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The Thin Red Line

  • 19981998
  • RR
  • 2h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
185K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,876
542
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Criterion trailer
Play trailer2:47
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • History
  • War

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

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
185K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,876
542
  • Director
    • Terrence Malick
  • Writers
    • James Jones(novel)
    • Terrence Malick(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jim Caviezel
    • Sean Penn
    • Nick Nolte
Top credits
  • Director
    • Terrence Malick
  • Writers
    • James Jones(novel)
    • Terrence Malick(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jim Caviezel
    • Sean Penn
    • Nick Nolte
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1.5KUser reviews
    • 173Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 7 Oscars
      • 21 wins & 47 nominations total

    Videos3

    The Thin Red Line
    Trailer 2:47
    The Thin Red Line
    A Guide to the Films of Terrence Malick
    Clip 2:31
    A Guide to the Films of Terrence Malick

    Photos177

    Terrence Malick in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Bill Pullman, Ben Chaplin, and Adrien Brody in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    John Cusack, Jim Caviezel, and Ben Chaplin in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Woody Harrelson, Sean Penn, Will Wallace, Adrien Brody, and Dash Mihok in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    John Travolta and Nick Nolte in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Jim Caviezel in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Sean Penn in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Jim Caviezel in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Dash Mihok in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    John Cusack in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Woody Harrelson in The Thin Red Line (1998)
    Arie Verveen in The Thin Red Line (1998)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jim Caviezel
    Jim Caviezel
    • Pvt. Wittas Pvt. Witt
    Sean Penn
    Sean Penn
    • 1st Sgt. Welshas 1st Sgt. Welsh
    Nick Nolte
    Nick Nolte
    • Lt. Col. Tallas Lt. Col. Tall
    Kirk Acevedo
    Kirk Acevedo
    • Pvt. Tellaas Pvt. Tella
    Penelope Allen
    Penelope Allen
    • Witt's Motheras Witt's Mother
    • (as Penny Allen)
    Benjamin Green
    • Melanesian Villageras Melanesian Villager
    • (as Benjamin)
    Simon Billig
    Simon Billig
    • Lt. Col. Billigas Lt. Col. Billig
    Mark Boone Junior
    Mark Boone Junior
    • Pvt. Pealeas Pvt. Peale
    Adrien Brody
    Adrien Brody
    • Cpl. Fifeas Cpl. Fife
    Norman Patrick Brown
    • Pvt. Henryas Pvt. Henry
    Ben Chaplin
    Ben Chaplin
    • Pvt. Bellas Pvt. Bell
    George Clooney
    George Clooney
    • Capt. Boscheas Capt. Bosche
    John Cusack
    John Cusack
    • Capt. John Gaffas Capt. John Gaff
    Jarrod Dean
    Jarrod Dean
    • Cpl. Thorneas Cpl. Thorne
    Matt Doran
    Matt Doran
    • Pvt. Coombsas Pvt. Coombs
    Travis Fine
    Travis Fine
    • Pvt. Weldas Pvt. Weld
    Paul Gleeson
    Paul Gleeson
    • 1st Lt. Bandas 1st Lt. Band
    Woody Harrelson
    Woody Harrelson
    • Sgt. Keckas Sgt. Keck
    • Director
      • Terrence Malick
    • Writers
      • James Jones(novel)
      • Terrence Malick(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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 costs. What happens next is a story of redemption and the meaninglessness of war. Regardless of the outcome. —Frank Liesenborgs / Hans Delbruck
    • battle
    • tropical island
    • jungle
    • guadalcanal
    • hill
    • 152 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Every man fights his own war.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • History
      • War
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for realistic war violence and language
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Most of Adrien Brody's scenes were cut from the film and he wasn't aware of these changes until he saw the film at the premiere. Brody came to the premiere expecting to see himself as the lead character and was shocked when he saw that he was barely featured in the film, especially since Cpl. Fife was the central character in the novel on which the movie was based.
    • Goofs
      In one of the flashback scenes where the soldier and his girlfriend are holding hands, modern cars can be seen out the window in the background.
    • Quotes

      Private Edward P. Train: [narration] This great evil, where's it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doing this? Who's killing us, robbing us of life and light, mocking us with the sight of what we might've known? Does our ruin benefit the earth, does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed through this night?

    • Crazy credits
      Composer Wrangler. . . Moanike'ala Nakamoto
    • Connections
      Featured in HBO First Look: The Thin Red Line (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      The Unanswered Question
      Composed by Charles Ives

      Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's (as The Orchestra of St. Luke's)

      Conducted by John Adams

    User reviews1.5K

    Review
    Top review
    Wittgenstein's Red Line of Abstraction
    I met Malick in 68-69 at MIT where I was taking a degree in philosophy. MIT had the decade before gone through a soul-searching re-evaluation of the type of scientist it was producing, and concluded that they could do much better in working toward well-rounded citizens. So by the end of the 60's they had collected - for a few years only - perhaps the strongest collection of newly emergent thinkers in the humanities. And it was quite a rich stew of ideas for a young person, the most exciting place in the world for the humanities for perhaps five years.

    Malick came in with this pack, concerned with newly emerging ideas about meaning and language. The philosophy establishment was forming a new split (US and Continentals) largely characterized by how to reinvent Wittgenstein's insights but with a more friendly rationale. Chomsky was shaking one world, formal abstraction for computers another. Exciting --- moreso than today. But Malick was not a verbal communicator, nor a logician, nor an academic (all sides of the same thing). So he dove into practical visual semiotics.

    He is not a brilliant man, merely a journalist. But he does seem to be particularly honest and understands some damned good, solid, human ideas compared to other filmmakers. One can really see this early MIT exposure in 'Red Line.'

    We can thankfully forget plot -- there is not meant to be any story. In fact, the war is only used here as a canvas of motion, abstractions of 'regular' life, colliding and sometimes adhering to souls, sometimes destroying them. The device is to build the film around the sounds: narrative voiceovers (current and remembered), natural sounds, haunting music. The images are attached to the sounds, which are derived from abstractions. This is exactly the reverse of Spielberg, which is why there cannot be any comparison to 'Private Ryan,' or any other film that is 'about' something. It is why Malick can never 'explain' his films.

    The execution is hypnotic. I wonder what the six-hour version is like. The editing (and particularly of the sound) is unusual, so transports us beyond the strangeness of tropics, war, history. That editing is much like Van Morrison's music: it establishes the rhythm only as a reference to dance around, peeking in and out. The relationship of the rhythm within the shots to the rhythm of the shots is very bluesy.

    Having no story opens new possibilities and creates unfamiliar problems. An opportunity is that the film can have many centers: the meditator in the midst of the attack on the camp; the squabble of the villagers; the transport of the ship; the need to look at our own dogtags. The challenge is how to end. When you stick to a formula like Spielberg, you just turn the crank and the climax lifts and comes down, and the story finishes. No story, no formula, so Malick brackets with the transport to and from the island, by the aging of the southern rookie, and by the exit from and re-entry to a world of unfamiliar characters. That they are played by familiar actors (Travolta, Clooney) oddly emphasizes the point.

    It must have been educational to work on this film, which is why every intelligent actor (or an actor with an intelligent agent) wanted to participate: one can see direct influence in Penn's 'The Pledge' and Cusack's 'High Fidelity,' both highly abstract.

    Penn knew exactly what he was doing here. He moves in the action, as an actor must. But he places his character offscreen in the abstract voiceovers. That's the 'real' Welsh, and the film's image only an abstraction. He truly understands presenting many dimensions simultaneously. Harrelson doesn't, but that's the point with Keck. I wonder why Depp didn't make the cut?
    helpful•48
    31
    • tedg
    • Mar 16, 2001

    FAQ3

    • Why didn't Witt surrender?
    • Will there be a director's cut?
    • Where is Guadalcanal?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 15, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Tok Pisin
      • Japanese
      • Greek
    • Also known as
      • Lằn Ranh Đỏ Mỏng Manh
    • Filming locations
      • Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
    • Production companies
      • Fox 2000 Pictures
      • Geisler-Roberdeau
      • Phoenix Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $52,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $36,400,491
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $282,534
      • Dec 27, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $98,126,565
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 50 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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    May 4The Film Stage
    Billy Bob Thornton Recorded Hours Of Voiceover For The Thin Red Line That Was Never Used
    Billy Bob Thornton Recorded Hours Of Voiceover For The Thin Red Line That Was Never Used
    Apr 20Slash Film

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