The Thin Red Line (1998)

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
Sean Penn	...	1st Sgt. Welsh
Penelope Allen	...	Witt's Mother (as Penny Allen)
Adrien Brody	...	Cpl. Fife
James Caviezel	...	Pvt. Witt (as Jim Caviezel)
Benjamin Green	...	Melanesian Villager (as Benjamin)
Simon Billig	...	Lt. Col. Billig
Ben Chaplin	...	Pvt. Bell
Mark Boone Junior	...	Pvt. Peale
George Clooney	...	Capt. Bosche
John Cusack	...	Capt. Gaff
Norman Patrick Brown	...	Pvt. Henry
Woody Harrelson	...	Sgt. Keck
Elias Koteas	...	Capt. Staros
Nick Nolte	...	Lt. Col. Tall

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:

Continuity: When the frightened soldier shoots the Japanese soldiers (who are going on the hill with stretchers), the first shots he fires we see his face. His rifle recoils significantly, but when it shows the scene behind his back, his rifle does not recoil at all.

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:

Spoofed in Poloiset ja pimeyden sydän (2001)

Soundtrack:

The Unanswered Question

A haunting exploration of the meanings of life, death and war through the eyes of a group of disenchanted soldiers

This is one of the most beautifully crafted and haunting films that I have ever seen. Not only is the amazing ensemble cast give truly beautiful, effective performances, but the direction and cinematography combines to create a magnificent visual and mental feast.

This story about the Guadalcanal campaign during WW2, based on the James Jones novel, weaves the lives of many characters together seemlessly, creating a philosophical/emotional experience of war. It's not just about war. It's about love, faith in yourself and others, friendship, humanity, morality and also works as a startling indictment of man's conflict with nature. The amazing opening sequence, sets up a tranquility as the character Witt, finds peace on a secluded island among the natives, a peace which is shattered by the war.

What follows is not a mindless battle-after-battle onslaught of pyrotechnics, smoke, dust and blood, but a thought-provoking, visually and verbally poetic analysis of war and humanity. In my opinion it is the greatest war film since Apocalypse now, which I believe bears more flaws than this. It's not an Us-and-Them war story about the glory of the USA defeating the evil Japs. It sticks close with the characters, as we hear the thoughts, their hopes, their fears, leading to a moving experience.

This film was released a few months after Saving Private Ryan and unfortunately did not experience the same attention that the latter film did. Ryan was an excellent film, but to offer a comparison, The Thin Red LIne treads where Ryan didn't dare. Ryan sat in the safe territory of Good vs Evil with a bit of Futility of War and a lot of American Patriotism. It seemed to be more about America at some points than about war. The Thin Red Line is about war, the people involved and the destruction it creates for the mind, the soul and for nature. It does not deviate from this to make simple contrasts and offer easy binary oppositions.

In fact, TTRL is not an easy film. Gasp, it even tries to make you think. Though the title is not really explained in the film, I believe it is implied, and could have many meanings - the line between sanity and insanity, morality and immorality, love and hate, companionship and loneliness, nature and man, war and peace. While the characters share their thoughts, deeply poetic as they are, the meaning is not thrown in your face and neither is the answer to the questions raised. In this way it is the most thought-provoking war film I've ever seen and one of the best films of all time in my book. Top ten easily.

Now to my whinge. I think TTRL was shunned unmercifully at the 1999 Oscars. Shakespeare in Love beat two brilliant films - TTRL and Elizabeth - to get that oscar, and don't get me started on Gwyneth's award. This is the best film of 1998/9, in line with Elizabeth. It's unfortunate that the two, thoug h greatly revered, did not achieve the success and attention they deserved.

Don't be afraid by its length, it's a beautiful journey, full of rich colour, sound and the reward is a deeply moving human experience, unlike any other that the past decade has offered.