Explore every episode of the podcast Duel of the Greats

Week three is here and we have a good one! After two weeks of the original taking the win, will a sequel finally be able to break through? This week is as good of a chance as any with the epic films of The Terminator and the Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This will be the […]

After the heaviness of last weeks episode, we take on a little bit lighter duo of films The Father of the Bride and The Father of the Bride Part II. Two hilarious movies starring legends of the silver screen Steve Martin and Diane Keaton.  We have a reversal of last weeks advocators with Nate taking […]

We’re back, baby! Season 4 is upon us! We’ve done director vs. director (twice!). We’ve done doppelganger vs. doppelganger. So what’s next? Original vs. sequel, of course! The long held tradition of arguing whether the first or second movie is better has been co-opted for this season and our NEW title: Deux of the Greats! […]

Special episode alert! In recognition of the coming series of no less than 7 days in which we celebrate the fish known as sharks we have decided to give a double dose of off-season episodes! And this episode serves dual purposes (see what I did there?). It’s a preview for our S4 topic of “movie […]

Special episode alert! In recognition of the coming series of no less than 7 days in which we celebrate the fish known as sharks we have decided to give a double dose of off-season episodes! And this episode serves dual purposes (see what I did there?). It’s a preview for our S4 topic of “movie […]

It’s the final week! Or is it? The outcome will decide if we have to go an extra week or not. And what could possibly be better than to have two epic crossover movies: Freddy vs. Jason goes up against Alien vs Predator! The history of crossover movies goes way back to at least 1962 […]

Ghosts have always been a fascination of the human mind. What could cause a spirit to linger? What need is there for them to remain with us instead of going to the great beyond? And is it possible to make contact with these spirits and aid them in their passing? The Sixth Sense and Stir […]

Planes can be good fodder for a solid thriller film. Everyone is confined to a tight space. They are in the air. And there’s always the pesky issue if needing somebody to fly the damn things!  All of these factors come into play in this week’s dual/duel where Executive Decision and Air Force One face […]

Who doesn’t love a good magic trick? Illusions! They’re illusions! And they can consume the lives of those who dedicate themselves to the craft.  The Prestige follows two magicians in a years long battle to our-do each other. As they both slowly succumb to their own obsessions what will be the cost? The Illusionist follows […]

Do you remember what it was like to play baseball as a kid? It was like magic. A game of endless entertainment and dreams. That’s what our two movies this week tap into.  Rookie of the Year is about Henry Rowengartner,a boy who gets injured only to discover this let’s him throw a fastball hard […]

Do you want to break free? Wake up? See how far down this rabbit hole goes? Then this is the episode for you. Two men fight for their place in a world they didn’t know wasn’t real in The Matrix and Dark City.  Something was in the air around the time of 1998 and it […]

Skin that smokewagon! It’s western week here on this season of Dual of the Greats! And of course we have the famous battle of Wyatt Earp vs Tombstone. Both movies tackle the legend of the man himself but in entirely different ways.  Will Wyatt Earps depiction of the titular characters entire life make it the […]

You asked, we answered! After multiple requests and mentions about it we have decided to include the “dual” of White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen.  We have stepped outside our “normally scheduled programming” to bring you this episode. Which movie handled the “President is kidnapped” plot better? Listen and find out. This one’s for […]

From the time of “When Harry Met Sally” many rom-coms have tried to figure out whether men and women can be “just friends.” But something was in the air in 2011 that had people wondering if they could be *only* be more than friends? Instead of wondering if a relationship could be had without the […]

You’ve heard of a pregnant pause, but how about a pregnant nun?? Well, we’ve got two of them this week in our doppelganger movies. These are the most recent movies that we have ever reviewed as both of these movies came out in 2024 and are hardly over a year old but they have made […]

The Dual of the Greats marches up the hill hoorah, hoorah! This week we take on our first ever animated movies in AntZ and A Bug’s Life. Both movies came out in the year 1998 (somebody needs to really look into the 97-98 period and all the doppelganger movies) and feature a plot of an […]

We are two episodes in and we’ve got a special announcement! Your voices have been loud and we are listening! Comming Soon…. Subscribe and Rate us on Podcast Services! iTunes – Google Play – Stitcher – Spotify – RSS Did you like the show? Let us know! Email us! duelofthegreats@gmail.com Social Media! Twitter:@duelofthegreats / Instagram:@duelofthegreats […]

Season 3 continues with our second set of doppelganger movies. This week we have the Pierce Brosnan vehicle Dante’s Peak facing off against the Tommy Lee Jones lead Volcano. Both movies came out in the early part of 1997 and featured dormant volcanoes that became active and threatened people in various locales. In Volcano, Tommy […]

Duel of the Greats is back for season THREE! Or should we say… DUAL of the Greats! Check out this episode to learn more about whats ahead for plans with the upcoming season! ALSO IT’S A DOUBLE DROP! Episode 1 is also LIVE! Subscribe and Rate us on Podcast Services! iTunes – Google Play – […]

We’re back, baby! Season Three is here! And we’ve changed things up this season. You made have noticed we are now DUAL of the Greats. Why is that you ask? Wonderful question! Instead of putting one director against another we are going straight to the movies themselves. Forget about the directors! We’re putting doppelganger movies […]

It all comes down to this! For the second year in a row we have reached a draw and will present two films that must be decided on to get the winner. “We Rest Our Case” week has Jeff touting the greatness of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” starring–for their first time altogether–Robert De Niro, Al […]

SHHHHH! (It’s undercover week. On this week’s show Steve, Nate, and Jeff discuss two fantastic movies from these two directors. Spike Lee lets us look in on an infiltration of the KKK by a black policeman portrayed by John David Washington in the 1970’s who enlists the help of Adam Driver. Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese’s The […]

Biopic week is here! Whether you pronounce it bye-oh-pic or bye-op-ick is irrelevant cause the crew is talking about some good ones here. Martin Scorsese gives us his gloriously epic “The Aviator” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in his Oscar nominated role and Cate Blanchette in her first Oscar winning role. Spike Lee takes us on a […]

Who’s ready for this week? It’s STAGED! On this weeks show our two directors take on a journey through two stories in which the entire thing is a setup, but who knows what? What is real and what is not real? Spike Lee’s “Inside Man” starring Denzel Washington matches wits with “Shutter Island” from Martin […]

It’s Music Week! On this week’s show two movie-based films go head to head. Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Betta Blues” starring Denzel Washington goes head-to-head with “New York, New York” Martin Scorsese’s musical journey starring Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli.   Which movie did music the best? Which had the best musical journey? Which had the […]

It’s “Controversy” week! Two movies that stoked the fires of controversy from these two directors. Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” didn’t go over as he planned and was disowned by the Catholic Church. Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” was a daring look at what it would be like to put on a minstrel show on […]

It’s “Buried Secrets” week on this installment of the podcast! Martin Scorsese’s “Cape Fear” goes up against Spike Lee’s “Red Hook Summer”.  Scorsese joins up with longtime collaborator Robert De Niro to make a film about how some people can’t let go of the past. While Lee teams up with a cast of many that […]

This week’s theme is “A Day in the Life”. Both films center around one man’s journey that takes place in a single day. Spike Lee has his grounded take with “25th Hour” starring Edward Norten, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, and Rosario Dawson. Meanwhile, Martin Scorcese takes a different approach with the surreal and comedic […]

From the Streets week is here! These two legendary directors tell stories of Steet-level gangsters who try to climb to the top only for it all to come crashing down. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci reunite with Scorsese again in ‘Casino’, a spiritual successor to Goodfellas. And they all go up against newcomer Mekhi […]

It’s Sports week! Our two directors square off with movies that revolve around sports and athletes. Both directors enlist the help of their best collaborators as Martin Scorsese taps Robert De Niro to play the real life boxer Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull” and Spike Lee calls upon his multi-collaborator Denzel Washington to play the […]

It’s paranoia week on Duel of the Greats! But Paranoia of what? Of whom? Are they watching? Are they listening? Are they on the podcast right now? They are, in fact, Spike Lee’s “Summer of Sam” and Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver”. Two movies that take place in New York and make everyone a suspect.  Steve, […]

Season 2 rolls on! After reviewing the first movies of Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese we now move on to their best! While the consensus may not be universal, it is generally accepted that Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” and Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” are these directors best films. Others may have made more money […]

We’re back, baby! Season two has begun! After the epic battle that was Steven Spielberg vs. Ridley Scott last season, we come back this year with two new directors who are legends in their own right, Spike Lee vs. Martin Scorsese. These two directors have an incredibly long and varied filmography and we’ve got some […]

What a long, fun ride it has been! Last week we crowned Steven Spielberg as our champion. In the final episode, Season 1 of Duel of the Greats concludes with a look back at our picks. Did we get it right? Wrong? Hard to say? Producer Brandon joins the fun and tells us how we […]

It’s We Rest Our Case week! The Final Battle has arrived! It’s a bit of a different format this week as Steve will take a movie directed by Ridley Scott and plead his case for why it shows why Ridley should be the victor in season one. Going up against him is Jeff picking a […]

It’s time to take a peek behind the curtain! If you’ve been listening this long, you’ve probably picked up on our movie tastes, likes, and dislikes. We wanted to give you a more formal introduction to what makes us tick, cinematically at least. Each of us sat down and talked about several of our favorite […]

It’s Freaky Friday! Alright, it’s not actually Friday, it’s whatever day you’re listening to this podcast, but it’s a perfect day to listen to the crew discuss which directors, Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott, got the most out of different actors. There will be seven total actors discussed today and which performances were better under […]

It’s “Far From Home” week on Duel of the Greats! Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial matches up against Ridley Scott’s White Squall. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve are away from home and coming of age with alien friends and a semester at sea. Spielberg and Scott both both try ton replicate that feeling […]

It’s “Stranded” week on Duel of the Greats! Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal matches up against Ridley Scott’s The Martian. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve are simultaneously left behind and stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Spielberg and Scott both took a gamble by telling fairly lighthearted stories of a man seeing red: red tape and red […]

It’s “Follow the Leader” Week! Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” goes toe to toe with Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster.” This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve tackle the components of leadership as they are depicted on film. What does it mean to be a leader, and should we follow the example of the men portrayed in these movies? […]

It’s “Con Man” Week! Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can goes toe to toe with Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve are the marks in a long con. Two cons, actually. Spielberg and Scott both used the early aughts to explore fraud and how a life dedicated to purporting it […]

It’s “War Movies” Week! Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan goes up against Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve discuss two movies about soldiers engaged in military combat, though at very different times in our country’s history. To inform our conversation, this episode includes a special interview with Jeff’s cousin, Karsten […]

It’s “On the Run” Week! Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express goes up against Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve discuss two movies about people on the run. From law enforcement, from last mistakes, from their own lives. Doing whatever they can to stay ahead of the forces behind them. Which […]

It’s Spy sv Spy week! Steven Spielbergs Bridge of Spies goes up against Ridley Scotts Body of Lies. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve discuss two spy thrillers with vastly different approaches. One more of a cold war, slow-burn thriller. The other, a post-9/11 diatribe on the “War on Terror”. Which movie was better? Which […]

It’s Cyberpunk Detective Week (aka Cyberpunk DICKtective Week)! Two movies this week involving detectives in the future! Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, based on the short story “The Minority Report by Phillip K. Dick, goes up against Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, based on Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve […]

It’s Frankenstein Week! Neither director has helmed a movie version of that famous novel but they have both tackled the premise at the core of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece: playing god. This week Jeff, Nate, and Steve take a look at a tandem of films for both directors that are duologies dealing with the idea of […]

Last week it was hard to believe that only one movie from each director won best picture. This week it’s hard to believe that these directors could make a movie so…bad? It’s Worst of the Best week! Jeff, Nate, and Steve take a look at the worst rated film from each director and ask, can […]

It’s hard to believe but both Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott have only directed one movie each that has won best picture. Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List in 1994 and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator in 2000. Does this make these two movies truly the best of the best for these legends?  As it’s hard to compare such […]

Two of the scariest entities man can encounter are the vastness of space and the depths of the ocean. Your hosts Jeff, Nate, and Steve tackle both in this episode for Monster Week! Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” and Ridley Scott’s “Alien” are two of the most iconic films ever made. They are intrinsically connected as they […]

Welcome to the very first episode! Jeff, Nate, and Steve proudly bring you the Duel of the Greats. A podcast that will take a season-long approach comparing and contrasting two of the greatest directors of all time and how their film histories compare. Each week they will discuss a new theme with a movie that […]