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The Thin Red Line (1998)
Tomatometer
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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.
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
Reviews for The Thin Red Line
... one of the richest and lushest films ever to emerge from Hollywood.
The Thin Red Line would have been infinitely more successful without the frequent rest-stops full of mental malaise and philosophical pretense.
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.
Won't be a commercial hit, but it will rank at the top of my list of best movies of 1998.
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