Ola G
United States Army Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) goes AWOL from his unit in 1942 to live among the carefree Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. He is found and imprisoned on a troopship by First Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn) of his company. Witt is not allowed to rejoin his unit, and is instead punitively assigned to act as a stretcher bearer for the upcoming campaign. The men of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, have been brought to the island of Guadalcanal as reinforcements in the campaign to secure Henderson Field, seize the island from the Japanese, and block off their route to Australia. C Company is commanded by Capt. James Staros (Elias Koteas). As they wait in the hold of a Navy transport ship, they contemplate their lives and the upcoming invasion. The company lands on Guadalcanal unopposed. They march into the interior of the island, and along the way encounter natives and evidence of the ongoing Japanese presence. The company soon finds its objective: Hill 210, a key enemy position...
Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads, "The Thin Red Line is a daringly philosophical World War II film with an enormous cast of eager stars." Gene Siskel described The Thin Red Line as the "finest contemporary war film I've seen, supplanting Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan from earlier this year, or even Oliver Stone's Platoon from 1986.". A more subdued Roger Ebert gave it three stars out of four, saying that it felt confused and unfinished. He wrote, "The movie's schizophrenia keeps it from greatness (this film has no firm idea of what it is about), but doesn't make it bad. It is, in fact, sort of fascinating... The battle scenes themselves are masterful, in creating a sense of the geography of a particular hill, the way it is defended by Japanese bunkers, the ways in which the American soldiers attempt to take it ... Actors like Sean Penn, John Cusack, Jim Caviezel and Ben Chaplin find the perfect tone for scenes of a few seconds or a minute, and then are dropped before a rhythm can be established." In his review for Time, Richard Corliss wrote, "Some films deal in plot truth; this one expresses emotional truth, the heart's search for saving wisdom, in some of the most luscious imagery since Malick's last film, the 1978 Days of Heaven." Mike Clark of USA Today gave the film four out of four stars. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote, "The Thin Red Line is a movie about creation growing out of destruction, about love where you'd least expect to find it and about angels – especially the fallen kind – who just happen to be men." Andrew Johnston of Time Out New York wrote: "Like Malick's previous efforts – Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978) – Line is a film of incredible beauty. However, the atmosphere created by John Toll's breathtaking cinematography and Hans Zimmer's powerful score is occasionally compromised. The parade of cameos (John Travolta, George Clooney, Woody Harrelson and John Cusack briefly appear) is somewhat distracting, and the fact that Bell and Witt both have Appalachian accents sometimes makes the characters hard to differentiate. Yet, even though it's confusing at times (and perhaps a little long), Line is still a film of rare substance and power." (Via Wikipedia)
This film adaptation of the 1962 novel by James Jones has all the classic treats of a Terrence Malick film and I did see it when it came out in 1998 and I don't think I have re-seen it since until now. My memory says I did like it in 1998, but I think over the years I have seen all other films that Terrence Malick has directed and by now I am a bit tired of his scattered productions with lacking plots, trippy philosophical approaches and vague character developments, despite lavish great cinematography and aesthetics. The same goes for "The Thin Red Line", and I also think that the performances are somewhat lacking authenticity and focus in this case despite a heavy ensemble cast. This is not "Saving Private Ryan" which I think is one of the greatest WWII movies ever produced. Yes, the battle scenes are of solid quality at times, but that's not enough. "The Thin Red Line" didn't win me over a second time.
Trivia: Critics gave it a positive reception, praising it for its philosophical depiction of war, Malick's direction, musical score, cinematography, screenplay, editing, and performances of the cast. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. It won the Golden Bear at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival. Martin Scorsese ranked it as his second-favorite film of the 1990s. On At the Movies, Gene Siskel called it "the greatest contemporary war film I've seen." (Via Wikipedia)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
11/28/24
Full Review
Bill W
One of my favourite films of all time. Great score by Hans Zimmer, especially "journey to the line". Few films depict the physical and phycological horrors of war more than TTRL.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/18/24
Full Review
Blu B
All Time Classic. The music is really good and knows how to ramp up tension one minute and send you into a dreamlike state in the next effortlessly. I do wish it was a bit more catchy on it's on though, Everything else though is masterfully done. The acting is first rate across the board. While diferent members of the platoon have varying levels of character depth, none of them are forgettable. Nick Nolte is outstanding which is saying a lot given the all star cast. It's great casting across the board with excellent chemistry and direction. The framing, natural lighting, first rate special effects, camerawork is all top notch here. Terrance Malik's fingerprints are all over this. As much as this is about a company of soldiers expierence during the Battle of Guadacanal. This is also about the beauty of nature/life juxstaposed to the horrors of battle. It's during those beautiful moments of surreal beaches, natural forests, and happy flashbacks Mallick soars. He never crosses over into full arthouse mode though and balances walking the line (no pun intended perfectly). It very much is cut from the same cloth as a David Lynch film in that regard with the surreal dream momnets. The battle moments again though are first rate and Saving Private Ryan level good. I find it so interesting how for most of the hill battle we don't even see the enemy close up. It masterfully merges the soldiers journey and there appreciation for life/how the battle changes he survivors perspectives with the nature message. Everyone should give this a try once.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/17/24
Full Review
Garrett B
It’s no Apocalypse Now or Saving Private Ryan, but it truly stands on its own as a beautifully shot war film
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
11/11/24
Full Review
Gregory T
Ages well. Fantastic movie.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/11/24
Full Review
Jerod S
My favorite WW2 movie. It's very slow, but as along as you expect that going in, it's amazing!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/05/24
Full Review
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