This and Apocalypse Now eliminate the need for anyone to ever make another war film. Deep, surreal, poetic, and stunningly beautiful.

This is one of my favorite movies. If this bored you, it obviously wasn't a movie for you. Maybe dumb and dumberer or a stalone movie are more up your alley.

The one movie I have seen where I do not want to change a thing. Absolutely brilliant.

For me The Thin Red Line is one of the best war movies every created. It is a meditation on life, death, God, nature and humankind...a meditation on life. My favourite movie from Terrence Malick.

This isn't just a war movie. It's an existential examination of the nature of man's conflict within the context of nature, humanity, hierarchy and survival. The voice overs, the cinematography, the diaglogue, the acting, the tension, the brutality, the brotherhood....and who can forget the music. I could go on and on and on. A unforgettable cinematic masterpiece which gets better with each extra viewing. There can be no higher recommendation for a literary deconstruction on the nature of man and conflict. Quite simply breathtaking.… Expand

This is a stunning and deeply moving film that far surpasses its genre contemporary "Saving Private Ryan" in both artistry and technical execution. The movie is based on the James Jones novel of the same title, but Terence Malik translates the book into a unique cinematic experience, distinct from the written version but still evoking the same powerful ideas and emotions. This film is NOT going to please a large segment of the "mainstream" audience that wants to see the same simplistic and moronic narratives repeated over and over endlessly, like some never-ending Wednesday afternoon of "Charles in Charge." The Thin Red Line doesn't provide the viewer with all the answers or a comforting moral victory at its ending. It does explore the brutality of war and the psychology of the men engaged in combat, and it will make you think - provided you are still capable of thought and don't expect the screenplay to think for you. … Expand

Best film ever made.

Quite a shame that it was overshadowed by the oscar friendly "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998. Possibly the best war movie ever made.

One of the great films of a great filmmaker. Patient, frightening, daunting. It best captures the random horror and pointlessness of war, sometimes the shock erupting from boredom. The context-less death. The meaninglessness of a 'mission' or any moral framework given to industrial murder, what we call war. It might even be necessary at times, but this is one of the few films that isn't a hallmark card to the participants; it's a simulcrum of what they went through, the price of it all. No one who advocates war, especially those that want to beat their chests about the might of this nation, should do so without understanding what this film captures: the price of conflict, the horror of warfare.… Expand

Everything "Saving Private Ryan" should have been.

Simply the best movie ever produced. Challenge yourself.

Ethereal meditation on humankind's dual nature. Beautifully scripted, acted, and shot.

"Heard melodies are sweet, those unheard are sweeter" - Keats. The most devastating (and devastatingly beautiful) moments in this movie happen in silence. It is so rare and wonderful to find such an brave and strangely intimate meditation on good and evil, beauty and horror.

Sublime, deeply moving work of beauty and redemption. A meditation on reality. This film is a spiritual experience. It is one of the greqtest films ever made.

So much more than a war movie, it's almost NOT a war movie so much that it is a movie about Men. Deep and meaningful. Unparalleled cinematography. I can watch this move again and again and it still moves me.

Brilliant! Malick's cinematography is magic. His masterfully created savage dreamscape is mind-blowing. The script remains very close to the Jones novel of the same title; what the writers add, particularly through voice-overs is incredible. Breath-taking filmmaking in every respect. My favorite movie of all time.

One of the three greatest films ever made. It is so far ahead of any other war movie that it almost negates the purpose of the genre.

No wonder it bombed at the box office...it is truly brilliant: the masses it was never intended for and I commend the studio for making it, and also not starring Ben Affleck in any role.

So much better and deeper than Saving Private Ryan, this phylosophical masterpiece of cinema takes you on an emotional trip into the human nature. And than there's that soundtrack who adds a great sphere to the stunning visuals.

The greatest of all.

Superb, thought it was slow the first time i watched it, but it aint its just so much more sutle that savin p r.

A beautiful and oftentimes awe inspiring meditation on war and conflict. I found it to be one of the more spiritualy nourishing films I have ever seen. That said it clocks in at 3+ hours and probably not a good recomendation for those who don't have art/foriegn film leanings.

This film is heavily underated for it's coherent use of cinematography and silent timing. Not your average war film, conveys underlying theme throughout.

A stunning movie made in a type of stream of consciousness manner. It is beautiful and mesmerizing, complex and simple, flowing and centres on various characters and their thoughts and changes each undergoes. Brilliant.

I saw someone earlier said "this and Apocalypse Now eliminate the need for anyone to ever make another war film." I couldn't agree more. Sean Penn's burned out performance is a must see. Don't compare it to Saving Private Ryan. Let the two exist in their own realms. Where Saving Private Ryan is a great war film, Thin Red Line is simply a great film.

Holy **** i just read the negative reviews for this. I know this film is not for everyone but the reasons they gave to not like it and the tone of their reviews were awful. They shouldn't review films if they don't understand them, that's my one gripe with sites like this, they give the average retarded "movie-viewer" a voice which they believe to be important. Like god damn, how could people who are so juvenile in their film viewing mind set have the balls to review a film? Sorry for no actual review here and being a moan but those reviews really annoyed me.… Expand

If you want a superfluous fairy tale, spoon-fed sentimental narrative, watch Saving Private Ryan*. If you've got the balls to sit with silence in your head and can take a contemplative question or two, without fearing a lack of answers -- and want to see a film -- watch The Thin Red Line. Those who complain about not seeing the point, miss the point while demonstrating it.
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*Knocks go only to the writing/moralized plot of Private Ryan; the rest of it was well done, I liked it.… Expand

Poetic, cerebral, and ultimately optimistic, The Thin Red Line is a challenging watch. Almost the perfect opposite of the visceral and gritty "Saving Private Ryan" (comparisons are inevitable), The Thin Red Line is presented via a complex narrative style. The narration and action switch from character to character, creating a textured mosaic. Following the strands is difficult and has no doubt put many viewers off the film, but it does have the benefit of giving the soldiers an unprecedented level of depth and emotion, and, as such, dignity. Indeed, this is an oft-overlooked area in the war genre (case point: the cardboard character-types in "Saving Private Ryan"...). By shunning a more conventional method of presentation, Malick has created hauntingly hypnotic impression of war. I have little doubt this will go down as a classic.… Expand

Sublime.

This is not a "war film". It is a serious attempt to view the realization of sin and salvation. Look for the Gospel message in the Melanesian natives and the myriad (yes it is an appropriate use of that word) biblical quatations and prayers. I'm not sure why Travolta was in it either but that's why I took off one star. I am glad Malick came back to do this film.

Ambitious and thoughtful but far too academic and archly conceptual, it fails to connect on a visceral level. Perhaps, that's the intention, to convey a sense of the oversoul, to tap into that transcendental state where boundaries between man and nature, between nationalities are mere illusions, manifestations that we often mistake for permanent truths when in fact they all rise from and dissolve back into some unfathomable source. Rewarding and thoughtprovoking but it is still a war movie and as such doesn't satisfy. … Expand

I completely agree with Dileep R. This movie is very underrated.. not only is it well-written, well acted, and well-filmed, on beautiful islands with awesome imagery, it also tackles the morality and harsh reality of war. Even Spielburgs "Saving Pvt. Ryan" failed to do that. The only film I'd say does that as well is "Flags of our Fathers". This is a must see for every person who comes across it. We owe it to our veterans to at least acknowledge what they went through, and that is, the insanity of war. Or, as Dileep R. put it, "industrial murder". Good phrase.… Expand

Being a combat marine this is the closest depiction of many diverse lives being thrown into the gauntlet of war and the reactions to same. the brave, the cowards, the religious etc. but more importantly thin red line is the ONLY film i have seen that even cracks the expanse of the human mind of combat personnel. What emotions we felt, what our minds gravitate too during times of immense stress and emotional pain and what we do to maintain some sort of relationship with sanity. Many films in my opinion have tried to accomplish what Malick has so eloquently scratched the surface of. No other film has threw me back into the grinder like thin red line...i cried for hours after......9.5/10… Expand

Beautiful.

A very poetic look at war.

Not only one of the greatest war movies ever made, along side in modern times Speilbergs' 'Saving Private Ryan, but arguably one of the most poignant films to date about humanity. Quite simply, a masterpiece.

Stunning.

This is probably my favorite film ever made, excepting possibly A Clockwork Orange or the equally stunning and poetic Russian "indie" war film Come and See, but prospective viewers must be warned that, if the dictionary ever began covering oft-used phrases in addition to words, this would be listed in the example section of the entry for "love it or hate it." One of the most truly divisive movies I've ever seen - some absolutely despise it, as you can see in this review section, and some, like myself, cherish it as a work of art. Consider yourself warned.… Expand

There are movies like The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, and The Empire Strikes Back that are so good you donâ

A beautiful, haunting and epic war film. The Thin Red Line shows the battle of Guadalcanal as the sum of its parts, rather than the strict "good vs evil" depicted in other war films. A tremendous score and great cinematography add to the experience.