger and Nick discuss Promising Young Woman.

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Nomadland (2020) 27 May 2023

Nick and Roger discuss the documentary-ish Nomadland.

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Toy Story 4 (2019) 20 May 2023

Roger and Nick discuss Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, and (briefly) Lightyear.

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Uncut Gems (2019) 13 May 2023 - 3 comments

Nick and Roger discuss Uncut Gems.

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Incredibles 2 (2018) 07 May 2023

Roger and Nick discuss The Incredibles and Incredibles 2.

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Roma (2017) 29 April 2023 - 3 comments

Nick and Roger discuss Roma.

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Blade Runner 2049 (2017) 22 April 2023

Roger and Nick contemplate the nature of humanity, again, while looking at Blade Runner 2049.

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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) 15 April 2023

Nick and Roger consider character arcs and vengeance films as we look at 2017's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

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Arrival (2016) 08 April 2023

Roger and Nick with special guest Shim get terribly earnest to discuss Arrival (2016).

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Mad Heidi (2022) and The VelociPastor (2018) 01 April 2023

Nick and Roger are joined by special guest Shim as we step up several levels of film quality to discuss those modern masterpieces Mad Heidi (2022) and The VelociPastor (2018).

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Max Max Fury Road (2015) 25 March 2023

Roger and Nick don our spiked leather and consider Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

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(Recorded face to face in an acoustically bright room, apologies for that.)

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Spotlight (2015) 18 March 2023 - 1 comment

Nick and Roger put on our green eyeshades and ecclesiastical rings to discuss Spotlight (2015).

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(Recorded face to face in an acoustically bright room, apologies for that.)

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Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 25 February 2023

Roger and Nick look repeatedly at Edge of Tomorrow (2014).

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Birdman (2014) 18 February 2023

All in one take, Nick and Roger discuss Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014).

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Gravity (2013) 11 February 2023

Roger and Nick go back into space for Gravity (2013).

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Before trilogy (1995-2013) 04 February 2023

Nick and Roger discuss Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013).

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012) 28 January 2023 - 2 comments

Roger and Nick discuss the end of the world, in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012).

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Argo (2012) 21 January 2023 - 3 comments

Nick and Roger discuss Argo (2012).

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Attack the Block (2011) 14 January 2023 - 2 comments

Roger and Nick discuss Attack the Block (2011).

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The Artist (2011) 07 January 2023 - 3 comments

Nick and Roger discuss The Artist (2011).

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