Thin Red Line

Theatrical Release Date: 1998 12 23 (USA)

UPC: 715515062411

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity, War Violence]

Summary: The return of director Terrence Malick to feature filmmaking after a twenty year sabbatical, this World War II drama is an elegiac rumination on man's destruction of nature and himself, based on James Jones' semi-autobiographical novel, his follow-up to From Here to Eternity. James Caviezel stars as Private Witt, a deserter living in peace and harmony with the natives of a Pacific island paradise. Captured by the Navy, Witt is debriefed by a senior officer (Sean Penn) and returned to an active duty unit preparing for what will be the Battle of Guadalcanal. As Witt goes ashore in the company of his fellow soldiers, they meet diverse fates. Sergeant Keck (Woody Harrelson) is killed by an exploding grenade. Captain John Gaff (John Cusack) is an intelligent, sober leader facing the destruction of his command because his commanding officer Colonel Tall (Nick Nolte) is bucking for a general's star. Sergeant McCron (John Savage) loses his mind. Private Bell (Ben Chaplin) gets a "Dear John" letter from his beloved wife. However, as the U.S. troops advance up grassy slopes toward entrenched Japanese positions, it is Witt's voiced-over ruminations on life, death, and nature that are the real heart and soul of The Thin Red Line (1998). Adrien Brody appears as Private Fife, the major character of Jones' novel and the author's alter-ego, although Fife has been relegated to a minor supporting role by Malick's filmed adaptation. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: War

Awards: Best Foreign Language Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Dramatic Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Golden Bear – Berlin International Film Festival Special Mention – Berlin International Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Director – New York Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: New Audio Commentary by Toll, Production Designer Jack Fisk, and Producer Grant Hill
Interviews with several of the film's actors, including Kirk Acevedo, Jim Caviezel, Thomas Jane, Elias Koteas, Dash Mihok, and Sean Penn: Composer Hans Zimmer; Editors Billy Weber, Leslie Jones, and Saar Kelin; and Writer James Jones' Daughter Kaylie Jones
New Interview with Casting Director Dianne Crittenden, featuring archival audition footage
Fourteen Minutes of Outtakes from the Film
World War II newsreels from Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands
Melansian Chants
Original Theatrical Trailer

Plus: A booklet featuring an Essay by Film Critic David Sterritt and a 1963 reprint by James Jones

Thin Red Line

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 09/28/2010

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DHMA null

Runtime: 171 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Matthew Doberman

Reclusive director Terrence Malick's long-awaited return to filmmaking, The Thin Red Line is a beautifully rendered treatise on man and nature, revisiting World War II as few films have. Malick isn't interested in the traditional, linear rhythms of the James Jones novel on which the film is based; instead, he fashions an atypically unfocussed and philosophical war story, using the material as a blueprint. In the process, the director reveals the complex hopes and fears of men who are often portrayed as mere patriots in a fight they understand and accept. Some of the star cameos -- from John Travolta and George Clooney, among others -- may feel like just that: characters are intended to make transient but memorable appearances. Also uncharacteristic of war pictures is John Toll's lush cinematography, which offers the limitless beauty of the South Pacific as a startling backdrop to the folly of humanity. With The Thin Red Line, Malick creates an anti-war movie that is as intelligent and visually beautiful as it is unique. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Matt Doran  Actor 
Terrence Malick  Director 
Terrence Malick  Screenwriter 
George Stevens, Jr.  Executive Producer 
Hans Zimmer  Composer (Music Score) 
John Roberdeau  Producer 
Grant Hill  Producer 
Robert Michael Geisler  Producer 
Sean Penn  Actor 
Adrien Brody  Actor 
James Caviezel  Actor 
Ben Chaplin  Actor 
George Clooney  Actor 
John Cusack  Actor 
Woody Harrelson  Actor 
Elias Koteas  Actor 
Jared Leto  Actor 
Dash Mihok  Actor 
Tim Blake Nelson  Actor 
Nick Nolte  Actor 
John C. Reilly  Actor 
Larry Romano  Actor 
John Savage  Actor 
John Travolta  Actor 
Arie Verveen  Actor 
David Harrod  Actor 
Thomas Jane  Actor 
Polyn Leona  Actor 
Miranda Otto  Actor 

Country: USA