In 1943, the first major U.S. offensive of World War II is drawing to a close on the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal. To put an end to this campaign, the United States Army arrives with a full division of troops and equipment, deployed to break the last resistence of the Japanese. The exploits of this Division are seen from a number of perspectives amongst the soldiers; to include a war weary Sergeant, a power hungry Colonel, a Private who has known only desertion and AWOL, and a Company Commander is struggling with his abilities as a leader.

The Thin Red Line (1998)
  • Rating: (81,982 votes)
  • Tagline:Every man fights his own war. »
  • Runtime:170 minutes
  • Director: Terrence Malick
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Lt. Col. Gordon Tall
    Nick Nolte
    Pvt. Witt
    Jim Caviezel
    1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
    Sean Penn
    Capt. James 'Bugger' Staros
    Elias Koteas
    Pvt. Bell
    Ben Chaplin
    Pfc. Doll
    Dash Mihok
    Capt. John Gaff
    John Cusack
    Cpl. Fife
    Adrien Brody
    Sgt. Storm
    John C. Reilly
    Sgt. Keck
    Woody Harrelson
  • Genres:Drama, War
  • Producers:
    Robert Michael Geisler
    producer  
    Grant Hill
    producer  
    Sheila Davis Lawrence
    associate producer  
    John Roberdeau
    producer  
    George Stevens Jr.
    executive producer  
    Michael Stevens
    associate producer  
  • Plots: In World War II, the outcome of the battle of Guadalcanal will strongly influence the Japanese's advance into the pacific. A group of young soldiers is brought in as a relief for the battle-weary Marine units. The exhausting fight for a key-positioned airfield that allows control over a 1000-mile radius puts the men of the Army Rifle company C-for-Charlie through hell. The horrors of war forms the soldiers into a tight-knit group, their emotions develop into bonds of love and even family. The reasons for this war get further away as the world for the men gets smaller and smaller until their fighting is for mere survival and the life of the other men with them. Written by Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
The Thin Red Line
  • User's comment:A different, enthralling war film. by Warman-2

    The Thin Red Line has no real hero and no real plot to speak of. Due to its release the same year as Saving Private Ryan it will forever be linked to Spielberg's anti-war opus. Yet, "TRL" deserves to be compared to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 due to it's style and distance from the audience. The film's only character is the Charlie Company and the conflict is between humankind itself. Director Terrance Malik asks profound questions and unlike "Ryan," doesn't expect them to be answered because they simply can't be answered. Like 2001, the viewer is left with more questions than answers at the end of the film and is told in stunning visual fashion. Some critics have pointed out various flaws in the film; however, these traits are what sets TRL apart form it's peers. The stars like John Travolta and George Clooney have little screen time. They are the officers who command attention and are larger than life to the simple GI's who do the real work (and most of the acting in the film.) The characters are mostly unrecognizable and you know little about them save the main characters like Pvt. Bell. But, the faces are meant to be unrecognizable; to paraphrase the film they are simply flesh and meat made from the earth simply to return back to it. Those who criticise the lack of violence in some scenes while labeling the other scenes intense don't realize the intensity the fight scenes generalize are due to the fact that the soldiers don't know when their next battle will be and when their last breath will take place. The main character, Charlie Company, is fighting to stay alive, the only real driving force of the plot. All of the characters have different views of the war, shown through the use of random spoken narrative. There is no easy conclusion to the war and the film starts off where it began, among the animals of the pacific. Life is one huge circle and one could guess the battle for the bunker on top of the hill could be fought again and there is no possible way to stop it, (At least that is what I was able to muster of the film itself.) For myself the most haunting image was the scene when the Americans stare at their Japanese enemy after capturing the hill. Both sides seem to realize that they could be on the other side of the battle and that in war there really is no good vs. bad scenario, just what nation you're from and who you are trying to kill. Yet the question asked is why war occurs and why we must fight each other. On that note, we still have no answers. The acting and sound are superb. The direction, editing, and score are all Oscar caliber. I don't shrink from saying that TRL is the best film of 1998 and one of the greatest war films of all time; (and contrary to what some are trying to say it is a war film, that is at its core.) TRL is the only film to ever make my knees tremble and haunt me days after I saw it. If you see it, I'm sure your opinions will be just as strong as mine.


  • Quotes: Lt. Col. Gordon Tall: It's never necessary to tell me that you think I'm right. We'll just... assume it. Japanese Soldier: Are you righteous? Kind? Does your confidence lie in this? Are you loved by all? Know that I was, too. Do you imagine your suffering will be any less because you loved goodness and truth? First Sgt. Edward Welsh: There's not some other world out there where everything's gonna be okay. There's just this one, just this rock.
  • Also known as: La delgada línea roja (Argentina), La delgada línea roja (Mexico), La delgada línea roja (Peru - imdb display title), La delgada línea roja (Spain), Der schmale Grat (Austria), Der schmale Grat (Germany - Berlin film festival title), Тонкая красная линия (Russia), Тънка червена линия (Bulgaria - Bulgarian title), A Barreira Invisível (Portugal), Além da Linha Vermelha (Brazil), Az őrület határán (Hungary), Cienka czerwona linia (Poland), Den tunna röda linjen (Sweden), Den tynde røde linje (Denmark), Den tynne røde linjen (Norway - imdb display title), Ha-Kav Ha-Adom (Israel - Hebrew title), I lepti kokkini grammi (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Ince kirmizi hat (Turkey - Turkish title), La hotarul dintre viata si moarte (Romania), La ligne rouge (France), La mince ligne rouge (Canada - French title), La sottile linea rossa (Italy), Si loin des hommes (France - pre-release title), Tanka crvena linija (Croatia - imdb display title), Veteen piirretty viiva (Finland),

  1. Anando Says:
    October 10th, 2010 at 12:56 am

    Impressive movie.
    Shows how hell is, and that there are still in hell moments of extreme beauty

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