An unsung Oscar-nominated war story that unexpectedly inspired a comedy favorite takes cover on streaming

When you’ve made as many undisputed classics as Steven Spielberg has over the last half a century, movies that are “only” very good-to-great can get lost in the shuffle, overlooked, and never talked about as often as they should when the legendary director’s back catalogue is brought up, with Empire of the Sun comfortably among that number.

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, a young Christian Bale stars as a child living in Shanghai when the Japanese mount an invasion at the height of World War II, forcing all foreign citizens into prison camps. Captured alongside John Malkovich’s American sailor, the young Brit ends up becoming a beacon of hope for those around him when all was thought lost.

Well-received by critics and moderately successful at the box office, Empire of the Sun would also go on to secure six Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nods, although it left both ceremonies empty-handed. As well as future silver screen titan Bale, the film also features the second theatrical credit of Ben Stiller’s career, which ended up inspiring a most unlikely project.

The actor and filmmaker came up with the idea for Tropic Thunder while on the set of Spielberg’s war epic if you can believe it, and held onto the premise for 20 years before it became the raucous comedy vehicle that everyone knows and loves today. You’d never know from watching Empire of the Sun, but seeing as FlixPatrol has named it as one of the most-watched titles on Google Play this week, maybe brand new viewers will be able to put two and two together.