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Movies / On DVD / The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line

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The Thin Red Line (1998)

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78 %
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Reviews Counted:78

Fresh:61

Rotten:17

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: This is a complex but powerful work with high intensity.

Runtime: 2 hrs 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Terrence Malick returns to Hollywood after a two-decade hiatus with this adaptation of the classic WWII novel by James Jones. The story follows the efforts of an army platoon to capture the... Terrence Malick returns to Hollywood after a two-decade hiatus with this adaptation of the classic WWII novel by James Jones. The story follows the efforts of an army platoon to capture the Japanese-controlled island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific Ocean, which will have a major effect on the outcome of the war. The members of C-for-Charlie Company are all fighting for different reasons: some to achieve glory, some to fight for democracy, and some simply to remain alive. They spend the quieter moments reflecting upon their existence, searching for meaning amid the senselessness of war. Malick's reputation as one of cinema's most brilliant directors, based on his masterworks BADLANDS and DAYS OF HEAVEN, enabled him to pull together one of the largest ensemble all-star casts in Hollywood history. The result is a sprawling epic that carries itself like a poem read in a dream, a feeling that is greatly enhanced by John Toll's floating camerawork and Hans Zimmer's haunting score. Rather than concentrating solely on the violence and destruction of war, Malick uses the situation to address philosophical questions such as man versus nature, war versus peace, and good versus evil. THE THIN RED LINE proves that after a 20-year layoff, Malick hasn't lost a step. [More]

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin, Elias Koteas, Dash Mihok, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Tim Blake Nelson, John Savage, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Jared Leto, Arie Verveen, David Harrod, Nick Stahl, Thomas Jane, Miranda Otto, John Travolta, George Clooney

Director: Terrence Malick

Director: Terrence Malick
Screenwriter: Terrence Malick
Producer: Grant Hill, John Roberdeau, Robert Michael Geisler
Composer: Hans Zimmer

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Thin Red Line

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
03/05/02
Geoffrey Macnab
Geoffrey Macnab
Sight and Sound
N/R

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

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Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

... one of the richest and lushest films ever to emerge from Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Seattle Weekly | comment Comment
04/30/07
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Weekly

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Thin Red Line would have been infinitely more successful without the frequent rest-stops full of mental malaise and philosophical pretense.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment 2 Comments
06/27/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVDTalk.com
N/R

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Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

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Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation

It makes you think and ask questions. Its characters contradict themselves, talking one way, acting another. And it ends abruptly, with many things unresolved. Like life.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Won't be a commercial hit, but it will rank at the top of my list of best movies of 1998.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/28/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
05/25/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Malick transforms James Jones' two-fisted prose into visual poetry.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
06/19/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
N/R

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Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

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Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly

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Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/25/03
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
 
 
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