Movies We Dig | Film, Antiquity and Everything in Between

Once again, we sift through our backlog of episodes to take another look at a mostly forgotten film, this time with fresh eyes and new takes. What we find is a film about a Roman legionary that is actually, dare we say, good!? Joining us on the journey to find The Eagle is special return guest, Roel Konijnendijk. From a Roman military fortress to the wilds of Scotland, we discuss the charm of this underrated film. While it has a few problematic elements, one can't help but root for the budding "bromance" between Channing Tatum's Marcus Aquila and Jamie Bell's Esca as they travel together to restore their honor. And really, isn't the eagle just the friends we made along the way?Be sure to follow Roel on Bluesky and read his posts as Iphikrates on r/askhistorians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chug your milk, don your ruffled shirts and get ready to shoot lightning bolts through your lymphatic system because we're re-animating Guillermo del Toro' latest creature-feature: Frankenstein (2025). Returning to play god with us is Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda, Senior Lecturer in Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool. We talk the horrors of science, the sins of the father(s) and the benefits of a classical education for developing Creatures, along with all the changes, big and small, between del Toro's adaptation and Mary Shelley's 1818 novel.Be sure to follow Marina on Instagram under the handle @hypatiaheuresis. As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The holidays are upon us, so we figured it was a good time to delve into a remake of a remake that nobody really asked for. That's right, we're talking about 2016's Ben-Hur! And sorry to say, this one might have sent your hosts off the rails. We discuss the major changes from the 1959 film, including Messala's backstory, the inciting incident that destroys the Ben-Hur family, and the interesting choice to cut Judah's trip to Rome. What do we learn? Mario Kart rules apply to chariot racing and the Pope gets a lot of interesting asks.As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this season's attempt to highlight films that might have fallen under the radar, the Movies We Dig Crew revisits Agora along with special guest, Dr. Marina Escolano-Poveda. Despite (or more likely, because of) the film's the unorthodox setting in Late Roman Alexandria, the central story focusing on the life of Hypatia (played by Rachel Weisz), and amazing use of costuming and set design, there's a good chance you've yet to see this one. And while we might have our hang-ups on the lack of a real plot, you would be hard-pressed to find a better film that depicts the ethnic, religious, and social complexities of Roman Egypt. Be sure to follow Marina on Instagram under the handle @hypatiaheuresis. As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's your favorite scary movie? Ours is Scream 2! Joined by super special guests and professional Scream-heads (Screamers?) Lizzy Adams and TJ Bolt, we breakdown the metatextual masterpiece that is the Scream franchise, starting with the 1997 follow up to the original cult classic: Scream 2. We talk ancient Greek tragedy, horror as genre, VHS cassette tapes and all things 90's.You can read more about ancient literature and modern horror by Lizzy and TJ in their contributions to Eidolon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What better way to start our season of "Unfinished Business" than with a Part I film that was never supposed to get a sequel? Well, at least until that streaming money was just too good to pass up. With the help of fellow Mnemosyne: Memory Collective member Emma Pauly we take a look at Mel Brooks' world history comedy spanning the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. While this film might not be our favorite installment in Brooks' filmography, it offers a great opportunity to talk about comedy as a genre, both in the past and present. While not all the jokes land, we are ultimately reminded that laughter is a powerful tool to help us face (and combat) the darkest moments of human history.Be sure to follow Emma on Instagram under the handle @academicmaenad. As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for Season 6 of Movies We Dig, where we are determined to leave no stone left unturned! If you want to be in the know for upcoming episodes and special events, be sure to follow our socials. And show some love by subscribing, rating, and reviewing the show wherever you like to listen to your podcasts! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What "archaeology" film set Colin off? To find out, check out our latest episode closing out Season 5 of Movies We Dig! For our Wrap-Up episode, we reflect on our season surveying archaeology in film. Listen in to hear our official tier rankings of every archaeology film (that we've covered). We also end the show with a fun guessing game about AI's interpretation of our own body of work. And if you'd like to make your own tier-list of "archaeology" films discussed on Movies We Dig, you can do so here: https://tiermaker.com/list/movies/archaeology-in-films-popular-media-18622188/5560763Be sure to tag us on your tier list if you share it on your socials! And let us know if there are any "archaeology" films or shows we missed. Maybe we'll check them out as part of Season 6's "Unfinished Business." We hope you dig it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mnemosyne: The Memory Collective got together for the first time to celebrate International Podcast Day! Various members and contributors hopped on throughout the day to answer questions, play games, and much more! This event is meant to be an opportunity for our audiences to get to know many members of and contributors to the Memory Collective, which you can learn more about by visiting collectivemem.com!In this episode you'll be hearing highlights from all the exciting activities we did throughout the day including Listener Q&A sessions, Myth and History Trivia, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: Survive Pompeii Quest, a live reading/performance of Julius Caesar, and more! If you like what you hear, go check out the VOD for the full (nearly 12 hour) livestream at https://youtube.com/live/0VN_BKqHppU?feature=share.Since it's International Podcast day, be sure to show some love by subscribing to everyone's YouTube channels and social media pages. Feeling extra generous? Then leave comments and reviews wherever you listen (or watch) your podcasts! Movies We Dig- movieswedig.comLet's Talk About Myths, Baby!- mythsbaby.comAncient History Fangirl- ancienthistoryfangirl.comPartial Historians- partialhistorians.comAncient Office Hours- ozymandiasproject.com/podcastThank you to our listeners for being a part of this amazing community! All the work we do would not be possible without you! Happy International Podcast Day! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab your trowels, apply your sunscreen and get ready to get down and dirty as we sit down with author Kate Myers to discuss her smash-hit novel Excavations. We talk all things archaeology: dirt, artifacts, repatriation, dirt, organized crime, horse-loving donkeys, more dirt and all the character types that seem to crawl out of the woodwork every summer to dig in remote Mediterranean villages.You can read more about Kate on her website; be sure to read her latest book, Salty, and look out for Dig, the upcoming television adaptation of Excavations created by Amy Poehler and Michael Schur. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If pressed to recall this film, one can probably remember its most iconic line "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence," but not much beyond that. And maybe that's a good thing. Part heist, part treasure hunt, and part historical conspiracy, this film works hard to make the United States' settler colonialism past seem a lot cooler than it actually is. We talk ships (both nautical and romantic), the apparent monetary value of world heritage, and the eccentric nature of Nicolas Cage's acting career.As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dust off your linguistic skills and join us as we decipher the myriad of meanings presented in the science fiction drama, Arrival. What on the surface appears to be a conflict between humans and extraterrestrials, in reality, is the longstanding rivalry between Humanities and STEM. With the help of our special guest Dr. Deb Trusty, we discuss the similarities and differences between the film and Ted Chiang's original short story titled "Story of Your Life". As a nice change of pace, the film's aliens put a lot of faith in humanity's ability to come together and problem-solve. Yet after seeing how humans handled a worldwide pandemic and the rise of AI Mecha-Hit***, we find that trust might be a bit misplaced. But hey, we can all agree that Bob Ross was a pretty awesome dude.If you would like check out more of Deb's takes on fringe reception of Classics and mythology in videogames and board games, be sure to check out her Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/doctordebitage. And if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We clearly had lots of thoughts as this is one of our longest (and most swear-ridden) episodes ever. Joined by super special guest Genn McMenemy, we excavate the layers and layers of volcanic ash that is Pompeii (2014). We dive deep not just into this film as an artifact of cinematic cliches circa the 2010's but also the actual artifacts from the site of Pompeii. Really, we spend most of our time pitching our rewrites for a much more interesting version of this story.You can follow Genn on Instagram and Threads; check out her books Women of Myth and The Official Lore Olympus Cookbook. And check out her podcast Ancient History Fangirl! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get your divining rods and apotropaic phalli and get ready for some dark magical realism. We excavate Alice Rohrwacher's 2023 film about a British archaeologist-turned-tombarolo, La chimera. This film has everything: Etruscan tombs, musical interludes, Isabella Rossellini, ghosts and more! We really dug this film and the way it unpacks the complicated relationship between past and present, living and dead, wealth and poverty, plus Italian nonna's favoritism towards their granddaughter's ex-boyfriends.As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's summertime! You know what that means? Time to head to the beach with a historical, smutty romance book! And boy do we have a recommendation for you! In this episode we are joined by romance novelist and fellow historical podcaster, Jenny Williamson, to discuss her debut book Enemy of My Dreams. We discuss everything from the historical figures that inspired the story, the importance of Romance as a genre, and the texting style of each of our favorite characters. No major spoilers, but we do encourage you to read Jenny's book ASAP because the sequel was just recently announced!If you want to learn even more about Alaric and the Gothic people, be sure to check out Jenny and Genn's podcast Ancient History Fangirl, where you can also find links for their other written works mentioned at the end of the show. And if you are already excited for the sequel to Enemy of My Dreams, you can now preorder Game of Thieves here.As always, if you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! Stay up-to-date on all the Movies We Dig news by visiting movieswedig.com or checking out our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode originally aired in February 2021. It is also a historical record documenting the start of wonderful friendship between three scholars/nerds talking about ancient history and archaeology in popular media.A movie actually about digging! This week we're joined by special guest, Dr. Christie Vogler, to talk about the 3 D's of The Dig: death, dirt and drudgery. We get into the ins and out both of this Netflix original and the realities of archaeology today. Many feels about our field.If you like what you hear, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe on your chosen listening platform and follow us on socials under @movieswedig. If you want a say in which film we'll wrap up season 5 with (National Treasure or Sahara), find the poll at Spotify or on our Bluesky and Instagram pages. Voting closes at midnight on July 31 at 11:59 PM Pacific. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For all those who like to read their Greek myths in comic form, this one's for you! With the help of special guest Erica Rose Hampton, we delve into one of the most famous web comics in the world. While you may love it or hate it, it is undeniable that Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus embraces and modernizes the heavy topics presented to us in myths, making it a compelling piece of modern reception. Plus, who doesn't love revisiting the messy relationships of the Olympians? We discuss the perils of modern dating, critiques of YA and Romance (looking at you Twilight), and end on an expletive-filled rant about capitalism. See? It is compelling!If you would like to learn more about Erica (or recommend more examples of Demeter and Persephone in modern media), you can do so here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It wouldn't be a series finale episode if we didn't go out with a bang! Joined by the creators of Blood of Zeus, Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, as well as the voice actors for the series' leads of Heron (Derek Phillips) and Seraphim (Elias Toufexis), we delve into the creative process of producing one of our favorite modern retellings of Greek myth. Though our heroic brothers may be at odds in the show, the camaraderie of the writers and performers is evident as we discuss the importance of storytelling in our modern era.Please be sure to support the show Blood of Zeus by watching and liking the show on Netflix along with following the show on social media (@bloodofzeus). Likewise, learn about other projects Derek and Elias are involved with by following their socials. Special thanks once again to Zoé Elise Thomas for stepping in as host for this episode. You can find Zoé on Bluesky under the handle @archaeadne.bsky.social.‬ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It wouldn't be a Blood of Zeus episode if we didn't bring back the reigning champ and monster 'enthusiast' Zoé Thomas. We break down our reactions to the third and final season of Netflix's animated myth-fest, Blood of Zeus, created by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides. Highs, lows and Bacchic hallucinations, we've got a lot to say about this one, so grab your lightning bolts, hop on your flying chariot and join the sparagmos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players." That's right! We trade in one mysterious bard for another as we tackle Christie's pick for a favorite film, She's The Man. This adaptation of a Disney Channel Original Movie, Motocro... uhh we mean, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night has everything one could hope for: shenanigans, soccer, romance, and early 2000s female empowerment through masquerading as a man. Oh, and did we mention this film has Channing Tatum?While it's all fun in games for the majority of the episode, their is a short discussion of bullying and mild SA that occurs at the 1:24:01-1:26:46 mark. Be warned and be respectful! And as always, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe if you like what you hear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.