Rating: 
Summary: By far the BEST film of all time.
Review: I am sickened by the people who gave this movie one star. This film is a work of art. Who ever wrote this movie should be given a Nobel prize or something. Throughout the movie I was in a state of awe. At the end I was ready to cry. You feel every single character and what they feel. I don't think there are words deserving enough to describe this movie. THE BEST FILM OF ALL TIME doesnt even describe this movie well enough. Get this movie no matter what it takes! Don't eat for a day if thats what you have to do to save the money, but GET THE MOVIE NOW!
Rating:
Summary: War is Hell...
Review: That I would be lost, hidding like a frightened little child from the blood and the sweat and the killing. That I would become like a raving madman, that I would lose all sense of reality was never my intention. Likewise, that I would find an implacable sense of peace and joy in death itself was, to my astonishment, never revealed to me before. But then, Terrence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE is no ordinary movie. I thought long and hard how to express in simple terms what THE THIN RED LINE was all about, certain that I could find just the right words to explain it, but the truth is that war is different for each and everyone of us, and no single account or recollection is absolute or correct. This is a fact that Malick understands perfectly, based on James Jones stunningly gripping novel, THE THIN RED LINE is a multi-layered story about men and war, life and death, courage and fear, compassion and madness, indeed there are so many dualities pictured in this movie than trying to list them all would be impossible. It's been a while since I have seen such a powerful story told so well, from John Toll's amazing Oscar nominated photography, to Malick's own direction. With a powerful cast of actors, including outstanding performances by Ben Chaplin, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel and Elias Koteas, this is a movie that deserves to be seen time and time again. The DVD edition of the movie is, hands down, one of the best transfers I have seen. The image is crisp and clear with no visible artifacts. Although not specified on the sleeve's specs, the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio features a gorgeous anamorphic transfer. You also have dolby digital 5.1 and dolby surround 2.0 to choose from. The only bonus feature to speak of is a collection of Melanesian songs that, unless you're a fan, won't seem like much. Still, the movie speaks for itself and I highly, highly recommend it. Don't listen to the united airheads that put the movie down.
Rating:
Summary: Malick's Is A Unique Voice.....
Review: Some of the reviews on this page claim that The Thin Red Line has no plot, is too long, and compares it to Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now. In the first case, the movie DOES have a plot and it focuses mostly on FOUR major characters. Secondly, although it is roughly three hours, there is a lot of action and conflict. Thirdly, although comparisons are inevitable, all three war movies have strong points and shortcommings. If you've seen Badlands and Days of Heaven, you'll be happy to learn that Malick continues to provide beautiful prose with stunning imagry (John Toll) and moving music (Hans Zimmer). This is an intelligent film on the conflicts/horrors of war and the toll it exacts on mens' lives. Malick's unique vision is one that I hope we see again---soon.
Rating:
Summary: Maverick Malick
Review: This is a cinematic feast that is unlikely to be appreciated by audiences reared upon a diet of dumbed-down Hollywood action fare. However, if you're prepared to sit down and watch this film with no interruptions and give it the attention it deserves, you may end up agreeing with me that this is one of the most powerful and evocative films of the 90's. I hope that the poor performance of The Thin Red Line's box-office does not mean we will have to wait another 20 years for Terrence Malick to direct his next feature. This man is a craftsman and directors like him must be encouraged to continue providing intelligent, thought-provoking fare such as this. Like David Lean, Malick's films are alive with a sense of pure cinema with every frame delivering such detail and richness that you could swear you were there. It's a measure of Malick's complete disinterest with the normal conventions of Hollywood that actors such as Lucas Haas, Vigo Mortensen, Jason Patric, Mickey Rourke, Martin Sheen, Billy Bob Thornton, all spent months in Queensland and the Solomon Islands filming roles that ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor. Blink and you'll also miss major league players such as John Travolta and George Clooney. The stand-out performances come from Jim Caviezel and, especially, Nick Nolte. Nolte just seems to be getting better and better as he gets older and his portrayal of Colonel Tall is something to see. I have never seen anyone expressed so perfectly his sense of range and anger than Noltes does here. It's a fantastic performance from a real pro and it's a mystery to me why he didn't get an Oscar. You won't see a more beautiful film about the horrors of war than this. To me, movies like The Thin Red Line are worth trawling through all the dumb formula Hollywood junk we get spoon-fed with on a weekly basis. Long may they live.
Rating:
Summary: It moved me more than I thought it would
Review: I had heard that this movie was horribly boring and confusing so I watched it with low expectations. Boy was I unprepared for what I saw- It really moved me like nothing else has in a long time. I found its visual imagery and its powerful emotive force both riveting and deeply touching. Granted, it is not a classically linear movie...it has multiple points of view among other things. But taken together as a whole, if you have the capacity to be emotionally moved by a painting or a song or a work of art then you might really like this. If you are in the mood to see cookie-cutter, feel-good swill, avoid this movie! I don't begrudge a lot of people for disliking this movie though, I think a big part of that was the way it was marketed. You just have to be in the right mood for it. A good analogy: You wouldn't go to a bar one night and get all liquored up and then go to an art museum. Likewise, you wouldn't try to attempt to watch this movie with the intent of seeing a feel-good action flick. Rent it on a rainy Sunday and watch it with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: BEST FILM OF THE '90s
Review: That says it all. I could watch "The Thin Red Line" every day for the rest of my life. If God were a filmmaker, this is what He would make. Comparing "The Thin Red Line" to "Saving Private Ryan" is an exercise in futility. "Saving Private Ryan" is an action film, "The Thin Red Line" is a work of art. Terrence Malick took a long, routine war novel that could have been made into a long, routine war movie like "Saving Private Ryan" and instead, he created something beautiful and has achieved enlightenment on celluloid. I guess some people are too shallow and addicted to popcorn cinema to notice. Send me to the afterlife with a TV, a DVD player, and a DVD of "The Thin Red Line" and I'll be eternally grateful.
Rating: 
Summary: Editor's Day Off?
Review: I guess Terrence Malik really has been away a long time. Maybe he didn't realize how many great actors he had assembled. Nolte would have had some academy award hardware coming his way had this dog not limped along for nearly 3 hours, when 2 hours, or 90 minutes should have done the trick. Malik could have taken a lesson from Curtis Hanson's work on LA Confidential. His guys took a novel and whittled it down to a movie screenplay that was manageable; while at the same time exploiting the talents of every actor hired. With 30 minutes left in "Thin Red Line" I was warming up the car ready to return it to the rental shop. It didn't have to be that way. It was fragmented. Too many stories going on at once. You just can't bring out the esoteric inner brainworkings of 20 characters in one movie the way you can in a novel. If I was Clooney, Harrelson, and a few others, I'm angry for ever getting involved.
Rating:
Summary: amazingly beautiful film
Review: i am tired of people complaining about how long it was and how they could not understand it. that is because the american population have been zapped by explosions in film that they have lost all love for compassionate meaningful cinema. the thin red line deals with the emotional aspects of war...following an epic poem that reveals and resolves several characters time in guadalcanal. it is so much more fascinating to recreate the emotional intensity rather than recreating what a bomb looks like when it explodes. any director with a large enough budget can do that. i don't want to compare the two...but...malick has outdone spielberg in this movie. cinematography. directing. the script. and the acting. this is one of the most amazing films i have seen on screen. the thin red line is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, moving, thought provoking
Review: Quite frankly I thought The Thin Red Line was brilliant. Malick's juxtaposition of scenes of the horror of war with ones with the beauty of nature and the Pacific Islands heightened the feeling of the dreadfulness of war. You really got the feeling that this was some kind of sacrilege in this beautiful setting. I know a lot of people didn't like it but I saw it by myself and was really moved. Being a Kiwi it made me think about about all the NZers who gave their lives in that hellhole not to mention all the Aussies, Yanks and Brits as well. Stirring stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Did the critics even watch it?
Review: Don't listen to the critics. When I rented this movie I saw in big bold letters, NOMINATED FOR 7 ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTION...the list goes on and on. I said to myself... self, this is going to be great. I can't wait to watch it! After watching it, I ponder why it was nominated for best everything. Where the critics asleep when they reviewed this? The cast is solid, with lots of little parts here and there. Woody Harrelson and George Clooney deserved more than they received. They shouldn't have wasted there time with the parts they landed. Woody Harrelson is in the begining of the movie for about 10 minutes give or take, until he blows his leg off in a terrible granade accident. Then at the very very very end of the movie we get to see about 2 minutes of George Clooney as the new captian or general in charge, spouting of how things are gonna be done. The "father" if you will. These actors are just to talnted. The scenery is beautiful and Nick Nolte is great, but thats about it. This movie is very difficult to understand. After the first couple of hours, I was feeling very sleep deprived, and almost didn't care if I saw the end. But, being the trooper that I am, I hung in there and watched it all. Rent it before you buy it.
| 
