The Thin Red Line (1998)

Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.

Director:

Terrence Malick

Writers:

James Jones (novel), Terrence Malick (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 40 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Jim Caviezel	...	Pvt. Witt
Ben Chaplin	...	Pvt. Bell
George Clooney	...	Capt. Bosche
John Cusack	...	Capt. John Gaff
Jarrod Dean	...	Cpl. Thorne
Matt Doran	...	Pvt. Coombs
Travis Fine	...	Pvt. Weld
Paul Gleeson	...	1st Lt. Band

Storyline

U.S. Army Private Witt (AWOL) is found and imprisoned on a troop carrier by his company First Sergeant, Welsh.The men of C Company,1st Battalion,27th Infantry Regiment,25th Infantry Division have been brought to Guadalcanal as reinforcements in the campaign to secure Henderson Field and seize the island from the Japanese. They arrive near Hill 210, a key Japanese position. Their task is to capture the hill at all cost. What happens next is a story developing about redemption and the meaningless of war. Regardless the outcome.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | tropical island | jungle | guadalcanal | hill | 

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Taglines:

Every man fights his own war.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for realistic war violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Tok Pisin Japanese Greek

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

La delgada línea roja

Filming Locations:

Bramston Beach, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$223,548, 27 December 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$36,400,491

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$98,126,565

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Geisler-Roberdeau, Phoenix Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

170 min 215 min (rough cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Music Editor Lee Scott and Francesco Lupica, the creator and performer of the Cosmic Beam, provided the haunting "metalic" sound to the films score. What sounds like a large distant bell is actually the Cosmic Beam. Malick would later use variations of the Cosmic Beam in his films, The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011), To the Wonder (2013), and Knight of Cups (2015).

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Goofs

When PFC. Doll shoots the Japanese soldiers (who are going on the hill carrying a machine gun), 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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Private Edward P. Train: What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?

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Crazy Credits

Composer Wrangler. . . Moanike'ala Nakamoto

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Connections

Referenced in George Washington (2000)

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Soundtracks

Annum per Annum
Composed by Arvo Pärt
Organ performed by Andrew Lucas

User Reviews

A poem of a picture

This film is three hours of movie poetry. "Saving Private Ryan," though brilliantly made, is a jingoistic cartoon by comparison. "Thin Red Line" follows a company of American rifleman brought in to consolidate the Allied grip on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal in 1942 in the face of Japanese invasion, but the place could be just about anywhere where war is fought.

The company is not made up of conscripts but regular soldiers. Some of them have been in the Army more than 10 years. Some of them however have never seen real action before and this is a hot and uncomfortable location, despite the lovely tropical scenery. Some crack up, some die, some do heroic deeds. Their leaders are not particularly admirable; one is quite happy to get his men killed if he can come out of the action looking good.

Out of sight for most of the film are the Melanesian inhabitants, the Solomon Islanders, who are carrying on living as best they can while the war rages around them. Their serenity is in sharp contrast to the frenetic military activity. Of course, there is nowhere for them to go.

There is some action excitingly filmed but as in real wars much of the time is spent preparing and waiting. Personal stories unfold but at the end it is survival that matters.

The lighting and photography is quite superb, the lighting in particular fitting the mood perfectly. Filming was not actually on Guadalcanal but near Port Douglas in Northern Queensland where there is similar tropical rainforest and fauna but with much easier logistics. It took ages apparently but seems more than worth the effort.

This is probably one of the four or five greatest war films ever made, right up there with "All Quiet on the Western Front, " "Paths of Glory," "Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Longest Day." Never has a movie better portrayed what it's like to be a frontline soldier.

Terrence Malick has the reputation of being an eccentric, difficult director - Kubrick without the fear of flying. Yet this is not a particularly unconventional movie - it's just that everything hangs together - the story, dialogue, performances, photography and settings. On thing is clear - this is a better interpretation of James Jones' novel than the 1964 version.