2008-04-20 05:13:33Jenny van Formosa
The thin red line (1999)
Director:Terrence Malick
Writers (WGA):James Jones (novel)
Terrence Malick (screenplay)
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Tagline: Every man fights his own war.
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Writers (WGA):James Jones (novel)
Terrence Malick (screenplay)
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Tagline: Every man fights his own war.
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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.
Comments:author gabbagabbahey from United States
personally, I am not a fan of war movie but this one is different then what I saw before. This movie it gave people space to think and understand the deepest thoughts of human. And it is not so blood as rest of the war movie.
In the meantime, you also saw the beautiful landscape (fresh green color)of those fighting field.....
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.
Comments:author gabbagabbahey from United States
personally, I am not a fan of war movie but this one is different then what I saw before. This movie it gave people space to think and understand the deepest thoughts of human. And it is not so blood as rest of the war movie.
In the meantime, you also saw the beautiful landscape (fresh green color)of those fighting field.....