When Oscar nerds think back to the 71st Academy Awards, they remember Shakespeare in Love, which won seven Oscars, Saving Private Ryan, which won five, and maybe Life is Beautiful, which won 3. (I still remember actor/director Roberto Benigni climbing on the seats to get to the stage when his film won in what is now the International Feature category.) Too often, though, people forget that the same year Spielberg’s film about WWII Normandy hit big at the box office, another epic war drama with a large, star-studded ensemble came out that year: Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line.

Luckily, friend of the show and host of the Force Ghost Conversations podcast, Anthony King, joins us on this LTR Guest List episode to rescue Malick’s work from history. He shares his wealth of knowledge about WWII and behind the scenes stories of the film’s production as we dissect what can only described as a transcendental experience. How does Malick portray war differently than other filmmakers? Which young up and coming actor from the 90s did we enjoy best? And what’s going on with all the cutting to shots of nature or Miranda Otto? Army crawl with us as we traverse the many hills of this film.

SPOILER WARNING: Unlike our regular reviews, LTR Guest List episodes will be in Spoiler Mode from the beginning so that our guests can feel as unencumbered as possible. So if you have not yet seen The Thin Red Line and do not want it spoiled, return to us after you’ve seen it.

The Thin Red Line is currently available to rent or buy on platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc.

The LTR Guest List is a special series in which we ask our friends to pick a movie – any movie – to discuss with us on air. If you’re a friend of the show and you have a movie you’d like to pitch, you can email us at [email protected].

Image Credit: RogerEbert.com

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