024 The Beast (1988)

“THESE TANKS TODAY ARE BETTER. MUCH BETTER.“ A few months ago we got an email from an avid fan of a movie called “The Beast“ (or sometimes called “The Beast of War.“) We had never heard of the film before, but Nick talked it up describing it as one of the best films of 1988, but was only released on two screens in the entire US. Being our first request from an anonymous fan who thought to contact us, we just had to look into it! The film takes place during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A tank gets separated from its unit and gets lost in a valley, where vengeful mujahideen seek to get revenge for the village it destroyed. We go into the real life events about the war to get some context about the film, and stumble upon a crazy real life events that inspired the writer, William Mastrosimone to tell this story. We talk about how American actors like Jason Patric and Stephen Baldwin speaking American English while playing Soviets, changes the modern viewings of the film, given that since the Soviet invasion, the US has followed suit. We also talk about the casting of the Muslim characters and how poorly that may have aged, but conversely, how the film frames them as people, not props. Something very uncommon in film even to this day. We talk about how masterful the film is constructed, how every scene makes sense and belongs in the movie, characters making choices based off of what’s true to their characters, and how powerful cinematography and attention to detail all come together and create a near-perfect suspenseful film. If you are curious about this film, you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Pluto TV. Hope you enjoy our episode! Especially you, Nick! Also, we have merch! Check out our Instagram @retrograde_pod and check out our link in the bio, or just click HERE. Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes. Artwork by @jannelle_o