The Thin Red Line (1998 film)

The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line
Directed by	Terrence Malick
Written by	James Jones (novel) Terrence Malick (screenplay)
Produced by	Robert Michael Geisler Grant Hill John Roberdeau
Starring	Sean Penn Adrien Brody John Cusack James Caviezel Ben Chaplin George Clooney Woody Harrelson Nick Nolte John C. Reilly John Travolta Elias Koteas Thomas Jane
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox
Release dates	December 25, 1998
Running time	170 min.
Language	English
Budget	$52,000,000 (est.)

The Thin Red Line is a 1998 war film which tells the story of United States forces during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. It was directed by Terrence Malick, who adapted the screenplay himself from the James Jones novel of the same name, which had previously been adapted in a 1964 film. The film features a large ensemble cast, which includes Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, James Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Dash Mihok, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte, John C. Reilly, Nick Stahl, John Travolta and John Savage.

Awards

The Thin Red Line was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot Synopsis

When the film opens, a U.S. Army private, Witt, is AWOL from his unit and living with Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. He is found and imprisoned on a cargo ship by his superior noncommissioned officer, Sergeant Welsh. What becomes clear from Welsh's conversation with Witt is that the private is less than enthusiastic about serving in the Army.

The men of "C" Company have been brought to Guadalcanal for the massive invasion that will seize it from the Japanese. As they wait in the holds of a Navy cruiser, they contemplate their lives and how they will be affected by the operation. On deck, Colonel Tall talks with his commanding officer, Brigadier General Quintard, about the invasion and its importance. Tall's voiceover reveals that he’s been passed over for promotion and this battle may be his last chance to command a victorious operation.

C Company lands on the beaches of Guadalcanal to no resistance from the Japanese. They hike to the interior of the island and see only sporadic clues that there is any Japanese presence at all. (At one point they find the mutilated bodies of two GIs.)

They arrive near Hill 210, a key Japanese position. The Japanese have placed a bunker housing several machine guns at the top of the hill, giving them full view of the valley below. Any force attempting to climb the hill can be easily cut down by machine-gun fire and mortar rounds.

Shelling of the hill begins the next day at dawn. Shortly after, C Company attempts to take the hill and is instantly slaughtered by gunfire from the bunker. During the battle, Colonel Tall fiercely orders his field officer, Captain Staros to charge directly toward the bunker, whatever the cost. Staros refuses, not wanting his men to be cannon fodder. His decision is reluctantly accepted by Tall, who decides to join Staros on the front line. Also, during the battle, Pvt. Witt, having been bumped down to a stretcher bearer, asks to return to the infantry and is permitted to do so.

A small detachment of men perform a reconnaissance mission to determine the strength of the Japanese bunker. Private Bell reports back, saying that there are about five machine guns in the bunker. He joins another small detachment of men, led by Captain Gaff, on a commando mission to take the bunker. The operation is a success and the rest of C Company can now proceed with the larger mission of capturing the Japanese airfield in the center of the island. They are successful in this regard; the Japanese they find are largely malnourished and dying and put up little resistance.

A long stretch of the story then centers on the personal lives and moral views of the men. Staros is relieved of his command for disobeying Tall's orders. Tall has no wish to ruin Staros' career as an officer and promises to recommend him for several decorations and JAG duty in Washington DC. Private Bell receives a letter from his wife asking him for a divorce. A conversation involving Sgt. Welsh and another man reveals that he is unhappy around other people.

The unit is sent out on another mission further into the interior of the island. Witt and two other men are sent out ahead to determine the strength of enemy forces ahead of them. They find that their unit is heavily outnumbered and must retreat, however, getting word back to Welsh will be difficult since they are surrounded. Witt decides to act as a decoy and lure the Japanese away from his two companions and the rest of their unit. He is quickly found by the Japanese and, in the course of retreating, is surrounded. As the Japanese move in to capture him, he raises his rifle and is instantly shot. The unit later finds his body and buries it on the island.

The film ends with a new commanding officer taking over Staros' unit. Welsh and several other key characters are finished with their tours and leave the island.

Narrative style and themes

The movie explores the experiences and behaviour of ordinary men in wartime. It begins with two American soldiers, apparently AWOL, living in a traditional native community in the Solomon Islands, or nearby, apparently in harmony with nature. It then tells a story about the recapture of the AWOL soldiers, their landing on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomons, and the assault on strategic Japanese positions, in what led to the Allies of World War II's first decisive victory against the Japanese.

Despite featuring several intense and realistic action scenes, the movie is in essence a meditation on the nature of war, and the question of good and evil in the world — notably absent from the film is any expression whatsoever of patriotism or righteousness, both of which are ordinarily central to any war movie, whether that movie can be construed as affirming or criticizing its subject-matter. The story is told in a slow, meandering style, and indeed plot seems less important than the visual poetry of Malick's images and the philosophical questions the images and voice-over continually ask. There is no central protagonist; instead numerous soldiers are depicted with equal amounts of attention, so that the film is primarily concerned with presenting different perspectives and experiences. The ensemble cast portrays a variety of different personalities: for example, a hard bitten Colonel (Nolte) who bemoans his lack of promotion and who sees the war as a belated career opportunity, relegating the soldiers as pawns, and the inevitable clash with Charlie Company's Captain (Koteas), who is desperate to avoid any unnecessary loss of life. Other soldiers dwell on the pain of separation from loved ones, or the anguish of experiencing the act of killing a man. Voice-over narration from several characters is used throughout to contrast image and sound between character's thoughts and action. For example, Colonel Tall reveals disdain for his superiors and his lack of promotion which contrasts with his sycophantic and reserved behaviour in the presence of his commanding officers.

A major theme of the film is the contrast between the beauty of nature and the horrors of war: in addition to the contrast between the idyllic life of the natives and the nightmare of battle, the camera often breaks away from bloody action scenes to linger on images such as a reptile on a tree, or a chick being born, or the indigenous foliage of the island like bamboo forests or the grass of Hill 210. The film also explores biblical themes such as the corruption of Eden, exemplified by war and conflict. Naturalist cinematography is used to highlight the eternal beauty of nature which is later infected by the horrors and violence of the brutal combat scenes.

Origins

According to Peter Biskind's December 1998 article in Vanity Fair magazine, producers Bobby Geisler and John Roberdeau met with Malick in 1988 about writing and directing a movie based on D. M. Thomas' novel The White Hotel. The director declined but told them that he would be willing to write an adaptation of Moliere's Tartuffe or James Jones' novel The Thin Red Line. The producers chose the latter and paid Malick $250,000 to write a screenplay.

Malick began adapting The Thin Red Line on January 1, 1989. Five months later, the producers received his first draft. According to the British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, they provided the director with obscure research material, including a book titled Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, an audiotape of Kodo: Heartbeat Drummers of Japan, and information on Navaho code talkers, enlisted to communicate in their native Navaho language in case Japanese troops intercepted radio transmissions.

The producers spent a lot of time talking with Malick about his vision of the film. Biskind quotes Geisler as saying, "Malick's Guadalcanal would be a Paradise Lost, an Eden, raped by the green poison, as Terry used to call it, of war. Much of the violence was to be portrayed indirectly. A soldier is shot, but rather than showing a Spielbergian bloody face we see a tree explode, the shredded vegetation, and a gorgeous bird with a broken wing flying out of a tree."

Malick spent years working on several projects, including a stage production of Sansho the Bailiff and a script known as The English-Speaker, until the producers pressured him to decide which one he would complete. In January of 1995, they even approached Mike Medavoy who was setting up his own production company, Phoenix Pictures, and agreed to give them $100,000 to start work on The Thin Red Line.

In 1995, once word went out that Malick was making another movie after many years, actors approached him. According to the Telegraph, he staged a reading with Martin Sheen delivering the screen directions, Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Peter Berg, Lukas Haas and Dermot Mulroney in March of 1995 at Medavoy's home. In June of that year, a five-day workshop was scheduled at Medavoy's with Brad Pitt dropping by. Malick even met with Johnny Depp at the Book Soup Bistro on the Sunset Strip.

Edward Norton flew out to Austin and met Malick, who had been impressed by the actor's screen test for Primal Fear. Matthew McConaughey reportedly took a day off while filming A Time to Kill and went to see Malick. Others followed, including Wiliam Baldwin, Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Burns. Before the casting was finalized, Nicolas Cage talked with Malick but fell out for various, undisclosed reasons.

According to Biskind's article, pre-production went slowly as Malick had a hard time making decisions. Geisler and Roberdeau did not have the experience to oversee such a large-scale production and so Medavoy stepped in and brought veteran producer George Stevens, Jr. in to supervise. Medavoy asked Geisler and Roberdeau to share the producing credit with Stevens but they refused.

Principal photography was to begin on June 23, 1997 but Medavoy's deal with Sony Pictures fell through and so Malick, Medavoy and Stevens approached Fox 2000 who agreed to back the film but only if the film featured some movie stars with character actors in the supporting roles.

Behind the scenes/Trivia

• The movie was filmed predominantly in the Daintree Rainforest in north Queensland, Australia. The soldiers firing the number two and three M2A2 artillery guns from the fire support base were actual serving members of 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australia Artillery.
• In addition to the ensemble seen in the final cut of the film, Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Sheen, Bill Pullman, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen and Mickey Rourke also performed in The Thin Red Line, but their scenes were eventually cut. Reportedly the first assembled cut ran at over six hours, with Thornton contributing three hours of narrative voice-over material. The significant editing also resulted in many of the well-known cast members who received higher billing ultimately being on screen for only a brief period. John Travolta and George Clooney's parts, which ended up as barely more than cameo appearances, highlight this best.
• John Travolta starred in A Civil Action which was released around the same time as Malick's film. He asked to have his name removed from the marketing materials for The Thin Red Line, as he didn't want audiences to be distracted from his other film since he only appeared briefly in The Thin Red Line.
• George Clooney's name appeared prominently in the marketing of the movie, even though he only appears in the last 10 min.
• One of Martin Scorsese's favorite films of the 90s, as told on Roger Ebert's television show, he ranked it at #2.
• The main differences between the novel and the film is, the Company Commander in the novel is not the Greek Captain "Bugger" Staros, but the Jewish Captain "Bugger" Stein.
• In the novel, the last rank of Private Gordon Bell is Lieutenant Gordon Bell. He received a commission during the campaign. Most of the other main characters are also promoted into NCO positions or higher.
• In the movie, there was a character called Queen who carried a shotgun. But in the novels, the shotgun wielding grunt is another private called Cash. Cash and Queen are two different characters, and Queen is rotated at the beginning of the campaign because of an injury.

External links

• Official Site
• The Shape of Fear: Thoughts after The Thin Red Line by Bill Schaffer
• Reviews
• The Thin Red Line: Cosmic Questions on the Battlefield by Jeffrey Overstreet
• The Thin Red Line at IMDb
• The Thin Red Line at Rotten Tomatoes