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The Thin Blue Line (1988)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Errol Morris (writer)
Release Date:
25 August 1988 (USA)
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Genre:
Tagline:
A softcore movie, Dr. Death, a chocolate milkshake, a nosey blonde and "The Carol Burnett Show." Solving this mystery is going to be murder.
Plot:
A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Murder
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Texas
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Death
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Death Penalty
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Police Officer
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Awards:
7 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(10 articles)
IFC Teams with Netflix to Bring 53 New Films to Streaming “Watch Instantly” Service
(From Collider.com. 20 November 2009, 2:50 PM, PST)
IFC Films to Stream Content Through Netflix
(From MovieWeb. 20 November 2009, 7:21 AM, PST)
(From Collider.com. 20 November 2009, 2:50 PM, PST)
IFC Films to Stream Content Through Netflix
(From MovieWeb. 20 November 2009, 7:21 AM, PST)
User Comments:
If there was ever a hell on earth...
more (36 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Randall Adams | ... | Himself |
| David Harris | ... | Himself |
| Gus Rose | ... | Himself (Homicide Detective in Dallas) |
| Jackie Johnson | ... | Herself (Homicide Detective in Dallas) |
| Marshall Touchton | ... | Himself (Homicide Detective in Dallas) |
| Dale Holt | ... | Himself (Internal Affairs Investigator in Dallas) |
| Sam Kittrell | ... | Himself (Police Detective in Vidor) |
| Hootie Nelson | ... | Himself (Friend of David Harris in Vidor) |
| Dennis Johnson | ... | Himself (Friend of David Harris in Vidor) |
| Floyd Jackson | ... | Himself (Friend of David Harris in Vidor) |
| Edith James | ... | Herself (Defense Attorney) |
| Dennis White | ... | Himself (Defense Attorney) |
| Don Metcalfe | ... | Himself (The Judge) |
| Emily Miller | ... | Herself (Surprise Eyewitness) |
| R.L. Miller | ... | Himself (Surprise Eyewitness) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
103 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Errol Morris spent 2-1/2 years tracking down the various players in the Randall Adams case and convincing them to appear in the film.
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Quotes:
Edith James:
The reason they were talking to the police at all was that there had been a three-day running knife fight in their apartment.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Captain Planet and the Planeteers: The Blue Car Line (#2.15)" (1992)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (36 total)
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I grew up in a society that strongly believes in the death penalty - a religion injunction based on the Islamic code of justice. I remember being told a story (don't know if its true) of how the US President visited Saudi Arabia and on the last day of his visit he was treated to some public be-headings. When he questioned the morality of it, his host informed him that the handful of criminals punished represented the entirety of the criminal population for the past one year. The moral being that harsh punishments prevent crimes and caring too much about the aggressor leads to high crime rates. I personally lost faith in the prison system many years ago after reading about the Milgram and Stanford Prison Experiment findings. A harrowing Australian movie, Ghosts of the Civil Dead made me detest the prison system even more. In recent years Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have left a bad taste in the mouth. So, is the answer really the death penalty and other physical measures that can't be reversed? After seeing The Thin Blue Line I just don't know. This film has really affected me.
An innocent hitch-hiker, and from what I saw in the documentary a decent man, is caught at the wrong time in the wrong place - a former sundown town called Vidor, Dallas County. He is implicated in the murder of a cop and is obviously innocent of the crime. The entire legal system of Vidor is bent to prosecute him. The reason: the real killer is a 16-year old and there's no benefit in finding him guilty because he can't be given the death penalty. Randall Adams, in his 20's, can and must be punished because he's a stranger to these small-minded bigots and someone must pay! Shocking that people can think that way. It makes The Ox-Bow Incident and issues it raised 70 years ago valid even today. This was no more than a judicial lynching.
Fortunately, in this case Randall Adams' case was reopened and he was acquitted and released, in large measure due to this documentary and the scandal it caused. The story is exceedingly well told and the end with the tape recorded last interview with David Harris is chilling. I can't say that after watching this I still have a clear opinion of what punishment should fit a crime, but it has certainly made me question the validity of the mentality present in so many Muslim countries. Who is to say there can be no similar travesty of justice there?