NOTE: This film will be shown in the high-definition Blu-Ray format.
The trials and tribulations of an American army company during the Pacific theatre of World War II.
The Thin Red Line is based on the novel of the same name by war veteran James Jones, whose debut novel From Here to Eternity won the National Book Award and was turned into a Best Picture-winning film in 1953. Whereas that work was drawn from his witnessing of the Pearl Harbor attack, The Thin Red Line was inspired by Jones' combat experience. Jones was explicit describing what he believed were the dehumanizing effect of the war on soldiers. While the story was adapted for the screen in 1964, the film paid little attention to the themes and ideas Jones espoused, and the writer was very cynical about the branding of wartime heroism in motion pictures and elsewhere.
Terrence Malick made his first two features in the 1970's, the acclaimed films Badlands and Days Of Heaven. Following that, he moved to Paris (like Jones had) and wrote a series of unfilmed scripts. His adaptation of The Thin Red Line wasn't started until late 1988, and it was ten years before the finished film would appear in theatres. Jones' style of exploring the inner conflicts of different characters appealed to Malick, who had previously used narration to great effect in his previous works. Here the voice-overs are divided between several actors, yet at times appear to be speaking for a greater collective unconscious, something stemming no doubt from Malick's time as a student and teacher of philosophy, the man having spent the 1960's at Harvard, Oxford, and M.I.T.
Malick's announced project brought scores of Hollywood actors out of the woodwork, as many were desperate to collaborate with the now-legendary director. Many famous names read the script, had meetings with or auditioned for Malick. The main performing anchor was Sean Penn, who came on board early on and had the closest relationship with Malick during the production. Others in the film include Jim Caviezel, Woody Harrelson, Nick Nolte, John Travolta, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, and John C. Reilly. Behind the camera was John Toll, who had just won back-to-back Oscars for his cinematography on Braveheart and Legends of the Fall. Composer Hans ZImmer was also involved very early on, before cameras even started rolling.
Malick subjected his actors to intensive training and group living arrangements, and did not allow any producers on-set. His unorthodox filming techniques (including a great deal of photographing animals and vegetation) both confused and impressed his collaborators. The editing process took almost two years, with much of the original dialogue taken out, heavily reducing some actors parts and eliminating others completely (Billy Bob Thornton, Gary Oldman, and Mickey Rourke were some left on the cutting room floor) in search of a more stream-of-consciousness narrative. Malick refused to hold any test screenings and whittled the original 5-hour cut down to half the length.
The film was released to much fanfare and response from notable critics was very enthusiastic. It won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Director. It is considered by many to be one of the best war films ever made and one of the standout works of the 1990's.
Running time is approx. 2.5 hours.
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