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The Thin Red Line

Play trailer Poster for The Thin Red Line 1964 1h 39m War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
77% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Just after getting married, Pvt. Doll (Keir Dullea) is shipped out to battle during World War II. Once there, he decides to do whatever it takes to survive the war, even disregarding orders. This attitude rankles his commanding officer, tough veteran Sgt. Welsh (Jack Warden). After Doll makes his first kill of a Japanese soldier, he starts becoming a violent fighter, responsible for many enemy deaths. Despite their differences, Welsh and Doll start working together to survive their mission.

Critics Reviews

View All (13) Critics Reviews
Variety Staff Variety Aficionados of the action-packed war film will savor the crackling, combat-centered approach of The Thin Red Line, an explosive melodramatization of the Yank assault on Guadalcanal in World War II. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Eugene Archer New York Times Under the sincere but inadequate handling of Mr. Marton, best known for his chariot race in "Ben Hur," Ray Daley and Jack Warden are unable to explore the possibilities of these roles. May 9, 2005 Full Review Joan Didion Vogue The Thin Red Line is a curiosity: a quite mediocre war movie, based upon the James Jones novel about Guadalcanal, with some of the best battle scenes -- fast, lucid, beautiful -- that I've ever seen. Mar 16, 2020 Full Review John Gammon Radio Times The combat sequences, particularly the final one, are first class, without war being glorified. Rated: 3/5 Oct 25, 2015 Full Review TV Guide In adapting Jones's novel for the screen, Gordon neatly compacted whole scenes from the book, occasionally causing confusion. Motivations are often touched on superficially rather than probed into to show the psychology of men at war. Rated: 2/4 Oct 25, 2015 Full Review Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul Compared to Malick's sumptuous art film, Marton's old Line looks awfully naive, and yet it goes a great deal further in grappling with the author's touchy subtext of soldierly love. Aug 21, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A very good movie. The book was exc Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Good, but not great. Certainly not in the same league as Terrence Malick's superb 1998 remake (about the only ever remake that is better than the original). Good, gritty action. Sometimes a bit too gung-ho or unrealistic though. I couldn't imagine a real-life First Sergeant taking all that crap from a private. Good performance from Jack Warden. Keir Dullea's performance was a bit grating, as was Ray Daley's. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member just ok see the remake its much better Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member i lllllloove war movies!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member One of my favorite movies Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member The process of how war damages the emotional state of man is the theme here, based on the book by James Jones, this version is much closer to it than the useless later version which was in name only. Jack Warden epitomizes the brutally hard Sarge, and Dullea works as the enigmatic, Fruedian-named "Doll". Shockingly, for 1964, some subcurrent regarding homosexuality is touched upon. Despite some innacuracies regading firearms, the battle scenes are claustrophobic and straightforward. Read the short story "The Pistol" by James Jones, where he uses the same characters as TRL. This is "thinking mans" war exploitation genre'... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Thin Red Line

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The Thin Red Line

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Movie Info

Synopsis Just after getting married, Pvt. Doll (Keir Dullea) is shipped out to battle during World War II. Once there, he decides to do whatever it takes to survive the war, even disregarding orders. This attitude rankles his commanding officer, tough veteran Sgt. Welsh (Jack Warden). After Doll makes his first kill of a Japanese soldier, he starts becoming a violent fighter, responsible for many enemy deaths. Despite their differences, Welsh and Doll start working together to survive their mission.
Director
Andrew Marton
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 39m