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The Thin Red Line Review
By admin | August 18, 2009
The thin red line - Trailer HQ
The Thin Red Line Review
COMMENTS Terence Malick’s films have escaped me with the exception of BADLANDS. I saw that one at the theater and on DVD. Enjoyed it both times. Up until last night, I hadn’t seen THE THIN RED LINE. Frankly, two things kept me out of the theater. Despite the all-star cast and a relatively good buzz about the film, it seems as though the critics were mixed in their praise and condemnation. I kept hearing complaints about the plot being disjointed, the narratives confusing and the film too long. After sitting through the film, I think I can commiserate on all counts.
Even though I understand that Malick’s intent was probably to demonstrate the alienation of war by never letting us get close to any individual — that these guys were all thrown together simply to fight the enemy and confront their own inner struggles — I found the concept more disconcerting than anything else. If that was the director’s intent, then he succeeded.
The other reason I stayed away is a litle more personal. To be perfectly candid, I was emotionally spent after watching SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. I’d had enough of World War II movies for 1998.
It’s a good thing that Fox sent in their test copy of THE THIN RED LINE before Dreamworks could fire off their advance copy of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, otherwise I’d probably be facing the same psychological barriers — on home video, this time! The bottom line is that I’m glad I saw THE THIN RED LINE.
That being said, I’ve observed a real legion of fans for this film, particularly those on the Internet who can’t wait for this film to be released. There is something special about this movie, for sure. But I think I’m going to have to sit through it another time or two to figure out what that special something is. Like PATTON, THE THIN RED LINE is a “thinking man’s” World War II drama.
Unfortunately for me, I like to walk out of a movie with more answers than questions and THE THIN RED LINE left me with plenty of questions. None that I was particularly interested in pursuing, however. Both PLATOON and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN shook me to the core. THE THIN RED LINE didn’t have the same effect, but I prefer it to countless other war films such as HAMBURGER HILL and THE BIG RED ONE.
So what is it about this film that has fans so eager to snap up the DVD? There are the obvious elements – beautiful cinematography, masterful acting performances and tense drama. But there’s also the “poetic” aspect of this film that while appealing to some might be a bit off-putting to others. At least, it was for me.
During this enigmatic film via narration, we’re spoon-fed random thoughts and musings from the key characters, none of whom we know much about, by design, apparently. Their comments often stray into complex and esoteric meandering, which are further complicated by the fact that it’s often difficult to tell who is thinking what. Nick Nolte’s narration is unmistakable thanks to his deep, gravelly voice, but the rest of the narration can turn into a blur unless you’ve had a few belts of caffeine and are really paying attention.
There’s precious little character development in THE THIN RED LINE, which is perhapsmy tgreatest disappointment. It’s difficult to bond with people you don’t know anything about — and as fine a cast that’s been assembled here, the actors don’t have a whole lot (as individuals) to work with.
There’s the soldier who goes AWOL looking for a better world only to request a return to the front lines; an aging Lieutenant Colonel who alternately curses his position in life yet relishes the thrill of the hunt and kill; a tough-as-nails Sergeant who turns out to have the most compassion; a platoon leader unwilling to lead his men into hopeless battle, and a whole lot of soul-searching and wrenching emotional and physical pain.
We’re only allowed to travel back into one soldier’s past and take a glimpse of his pseudo lusty domestic bliss. We can certainly see his motivation to make it home in one piece. The strange thing is, the particular character is not a “lead” in the film, per se. Perhaps he represents the author of the 1962 autobigraphical book, penned by James Jones.
THE THIN RED LINE’S biggest shortcoming, I think, is that it’s simply too broad and unfocused.
THE THIN RED LINE is a beautiful, yet puzzling film, big on panoramic, splendid footage and star power. My inclination is to dismiss the flowery prose as a bunch of hooey –- it’s difficult to imagine the soldiers in question coming up with some of the lines they’re thinking. But who’s to say what goes on in the minds of men who are uncertain of their next battle or when they might draw their last breath? Having never lived through that experience, it’s a bit unfair to criticize the screenplay, but I found the whole concept a bit of a stretch.
Despite all the tough talk, hard training and warfare indoctrination, the taking of another human life is serious business and in kind, generates serious reflection in the minds of some of the characters in this film –- on both sides of the conflict.
A very original war movie unlike any I’ve seen, THE THIN RED LINE, like most contemporary war films, doesn’t glorify the act of killing. Its message is made more powerful and poignant by hearing the inner thoughts of the GI’s sent in like mindless drones to achieve their objctive — to capture a Japanese position and take the strategically vital Guadalcanal.
Some say that THE THIN RED LINE didn’t receive a fair shake because of comparisons to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. There’s really no comparison at all. These are two very different films, just as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and SILENT RUNNING are two different films. They both take place in outer space, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Oddly, the disc contains no theatrical trailer, but instead features a sample of Melanesian songs. Melanesian songs? Okay, why not? These songs served as the spiritual chorus for the film, but I personally can’t think of any circumstances in which I’d listen to them out of the context of the film. But that’s just me.
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan you’ll find of THE THIN RED LINE — probably one the most “artistic” war films ever created, right behind APOCOLYPSE NOW and FULL METAL JACKET - but not nearly as involving or entertaining. There are too many players, too little development of the characters they play — and a bit too much poetry for my tastes. While this film might not be my first choice when having friends over to watch a movie, I’m still glad I saw it and would certainly recommend the disc for purchase or rental — particularly if you saw the film in the theaters and were drawn to it. I’d also welcome the opportunity to watch it again someday, as I believe that repeated viewings are probably necessary to really appreciate and understand what the writer and director were aiming for.
SYNOPSIS Oh brother, trying to summarize this story would almost be an exercise in futility, because there is no story in the traditional sense.
Essentially, the movie is about the survival of Charlie Company, an army unit that is sent in to capture Guadalcanal from the Japanese. The tiny island will provide Allied forces with a base airport to coordinate long range bombing missions from and winning this battle at any cost is mandatory.
We’re introduced to a diverse cast of characters; none of whom we ever learn much about with the exception of Private Bell. Even then, we still don’t really know him.
This is a story of the men in battle. Their fears, hopes, and inner struggles — trying to make sense of their current positions while fighting to survive under nearly impossible conditions. Don’t look for a happy ending.
IMAGE This is only the second time that Fox Home Video has seen fit to issue an anamorphic title for all of us videophiles that expect the best from content providers. What we expect and what we get, unfortunately, are often two different matters. I’m not sure what forces are at work over at Fox, but I hope they continue to gather strength and bully the rest of the decision makers to keep up the great work. Whoever they are, I hope they keep kicking and screaming for quality to prevail over expediency. The ALIEN LEGACY series was top notch in every respect — I still think that the ALIEN menu system was the coolest I’ve seen all year.
I’m pleased to report that the image quality of THE THIN RED LINE is excellent. Much of the film appears in a darkish cast. It’s difficult to tell whether this is intentional or not at times, but I immediately understood it to be intentional on the part of Malick when during a pivotal scene, the clouds parted, slowly blanketing the tall waving grass on the hillside in a warm glow of sunlight. The sight was almost breathtaking in its magnificence.
Because the general key lighting is a bit low, detail is sometimes not as sharp as we’d like to see, but even on our large screen, there’s very little to complain about. The film element used was clean as a whistle; colors are well saturated and clarity is generally very, very good. Fans of this movie should not be disappointed.
SOUND THE THIN RED line features outstanding audio in every respect. Boasting an outstanding signal to noise ratio with very little compression evident, the soundstage is deep and wide. Frequency response is excellent; deep lows rumble and reverberate. This is the kind of bass that you can feel. The bass is as solid as it is deep, with a pleasing sense of transparency and depth with no splatter or boom.
The sounds of tracer bullets whiz overhead and spatial directional qualities on the effects are all top drawer.
For Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, it just doesn’t get much better than this. Even the minutest details are captured — like in the scene with the tall grass, you can hear every breath, grunt and fabric rustle as the GI gives his hand signals to move in. This kind of intimacy and detail in sound almost sounded a bit strange, but it was certainly interesting to note.
My only real complaint (mitigated nicely by the subtitles) is that dialog isn’t always easy to follow — mainly because of the way the actors are mumbling their lines, not because there’s a problem with the audio levels. The subtitles really came in handy (and indeed, were vital) in helping me determine who in the hell was saying what during the many moments of silent reflection, exemplified by spoken narration.
The captions contained the name of the character, followed by their spoken words. Heads up job on that one, Fox.