Thin Red Line 10/10

[pizowell]

Terrence Malick’s beautiful, poetic, haunting, and unforgettable World War II epic is easily one of the most thought provoking and powerful films of all time. Based on the novel by James Jones. Malick captures the ugliness of war surrounded by the beauty of nature. The war itself is only a supporting character in the film, instead The Thin Red Line focuses on the struggle of the men fighting in it. Not a story about the war, like most other war films, but a story about the struggles of the men fighting that war. The dream like visuals and poetic voiceovers give it a haunting and somewhat uneasy feel. The film is like no other and may catch flack for its loose structure and none existing narrative. If Malick had done a straightforward narrative he could have never reached the level of poetry that he does here. The Thin Red Line has also been unfairly compared to Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan toys with the viewer’s emotions while Thin Red Line offers visuals and voiceovers that attempt to have the viewer ponder. In my opinion The Thin Red Line’s haunting visuals will be more endearing than the mere emotion of Saving Private Ryan. Questioning who we are as human beings and how we lost the good that was given to us are questions posed by the film, but its up to the viewer to answer them. The story is told through voiceovers and different points of view. At times it is hard to decipher whose voiceover it is, but it doesn’t matter it’s the voice of everyman. It’s an endless movie with no real beginning and end. Most may not be open minded to a movie that doesn’t play like all other flicks they’ve seen, but Thin Red Line beats to its own drum. Just lay back and take it all in. Then afterwards think about it. Every man fights his own war.

[Favourite end]

I can almost totally agree with you, because this is one of my favourite movies for all times.I disagree with you only about the part with "Saving private Ryan".I like both movies very, very much, but I can`t say "Saving private Ryan" is worse. I`m glad that both movies were at the cinemas in one same year, because they show the differnt views of the II World War.And definitely "The thin red line" is the more beautiful from the two, but I can`t say that this makes the movie better than "Saving private Ryan".It`s true that "Ryan" was more commercial than "The thin red line", but I don`t think this`s a minus for the movie.
Anyway, I adore "The thin red line" -9.9/10.

[Tuukka]

I stopped watching this film after 2 hours. The voiceovers RUINED the film. Only a few times I have ever witnessed a film with so poorly written, cliched and pretentious voiceovers trying to be "deep" and "thoughtful". Watching The Thin Red Line is like watching a poorly written radio play. It's a perfect example of a film that TELLS us things instead of SHOWING them. Always a sign of bad filmmaking, unless you are Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino.

Granted, acting and visuals were impressive but since the script was so bad, I couldn't have cared less.

[pablotheintern]

Kevin Smith blows. Talk about a bad writer and even worse director. The Thin Red Line is one of my favorite films.

10/10

[Zed]

One of the best War movies I've ever saw.
Terrence Malik gives a great return an obtain a very deserved Oscar nomination, with so bad luck to do it in the same year that Spielberg shot "Saving Private Ryan" (which direction was nearly the best).
It's a very interesting use of the cast and the used of the camera was amazing.
Did you note the Subjective Camera (aka, the camera try to imitate what the character is watching). Sorry fot he word, is an spanish term. If someone knows the correct translation to English please let me know.

Then, a good script, a good director and a good flick...

[Ebert]

The Thin Red Line was a excelent Film

I'd say that SPR was better but not by much.... /ubb/wink.gif

[Tuukka]

"Kevin Smith blows. Talk about a bad writer and even worse director."

Smith knows how to write excellent dialogue, so I don't mind if his movies are based on talking heads. But telling us things instead of showing them gets annoying when the quality of dialogue/monologues is as low as it was in Thin Red Line.

[kopikat]

This movie sucks big time!! Really boring, except for the "Hill Scene". A waste of some great actors talents.
5/10

[pizowell]

KopiKat, you're obviously a nascar or a WWF fan.

[pablotheintern]

Some people just don't have the intellectual capacity to understand brilliant films. The same people that diss The Thin Red Line and find it boring probably love movies like Armageddon and Tomb Raider. They need to be spoon fed and want everything to be easy, so they don't have to be an active viewer. Only a moron would call The Thin Red Line boring or annoying (and then praise the no-talent hack Kevin Smith).

[Tuukka]

pablo, it's always a sign of intelligence when one tries to prove his point by insulting other people. I'm sure you are proud of yourself.

And just for the record, the reason why I disliked The Thin Red Line was that the script was not intelligent. More than that, it tried to force the message of the film down our throats by it's endless monologues, pointing out what we are supposed to think.

There was nothing subtle or difficult about the script, it was too obvious and too cliched. Of course it might have turned better in the third hour, but I doubt.

And yes, Kevin Smith has written a lot more deep and thoughtful scripts, most obviously in Chasing Amy. More than that, Smith writes lively and clever dialogue, something that was totally missing in The Thin Red Line.

[JoBlo]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by pablotheintern:
Some people just don't have the intellectual capacity to understand brilliant films. The same people that diss The Thin Red Line and find it boring probably love movies like Armageddon and Tomb Raider. They need to be spoon fed and want everything to be easy, so they don't have to be an active viewer. Only a moron would call The Thin Red Line boring or annoying (and then praise the no-talent hack Kevin Smith).</font>

Congratulations Pablo, you just earned your first official WARNING from our site. The next one will earn you a 3-month ban from our forums.

You've been close to insulting others many times in our forums (although you seem to do it in a passive-aggressive kind of way), but this time, you've just gone too far. As I'm sure you know by now, we do not allow DISRESPECT OF OTHERS on our board.

As Tuukka pointed out, if you can't participate in a debate over a movie's merits without resorting to putdowns, well, this movie board is not for you.

We hope that you understand and keep this in mind for future comments as well. You can email me directly at joblo@joblo.com if you have any questions or concerns...

[pablotheintern]

Thank you. I am honored.

[Tuukka]

I think I should track down the script of TTRL. I would give the film 5/10 for it's excellent acting, cool cinematography and mostly superb direction, but the script was a serious letdown. I know that also many critics seriously disliked the voiceovers in the film, but some quotes from the script might help to prove my point...

I will write more about this some time soon...

[cow]

i just saw this movie lastnight. My parents warned me not too. They went to see it in the theatres and walked out becuase it "was too boring". I myself, loved it. It may just very well be my new favorite war movie. I like the voice-overs. It told us what the characters were thinking and how they go about copping certain situations. something you cant get by filming dead bodies, characters faces etc..etc....

however i can see how some would not like it. i can understand Tuukas complaint, but i disagree with it. But for me.....10/10!

[bmain77]

I read the book before I saw The THin Red Line and it might be one of my top ten favorite books of all time. However the movie kinda let me down. The strange thing about it is that the movie was a fairly true to the book. THe filmed version just didn't click with me. It lacked a lot of the excitement of the book. If someone wants to see a film about the madness of war and the effect that it has on a person I would suggest Apocalypse Now instead of this one.

REaly Apocalypse NOw, Platoon or maybe Full Metal Jacket are about the only war movies I think it is fair to compare it to. Those films are much more cerebral, I guess would be a good way to put, than Saving Private Ryan. I love that movie, but comparing it to A Thin Red Line is like comparing Magnolia and DUmb and Dumber. THe only thing they have in common is that ther are set in WWII.

Anyways I give it a 5.5/10

[This message has been edited by bmain77 (edited 08-07-2001).]