The Machine drops Truman and Landen squarely into 2011, a year when Spielberg decided the world desperately needed a World War I epic starring a horse with better instincts than most generals. Saddled with sentimentality and prestige energy, this film gives the hosts plenty to chew on as they gallop through its earnest battlefield odyssey.

Synopsis

War Horse is a sweeping historical drama starring Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), Rose Narracott (Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves), and Lyons (David Thewlis, Harry Potter). Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a Devon farm boy and his extraordinary horse, Joey, who becomes entangled in the brutal machinery of World War I. Their story unfolds across trenches, cavalry charges, and occupied countryside, blending old-fashioned melodrama with Spielberg’s signature cinematic muscle.

Why This Film?

Once positioned as a major awards contender, War Horse has largely slipped from the cultural conversation — overshadowed by other Spielberg milestones and remembered mostly for its sincerity in an era drifting toward irony. That mix of ambition, sentiment, and prestige makes it ideal fodder for the Movie Memory Machine.

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Join Truman Capps and Landen Celano every week as the Machine flings them through cinematic history to rediscover the forgotten, the flopped, and the strangely fascinating films of decades past.

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• Official Website: https://www.moviememorymachine.com
• Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/moviememorypod/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieMemoryMachine

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War Horse, War Horse 2011, Steven Spielberg, Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, World War I movie, WWI drama, DreamWorks, Touchstone Pictures, historical drama, Spielberg filmography, prestige cinema, Movie Memory Machine, movie podcast, film discussion, forgotten movies, cult films, film history, cinematic analysis, awards season movies

The Machine, still crackling with residual meteor energy, whisks Truman and Landen into a curated crash course on five films that reflect the DNA, ambitions, and cosmic oddities of The Meteor Man (1993). From DIY superheroes to VHS-era legends to comic-book icons perfected, this lineup shows every weird, heartfelt, and boundary-pushing direction the genre could have taken.

The Machine’s Five Selected Films

The Machine has chosen five thematically linked films that echo Meteor Man’s blend of underdog heroism, community stories, and genre experimentation:

• Blankman (1994) – another earnest, low-budget, inner-city superhero comedy powered by sheer sincerity
• Hollywood Shuffle (1987) – Robert Townsend’s satirical breakout, examining representation long before his meteor struck
• Be Kind Rewind (2008) – a handmade ode to community filmmaking and DIY mythmaking
• The Mask (1994) – a wild, effects-driven explosion of cartoon logic and early-’90s comic-book chaos
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) – the genre fully realized, marrying heart, spectacle, and responsibility in a way early pioneers dreamed of

Why These Five?

Each of these movies taps into a different facet of what The Meteor Man was reaching for—community empowerment, superhero reinvention, cultural commentary, and gonzo genre energy. Together, they map the winding evolution from scrappy, heartfelt genre experiments to the polished, emotionally rich superhero films that defined the 2000s. In short: this is the alternate history of superhero cinema the Machine wants you to remember.

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Stay connected with Truman Capps and Landen Celano as the Machine continues flinging them through the forgotten, the flopped, and the strangely fascinating corners of cinema each week.

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• Official Website: https://www.moviememorymachine.com
• Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/moviememorypod/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieMemoryMachine

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Enjoy the curated chaos of the Machine’s movie selections? Become a patron to access exclusive episodes, early releases, and help keep the Machine humming.

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Tags

The Meteor Man, The Meteor Man 1993, Blankman, Hollywood Shuffle, Be Kind Rewind, The Mask, Spider-Man 2, Robert Townsend, superhero comedy, Black superheroes, early comic book movies, DIY filmmaking, cult films, 90s movies, 2000s superhero films, Movie Memory Machine, movie podcast, film discussion, curated film list, thematic film list, cinematic analysis

Truman and Landen wrap up stray thoughts, unanswered questions, and meteor-induced tangents from The Meteor Man (1993)—including the film’s galaxy of cameos, its hyper-earnest worldbuilding, and how it fits into the ’90s’ strange, pre-MCU superhero landscape. And as always, they play The Trailer Game, trying to guess which moments the marketing department thought were powerful enough to sell a community-focused superhero comedy to 1993 audiences before watching the trailer for the first time.

Next week, the Machine sends them to December 25, 2011 with the clue: Separated by war. Tested by battle. Bound by friendship.

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Keep up with every Main episode, Mini-Transmission, and bonus discussion as the Machine flings Truman Capps and Landen Celano through the forgotten, the flopped, and the strangely fascinating films of decades past.

Stay connected and subscribe to follow every jump.

• Official Website: https://www.moviememorymachine.com
• Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/moviememorypod/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieMemoryMachine

Support the Show

Enjoy the ride through cinematic history? Become a patron to access exclusive episodes, early releases, and help keep the Machine running.

Patreon: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod

Tags

The Meteor Man, The Meteor Man 1993, Robert Townsend, Robert Townsend director, Eddie Griffin, James Earl Jones, superhero comedy, 90s superhero movies, Black superheroes, early MCU era, Movie Memory Machine, movie podcast, film discussion, trailer reaction, vintage trailers, forgotten movies, cult films, film history, cinematic analysis