The Thin Red Line (1998)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Terrence Malick

Writers (WGA):

James Jones (novel)
Terrence Malick (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Every man fights his own war.

Plot:

Director Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Guadalcanal | Japanese | Rifle | Accidental Death

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Kirk Acevedo	...	Pvt. Tella
Penelope Allen	...	Witt's Mother (as Penny Allen)
Benjamin Green	...	Melanesian Villager (as Benjamin)
Simon Billig	...	Lt. Col. Billig
Mark Boone Junior	...	Pvt. Peale
Adrien Brody	...	Cpl. Fife
Norman Patrick Brown	...	Pvt. Henry
James Caviezel	...	Pvt. Witt (as Jim Caviezel)
Ben Chaplin	...	Pvt. Bell
George Clooney	...	Capt. Bosche
John Cusack	...	Capt. Gaff
Jarrod Dean	...	Cpl. Thorne
Matt Doran	...	Pvt. Coombs
Travis Fine	...	Pvt. Weld
Paul Gleeson	...	1st Lt. Band

MPAA:

Rated R for realistic war violence and language.

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | India:A (cinema release) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Bramston Beach, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

Prior to the film's release, producers Robert Michael Geisler and John Roberdeau allegedly violated a confidentiality clause they had signed by giving an interview to Vanity Fair about their long involvement with Terrence Malick and the film. Malick was upset by this. Geisler and Roberdeau had to sign another agreement stating they would not attend the Oscars ceremony. If they violated that agreement, their names would be stripped from the film and video credits.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Welsh is talking to the scared young soldier in the shaving quarters at the beginning of the film, the soldier says, "Only two things that are permanent is dying and the Lord," and the camera and the operator's hand are reflected in the far left mirror (visible only in the widescreen release).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Private Witt: I remember my mother when she was dyin', looked all shrunk up and gray. I asked her if she was afraid. She just shook her head. I was afraid to touch the death I seen in her. I couldn't find nothin' beautiful or uplifting about her goin' back to God...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "State of Play: (#1.4)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Sit Back and Relax

A diagnosis

The greatest fault of The Thin Red Line was its timing - it was released at around the same time as Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. While most people dismissed The Thin Red Line as the `other' World War II movie of 1998, it's actually a very different kind of film - the film itself is not hurt by similarity to Ryan but was hurt commercially due to the misconception. It's easy to forget that Red was nominated for seven Oscars. This is an extraordinary film that can stand well on its own next to Ryan.

Saving Private Ryan was significant in that it visually depicted war in a realistic, gritty way. The Thin Red Line's focus is more philosophical. It is about the contradiction between the beauty of nature and the destructive nature of men. The movie cuts continuously between the external struggle of American GIs fighting to take a crucial hill from Japanese occupation on Guadalcanal - and more importantly, the internal chaos of war as every man tries to come to his own terms about matters such as morals, death, God, and love.

Unlike in Saving Private Ryan, there is nothing patriotic about this movie. In fact, there probably has never been a more anti-war film. The fighting men here are disillusioned, lost, and frightened. They don't fight for their country or "democracy" - they fight because they have to. The only priorities are survival, and - for the more humane - caring for their comrades. Renowned composer Hans Zimmer - who won an Oscar nomination for his work-captures the grim mood perfectly and allows us to hear the men's thoughts.

The characters are portrayed by a strong ensemble cast. Acting is uniformly excellent, especially Nick Nolte as Colonel Tall, who is the unfeeling commander of the ground offensive on Guadalcanal. Thoroughly unlikable, he is the closest thing to a villain in the movie. After studying war for an untold number of years, Tall sees Guadalcanal as his chance to prove himself and move up in the ranks - the men are only a tool to accomplish this goal and expendable. In one crucial scene, he orders a captain (played by Elias Koteas, in another outstanding role) to lead his men to a frontal assault against a Japanese controlled hill. When the captain suggests a more logical alternative, the colonel screams: "You are not gonna take your men around in the jungle to avoid a goddamn fight!" To this, the captain replies, `I've lived with these men, sir, for two and a half years and I will not order them all to their deaths.' Later, when the hill is taken, he is dismissed of his duties as Tall sees him as a threat to the successful achievement of his goal. Certainly, not every commander must have been that coldhearted and selfish, but surely some were, though not necessarily to that extreme.

While the acting is very good, much of the cast is relatively unknown and it can initially be hard to distinguish the characters from each other as they may appear to be very similar. They are all about the same age, have dirt smeared over their faces, and wear helmets and the same military garb. Also, the stars in this movie have very small roles. George Clooney and John Travolta are credited with starring roles while really little more than extras - clearly for marketing purposes. You will not see more than two minutes of each.

One of the main themes of the movie is the contrast between nature and men's destructiveness in war. The director, Terrence Malick, hired cinematographer John Toll to capture this on camera, and towards achieving that goal they couldn't have been more successful. The almost surreal scenery is nothing short of stunning and has the same visual impact as any special effect. The beauty of nature is always present, even when it is a setting for battle of destruction, and death.

Though the battle scenes fall short of the frightening realism in Saving Private Ryan, they are heads and soldiers above every previous attempt. One truly gets the sense that war is a chaotic, often hopeless environment where it is only a matter of luck whether you survive or get killed.

`How did we lose the good that was given us? Or let it slip away? Scatter it carelessly ... trade it for what has no worth?' The film is filled with such poetic questions as to which there are no real answers. This is definitely not a party movie. There isn't anything uplifting about it - it is downright depressing. Asides from entertainment value, however, this is a film that makes you think.