The Thin Red Line
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Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 136 Ratings

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  • Starring: James Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn
  • Summary: The Thin Red Line tells the story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. (Fox)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    One of the most curious and perversely brilliant films ever made in the American studio system. It's a shining example of qualities we don't normally see in our big theatrical pictures: vast ambition, huge resources and technical genius mated to a unique and compelling vision of life.
  2. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Norman Green
    80
    The Thin Red Line attempts to soar much nearer to the sun than "Ryan." Its imagery aims at our souls. It wrestles with complexity, speaks to us in poetry, weaves multiple narrative strands into a tapestry, opens the festering wounds of war and gazes inside without blinking.
    All this publication's reviews
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    80
    An intensely internalized portrait of external pandemonium, a slippery, insidiously haunting work of poetry rather than brilliantly realized pulp.
  4. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    Malick dangles his maddeningly innocent ideas about life and death and man's gift for self-destruction.

See all 32 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 66
  3. Negative: 11 out of 66
  1. cabrita
    10
    I have seen all of Malick's films and have found them average and overated. However the thin red line stands alone. Malick captures human nature beautfully through war with intesnse and masterfully crafted war scenes. Malick's style has never worked so well in a film! One of the best movies of all time!… Expand
  2. PriceA
    8
    Before watching, hear this: THIS IS NOT A WAR FILM. If you watch it for the action you will be totally disappointed. This movie much like Homer's The Iliad; the war is used as a setting for Malick to express his views on human nature in times of tribulation. The movie features pairs of corresponding characters. The cynical Sgt. Welch (Penn) corresponds to the optimistic Pvt. Witt (Caviezel). Witt is considered to be the main character, with his tranquility and hope opposing the basic feelings of ordinary soldiers. The soft-spoken and diligent Captain Staros oftens conflicts with the angry, bloodthristy Col. Tall (Nolte), and their confrontations play a major role in the film. A few other main characters include Pvt. Bell (Chaplin), a man who finds comfort through his love for his wife, and a lieutenant (Cusack) who leads a charge on a bunker. Flashbacks are used to emphasize the character's true emotions. and, when it is all over, the soldiers only realize that this was one island, all their sacrifice given for one island, in a war of many.… Expand
  3. ReviewCritic
    7
    The Thin Red Line is up there with the greatest WWII movies of all time. It has incredible visuals that blow you away, and realistic war "gameplay." The Thin Red Line also offers the strangest insights into life lessons, mostly spoken by Witt. Ferociously suspenseful, The Thin Red Line is Terrence Mallick's masterpiece, and was a high contender at the 1999 Oscars.… Expand
  4. usmcsm
    1
    A great book turned into a crappy film. This is the second screen adaptation, attempted adaptation, of James Jones classic novel, and both fail miserably. Three, long, boring hours of meandering garbage. Japanese soldiers inaccurately portrayed, story garbled, an incredible waste of time.… Collapse

See all 66 User Reviews

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