The Thin Red Line

1998
R
2h 50m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

203K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,451

Play trailer2:47

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Historical Epic War Epic 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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

203K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,451

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 22 wins & 47 nominations total

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 reviews1.6K

Review

Featured review

Mixed feelings

I used to hate this movie a lot (And I mean, a lot) but nowadays I have started to see its good qualities.

Terrence Malick's films are not everyone's cup of tea, and this is not only not the exception, but probably the most extreme example of that at display: There are many qualities from this movie that are frankly admirable (Particularly its brilliant cinematography and performances) but it is also the kind of movie that is quite tedious to watch at moments.

And it's already a pretty long film, it feels even longer than it actually is.

If you are about to watch this, don't expect something like "Saving Private Ryan". Expect something more akin to Apocalypse Now Redux: A brilliant, but also tedious movie that is both beautiful and both tiring at moments.