The Thin Red Line

The Thin Red Line is an unconventionel war film because it is not totally plot-driven. It is not only about the American army's conquest of Guadalcanal, a small strategically situated island in the Pacific, during WW2. It also deals with the thoughts and emotions of a group of soldiers. To a large extent the film succeeds in moving focus away from the story to concentrate on the inner lives of soldiers in war. In these passages the film has a poetic quality to it that is only emphasized by the stunning visuals.
   The film is overlong, though. It could have had a running time of about two hours because the last 40 minutes are superfluous.

Directed by:

Terrence Malick

Written by:
Terrence Malick from James Jones' novel.

Cast:

Sean Penn	First Sergeant Edward Welsh
Adrien Brody	Corporal Fife
James Caviezel	Private Witt
Ben Chaplin	Private Bell
George Clooney	Captain Charles Bosche
John Cusack	Captain John Gaff
Woody Harrelson	Sergeant Keck
Elias Koteas	Captain James Staros
Nick Nolte	Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Tall
John C. Reilly	Sergeant Storm
John Savage	Sergeant McCron
Penny Allen	Witt's mother
Paul Gleason	First Lieutenant Band
Jared Leto	2nd Lieutenant Whyte
John Travolta	Brigadier General Quintard