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There are two reason I've opened this thread, one because I can't post the review as it gets deleted 5 minutes later and 2 as I want to see your opinions.
So here is my long and extended arguement about the topic, enjoy
Celebrated filmmaker Terrence Malick returns to filmmaking with this visually, emotionally and poetically outstanding film about the Guadalcanal conflict of World War 2.
It's with ill thought that I feel The Thin Red Line will likely be instantly stood up against Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, when, in fact, the two films, in my humble opinion, couldn't be farther apart. Where Saving Private Ryan was built for impact, it sometimes felt, with the exception of its opening sequence, a little bit Hollywood; although, of course, at such a young age, I can hardly claim to have an idea of the horror that war holds. A better way to compare the two films is the act of painting.
Where I called the overall feel of Saving Private Ryan a painting of blood, terror and horror, Malick's Line is the act of painting itself. The film is a work of art that soars above the medium of film to a level that has really never been seen in film. Where Saving Private Ryan cantered on making the characters be at the forefront of the work, The Thin Red Line takes the characters and almost paints the reality around them, brushstroke by brushstroke. Mood and environment and feeling is painted in with a careful, masterful touch.
The film centres on a company of soldiers fighting for survival in the Guadalcanal battle of World War II. The film itself attains an incredible, almost continual feel of doom; there is a terrifying feeling when the camera is in the grass, or moving through smoke, that, in essence, as a soldier says in the film, that there is no safe place. You have to keep moving because there is no place to hide. And more often than not, the enemy is just on the other side of the smoke.
I absolutely loved the visuals, the voiceovers, the nature in a Thin Red Line, because, overall, it's grandly abstract, grandly experimental, and not all the answers are laid out for the viewer.
The film itself is something that washes over you. The terrifying battle scenes are interrupted in a moment of silent thought by many of the characters; an almost trance-like stream of thought that, for one short moment, lifts them out of something that is unthinkable. There are many thoughts, words, and lines from this film that stick with the viewer. It may not be the specific characters from this film that stay with you, but there is moments, pictures, thoughts, that will leave a strong impression on any viewer. The film's mood alone is far different from Saving Private Ryan; far more somber and far more complex in emotion. What is quite responsible for this level of complexity and emotion is director Malick's screenplay, based on James Jones's novel. It may not create memorable characters like Ryan, but the fact that the film never focuses it's viewpoint on one specific character (like Saving Private Ryan which is Hanks) makes it feel all the more real.
Of course, though, there are excellent performances here. Sean Penn plays Sgt. Welsh, a cynical, numb man who prefers to look at the truth of his surroundings rather than to try and lift his spirit with the hope that Pvt. Witt tries to find in the simple, natural life of a small village, before he's whisked from that life into battle. In an Oscar-worthy supporting performance, Ben Chaplin plays Pvt. Bell, a man who keeps hope alive in the memories of the time he has spent with his wife, and the thought that he will see her again, no matter how the war ends for him. Also quite excellent is Elias Koteas, who plays a Captain who can't bear to see the men of his group, who have become surrogate family, marched into what will be a certain suicide mission.
John Toll's cinematography is also deserving of award and recognition, capturing the beauty and the terror of the battle. There are moments that attain an almost surreal level of terror viewing it in the way that there literally seems to be no safe place; there is also a lack of point-of-view in some of the battle scenes that is effective in the way that we are not tied to a character, but feel that the camera, or our point of view, is almost a character in itself. There is also some excellent use of handheld camera.
There are two battles going on and they are both looked at with a bold, striking vision. What is so amazing about the film is how it's able to structure such a deep, emotional battle inside the men and their toxic mix of fear, emotion and sadness; Malick expertly and seamlessly builds the internal conflicts into the battles themselves. Overall, though, The Thin Red Line is more of a work of art like a painting than a film; the fact that it works such a compelling story into this painting makes it all the more incredible.
I'm uneasy about the reaction that mainstream audiences will have with this picture; I think that it's a more complex, more meditative look at War than Spielberg's Ryan was, and to be honest, I simply liked this film more. Saving Private Ryan is an outstanding film on it's own, but it just doesn't have the depth and complexity that I think Malick has achieved with this film. Although The Thin Red Line doesn't have the kind of scene that Saving Private Ryan had with its incredible opening, it sustains impact with consistent and powerful scenes of battle. I hope that audiences find this film when it goes into exclusive engagements, then a wider release. I hope that audiences can be patient with this film, because, it needs patience, understanding, and I hope that they take the time to see the emotional and complex feelings that lie underneath the film's exterior.
It's a film of the very highest quality and I hope that others can find it as thought provoking and enjoyable as I did.
Thanks for reading
The Dogfather, soon to be a regular
So here is my long and extended arguement about the topic, enjoy
Celebrated filmmaker Terrence Malick returns to filmmaking with this visually, emotionally and poetically outstanding film about the Guadalcanal conflict of World War 2.
It's with ill thought that I feel The Thin Red Line will likely be instantly stood up against Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, when, in fact, the two films, in my humble opinion, couldn't be farther apart. Where Saving Private Ryan was built for impact, it sometimes felt, with the exception of its opening sequence, a little bit Hollywood; although, of course, at such a young age, I can hardly claim to have an idea of the horror that war holds. A better way to compare the two films is the act of painting.
Where I called the overall feel of Saving Private Ryan a painting of blood, terror and horror, Malick's Line is the act of painting itself. The film is a work of art that soars above the medium of film to a level that has really never been seen in film. Where Saving Private Ryan cantered on making the characters be at the forefront of the work, The Thin Red Line takes the characters and almost paints the reality around them, brushstroke by brushstroke. Mood and environment and feeling is painted in with a careful, masterful touch.
The film centres on a company of soldiers fighting for survival in the Guadalcanal battle of World War II. The film itself attains an incredible, almost continual feel of doom; there is a terrifying feeling when the camera is in the grass, or moving through smoke, that, in essence, as a soldier says in the film, that there is no safe place. You have to keep moving because there is no place to hide. And more often than not, the enemy is just on the other side of the smoke.
I absolutely loved the visuals, the voiceovers, the nature in a Thin Red Line, because, overall, it's grandly abstract, grandly experimental, and not all the answers are laid out for the viewer.
The film itself is something that washes over you. The terrifying battle scenes are interrupted in a moment of silent thought by many of the characters; an almost trance-like stream of thought that, for one short moment, lifts them out of something that is unthinkable. There are many thoughts, words, and lines from this film that stick with the viewer. It may not be the specific characters from this film that stay with you, but there is moments, pictures, thoughts, that will leave a strong impression on any viewer. The film's mood alone is far different from Saving Private Ryan; far more somber and far more complex in emotion. What is quite responsible for this level of complexity and emotion is director Malick's screenplay, based on James Jones's novel. It may not create memorable characters like Ryan, but the fact that the film never focuses it's viewpoint on one specific character (like Saving Private Ryan which is Hanks) makes it feel all the more real.
Of course, though, there are excellent performances here. Sean Penn plays Sgt. Welsh, a cynical, numb man who prefers to look at the truth of his surroundings rather than to try and lift his spirit with the hope that Pvt. Witt tries to find in the simple, natural life of a small village, before he's whisked from that life into battle. In an Oscar-worthy supporting performance, Ben Chaplin plays Pvt. Bell, a man who keeps hope alive in the memories of the time he has spent with his wife, and the thought that he will see her again, no matter how the war ends for him. Also quite excellent is Elias Koteas, who plays a Captain who can't bear to see the men of his group, who have become surrogate family, marched into what will be a certain suicide mission.
John Toll's cinematography is also deserving of award and recognition, capturing the beauty and the terror of the battle. There are moments that attain an almost surreal level of terror viewing it in the way that there literally seems to be no safe place; there is also a lack of point-of-view in some of the battle scenes that is effective in the way that we are not tied to a character, but feel that the camera, or our point of view, is almost a character in itself. There is also some excellent use of handheld camera.
There are two battles going on and they are both looked at with a bold, striking vision. What is so amazing about the film is how it's able to structure such a deep, emotional battle inside the men and their toxic mix of fear, emotion and sadness; Malick expertly and seamlessly builds the internal conflicts into the battles themselves. Overall, though, The Thin Red Line is more of a work of art like a painting than a film; the fact that it works such a compelling story into this painting makes it all the more incredible.
I'm uneasy about the reaction that mainstream audiences will have with this picture; I think that it's a more complex, more meditative look at War than Spielberg's Ryan was, and to be honest, I simply liked this film more. Saving Private Ryan is an outstanding film on it's own, but it just doesn't have the depth and complexity that I think Malick has achieved with this film. Although The Thin Red Line doesn't have the kind of scene that Saving Private Ryan had with its incredible opening, it sustains impact with consistent and powerful scenes of battle. I hope that audiences find this film when it goes into exclusive engagements, then a wider release. I hope that audiences can be patient with this film, because, it needs patience, understanding, and I hope that they take the time to see the emotional and complex feelings that lie underneath the film's exterior.
It's a film of the very highest quality and I hope that others can find it as thought provoking and enjoyable as I did.
Thanks for reading
The Dogfather, soon to be a regular
Page:
*
I have got to say the greatest film is Saving Ryan's privates!!
Ha Ha
Ha Ha
As i have only seen Saving Private Ryan, i have to say it is better.
I thought Saving Private Ryan was great, and The Thin Red Line absolutely terrible.
I find Malick to be self-idolising in the extreme.
There was such a hype about Malick returning to direct after Badlands and the other one.
I saw the cast and thought "Well, might be ok" seeing as I found Badlands to be one of the ponderous and pompous films in a long time.
Thin Red Line.
Came out and, despite my reservations, I went to see it.
And yep, it's Malick.
Which means critics falling over themselves to praise this film, whilst I sat there and thought "Christ, he's done it again. Why didn't someone say 'Oi Malick, it's a war film mate, something's supposed to happen!'"
But nobody did, every was too busy grovelling on their knees to the "master of modern cinema" to actually be brave enough to point out this movie was bloody awful.
Now, I consider myself to be an arthouse cinema-fan, I get films that are not Hollywood gloss.
But I found myself sitting there wanting to punch Terence Malick and the backers for allowing him to make an over-long ode to nature.
Starts with insects and alligators etc, "Wow a metaphor for the duality of man, the civilised crossed with the brutal nature side".
Yeah, I get that Malick, thanks very much for the heavy symbolism.
Then we have 20 mins of little Philippino boys swimming and turtles and stuff, "Look see how the natives are at one with this planet and stuff?", and we then see the big nasty GI boat, sweaty and dark and claustrophobic etc.
Hello Malick, c'mere mate, let me explain that symbolism is all well and good, but you should be trying harder. You're a supposed genius but this is an embarrassing, college-film-student level of movie making.
And then we get to sit there for 2hrs why nothing happens and Elias Koteas feels bad about the war, Sean Penn smokes really angrily and Nick Nolte looks like someone just woke him and pushed him in front of the camera "Buh? Hello?.er..war is hell"
Yes it looks good, yes there is lots of (childishly obvious) levels of symbolism and all that guff.
But, here's my point: It's a war movie.
I want to see war stuff, not an hour of crushed beetles and semi-naked tribesman being at one with the forest.
I've seen Emerald Forest and that did this a hell of a lot better, a hell of a lot quicker.
And it had Powers T Booth in.
Saving Private Ryan:
Overly patriotic, sentimental, cliche war-movie stuff
Thin Red Line:
Pretentious nonsense that the critics were afraid to say "Ummm, actually I thought it reeked".
The only consolation is that Malick will now disappear again and not make anymore fly-blown, arthouse-wannabe, dull and plotless movies.
War is Hell.
There was such a hype about Malick returning to direct after Badlands and the other one.
I saw the cast and thought "Well, might be ok" seeing as I found Badlands to be one of the ponderous and pompous films in a long time.
Thin Red Line.
Came out and, despite my reservations, I went to see it.
And yep, it's Malick.
Which means critics falling over themselves to praise this film, whilst I sat there and thought "Christ, he's done it again. Why didn't someone say 'Oi Malick, it's a war film mate, something's supposed to happen!'"
But nobody did, every was too busy grovelling on their knees to the "master of modern cinema" to actually be brave enough to point out this movie was bloody awful.
Now, I consider myself to be an arthouse cinema-fan, I get films that are not Hollywood gloss.
But I found myself sitting there wanting to punch Terence Malick and the backers for allowing him to make an over-long ode to nature.
Starts with insects and alligators etc, "Wow a metaphor for the duality of man, the civilised crossed with the brutal nature side".
Yeah, I get that Malick, thanks very much for the heavy symbolism.
Then we have 20 mins of little Philippino boys swimming and turtles and stuff, "Look see how the natives are at one with this planet and stuff?", and we then see the big nasty GI boat, sweaty and dark and claustrophobic etc.
Hello Malick, c'mere mate, let me explain that symbolism is all well and good, but you should be trying harder. You're a supposed genius but this is an embarrassing, college-film-student level of movie making.
And then we get to sit there for 2hrs why nothing happens and Elias Koteas feels bad about the war, Sean Penn smokes really angrily and Nick Nolte looks like someone just woke him and pushed him in front of the camera "Buh? Hello?.er..war is hell"
Yes it looks good, yes there is lots of (childishly obvious) levels of symbolism and all that guff.
But, here's my point: It's a war movie.
I want to see war stuff, not an hour of crushed beetles and semi-naked tribesman being at one with the forest.
I've seen Emerald Forest and that did this a hell of a lot better, a hell of a lot quicker.
And it had Powers T Booth in.
Saving Private Ryan:
Overly patriotic, sentimental, cliche war-movie stuff
Thin Red Line:
Pretentious nonsense that the critics were afraid to say "Ummm, actually I thought it reeked".
The only consolation is that Malick will now disappear again and not make anymore fly-blown, arthouse-wannabe, dull and plotless movies.
War is Hell.
Skaterdude182 wrote:
> Platoon
Either an attempt to SPAM, or there is always one, as they say, but thanks for you valid comment into this discussion, shame no-one else has said anything though.
> Platoon
Either an attempt to SPAM, or there is always one, as they say, but thanks for you valid comment into this discussion, shame no-one else has said anything though.
I enjoyed The Thin Red Line but not as much as I did Saving Private Ryan - That for me is the best war film since The Great Escape!!
There are two reason I've opened this thread, one because I can't post the review as it gets deleted 5 minutes later and 2 as I want to see your opinions.
So here is my long and extended arguement about the topic, enjoy
Celebrated filmmaker Terrence Malick returns to filmmaking with this visually, emotionally and poetically outstanding film about the Guadalcanal conflict of World War 2.
It's with ill thought that I feel The Thin Red Line will likely be instantly stood up against Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, when, in fact, the two films, in my humble opinion, couldn't be farther apart. Where Saving Private Ryan was built for impact, it sometimes felt, with the exception of its opening sequence, a little bit Hollywood; although, of course, at such a young age, I can hardly claim to have an idea of the horror that war holds. A better way to compare the two films is the act of painting.
Where I called the overall feel of Saving Private Ryan a painting of blood, terror and horror, Malick's Line is the act of painting itself. The film is a work of art that soars above the medium of film to a level that has really never been seen in film. Where Saving Private Ryan cantered on making the characters be at the forefront of the work, The Thin Red Line takes the characters and almost paints the reality around them, brushstroke by brushstroke. Mood and environment and feeling is painted in with a careful, masterful touch.
The film centres on a company of soldiers fighting for survival in the Guadalcanal battle of World War II. The film itself attains an incredible, almost continual feel of doom; there is a terrifying feeling when the camera is in the grass, or moving through smoke, that, in essence, as a soldier says in the film, that there is no safe place. You have to keep moving because there is no place to hide. And more often than not, the enemy is just on the other side of the smoke.
I absolutely loved the visuals, the voiceovers, the nature in a Thin Red Line, because, overall, it's grandly abstract, grandly experimental, and not all the answers are laid out for the viewer.
The film itself is something that washes over you. The terrifying battle scenes are interrupted in a moment of silent thought by many of the characters; an almost trance-like stream of thought that, for one short moment, lifts them out of something that is unthinkable. There are many thoughts, words, and lines from this film that stick with the viewer. It may not be the specific characters from this film that stay with you, but there is moments, pictures, thoughts, that will leave a strong impression on any viewer. The film's mood alone is far different from Saving Private Ryan; far more somber and far more complex in emotion. What is quite responsible for this level of complexity and emotion is director Malick's screenplay, based on James Jones's novel. It may not create memorable characters like Ryan, but the fact that the film never focuses it's viewpoint on one specific character (like Saving Private Ryan which is Hanks) makes it feel all the more real.
Of course, though, there are excellent performances here. Sean Penn plays Sgt. Welsh, a cynical, numb man who prefers to look at the truth of his surroundings rather than to try and lift his spirit with the hope that Pvt. Witt tries to find in the simple, natural life of a small village, before he's whisked from that life into battle. In an Oscar-worthy supporting performance, Ben Chaplin plays Pvt. Bell, a man who keeps hope alive in the memories of the time he has spent with his wife, and the thought that he will see her again, no matter how the war ends for him. Also quite excellent is Elias Koteas, who plays a Captain who can't bear to see the men of his group, who have become surrogate family, marched into what will be a certain suicide mission.
John Toll's cinematography is also deserving of award and recognition, capturing the beauty and the terror of the battle. There are moments that attain an almost surreal level of terror viewing it in the way that there literally seems to be no safe place; there is also a lack of point-of-view in some of the battle scenes that is effective in the way that we are not tied to a character, but feel that the camera, or our point of view, is almost a character in itself. There is also some excellent use of handheld camera.
There are two battles going on and they are both looked at with a bold, striking vision. What is so amazing about the film is how it's able to structure such a deep, emotional battle inside the men and their toxic mix of fear, emotion and sadness; Malick expertly and seamlessly builds the internal conflicts into the battles themselves. Overall, though, The Thin Red Line is more of a work of art like a painting than a film; the fact that it works such a compelling story into this painting makes it all the more incredible.
I'm uneasy about the reaction that mainstream audiences will have with this picture; I think that it's a more complex, more meditative look at War than Spielberg's Ryan was, and to be honest, I simply liked this film more. Saving Private Ryan is an outstanding film on it's own, but it just doesn't have the depth and complexity that I think Malick has achieved with this film. Although The Thin Red Line doesn't have the kind of scene that Saving Private Ryan had with its incredible opening, it sustains impact with consistent and powerful scenes of battle. I hope that audiences find this film when it goes into exclusive engagements, then a wider release. I hope that audiences can be patient with this film, because, it needs patience, understanding, and I hope that they take the time to see the emotional and complex feelings that lie underneath the film's exterior.
It's a film of the very highest quality and I hope that others can find it as thought provoking and enjoyable as I did.
Thanks for reading
The Dogfather, soon to be a regular
So here is my long and extended arguement about the topic, enjoy
Celebrated filmmaker Terrence Malick returns to filmmaking with this visually, emotionally and poetically outstanding film about the Guadalcanal conflict of World War 2.
It's with ill thought that I feel The Thin Red Line will likely be instantly stood up against Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, when, in fact, the two films, in my humble opinion, couldn't be farther apart. Where Saving Private Ryan was built for impact, it sometimes felt, with the exception of its opening sequence, a little bit Hollywood; although, of course, at such a young age, I can hardly claim to have an idea of the horror that war holds. A better way to compare the two films is the act of painting.
Where I called the overall feel of Saving Private Ryan a painting of blood, terror and horror, Malick's Line is the act of painting itself. The film is a work of art that soars above the medium of film to a level that has really never been seen in film. Where Saving Private Ryan cantered on making the characters be at the forefront of the work, The Thin Red Line takes the characters and almost paints the reality around them, brushstroke by brushstroke. Mood and environment and feeling is painted in with a careful, masterful touch.
The film centres on a company of soldiers fighting for survival in the Guadalcanal battle of World War II. The film itself attains an incredible, almost continual feel of doom; there is a terrifying feeling when the camera is in the grass, or moving through smoke, that, in essence, as a soldier says in the film, that there is no safe place. You have to keep moving because there is no place to hide. And more often than not, the enemy is just on the other side of the smoke.
I absolutely loved the visuals, the voiceovers, the nature in a Thin Red Line, because, overall, it's grandly abstract, grandly experimental, and not all the answers are laid out for the viewer.
The film itself is something that washes over you. The terrifying battle scenes are interrupted in a moment of silent thought by many of the characters; an almost trance-like stream of thought that, for one short moment, lifts them out of something that is unthinkable. There are many thoughts, words, and lines from this film that stick with the viewer. It may not be the specific characters from this film that stay with you, but there is moments, pictures, thoughts, that will leave a strong impression on any viewer. The film's mood alone is far different from Saving Private Ryan; far more somber and far more complex in emotion. What is quite responsible for this level of complexity and emotion is director Malick's screenplay, based on James Jones's novel. It may not create memorable characters like Ryan, but the fact that the film never focuses it's viewpoint on one specific character (like Saving Private Ryan which is Hanks) makes it feel all the more real.
Of course, though, there are excellent performances here. Sean Penn plays Sgt. Welsh, a cynical, numb man who prefers to look at the truth of his surroundings rather than to try and lift his spirit with the hope that Pvt. Witt tries to find in the simple, natural life of a small village, before he's whisked from that life into battle. In an Oscar-worthy supporting performance, Ben Chaplin plays Pvt. Bell, a man who keeps hope alive in the memories of the time he has spent with his wife, and the thought that he will see her again, no matter how the war ends for him. Also quite excellent is Elias Koteas, who plays a Captain who can't bear to see the men of his group, who have become surrogate family, marched into what will be a certain suicide mission.
John Toll's cinematography is also deserving of award and recognition, capturing the beauty and the terror of the battle. There are moments that attain an almost surreal level of terror viewing it in the way that there literally seems to be no safe place; there is also a lack of point-of-view in some of the battle scenes that is effective in the way that we are not tied to a character, but feel that the camera, or our point of view, is almost a character in itself. There is also some excellent use of handheld camera.
There are two battles going on and they are both looked at with a bold, striking vision. What is so amazing about the film is how it's able to structure such a deep, emotional battle inside the men and their toxic mix of fear, emotion and sadness; Malick expertly and seamlessly builds the internal conflicts into the battles themselves. Overall, though, The Thin Red Line is more of a work of art like a painting than a film; the fact that it works such a compelling story into this painting makes it all the more incredible.
I'm uneasy about the reaction that mainstream audiences will have with this picture; I think that it's a more complex, more meditative look at War than Spielberg's Ryan was, and to be honest, I simply liked this film more. Saving Private Ryan is an outstanding film on it's own, but it just doesn't have the depth and complexity that I think Malick has achieved with this film. Although The Thin Red Line doesn't have the kind of scene that Saving Private Ryan had with its incredible opening, it sustains impact with consistent and powerful scenes of battle. I hope that audiences find this film when it goes into exclusive engagements, then a wider release. I hope that audiences can be patient with this film, because, it needs patience, understanding, and I hope that they take the time to see the emotional and complex feelings that lie underneath the film's exterior.
It's a film of the very highest quality and I hope that others can find it as thought provoking and enjoyable as I did.
Thanks for reading
The Dogfather, soon to be a regular
Page: