The Thin Blue Line

Name: The Thin Blue Line
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Documentary
Released: September 1, 1988
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 79
Cast: David Harris, Randall Adams

1988

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Ratings

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8.7

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8.7	Your Score
8.7	User Score Universal acclaim based on 19 Ratings

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THE THIN BLUE LINE

Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: September 1, 1988

Starring: David Harris, Randall Adams

Summary: A documentary which argues that Randall Harris was wrongly convicted of the murder of Dallas police officer Robert Wood by corrupt system of justice.

Director: Errol Morris

Genre(s): Mystery, Crime, Documentary

Runtime: 103 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

USA Today - Mike Clark

The most provocative miscarried-justice movie ever. [26 Aug 1988]

100

Christian Science Monitor - David Sterritt

A fact-filled study that's also a full-fledged work of cinema art. [2 Sept 1988]

100

Washington Post - Desson Thomson

More like a waking nightmare than a docudrama. A true story of murder and justice evidently miscarried, wrapped in the fictional haze of a surrealistic whodunit, it will leave you in a trance for days. [2 Sept 1988] Read full review

San Francisco Chronicle - Judy Stone

At first I was irritated by what I felt were the unnecessary repetitions, but the film's final effect - for all its laughs - is a shocking reminder, as Adams says with resignation, that the lady who holds the scales of justice is blindfolded. [21 Mar 1988]

TV Guide Magazine - Staff (Non Credited)

Actually a moody horror story disguised as a documentary, designed to make the viewer feel how arbitrary and fragile the world of law and society really is. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas

Morris pulls off a genuine shocker to cap his film, but his method exacts its price. It takes fully a third of the film's 109 minutes to become involved in it, thanks to Morris' deadpan tone and the initially jarring effect of his intercutting between straightforward talking heads and his B-movie reenactment of the crime. [2 Sept 1988]

Chicago Tribune - Dave Kehr

It is an intriguing subject, though so far all that Morris has brought to it is a combination of the morbid and the cruel; he needs to develop some sympathy, too. [16 Sept 1988]

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User Reviews

KeilS.

Dec 7, 2005

This is investigative filmmaking at its finest. Errol Morris has crafted nothing less than an American classic. Forgive the hyperbole, but it's honestly justified in this particular case. See this one as soon as possible.

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FranzHcritic

Jan 23, 2016

It's a thrilling and compassionate, and objective tale of justice gone wrong. An in-depth look at the wrongful convictions which persist in our legal system, and how the facts are often right in front of us for us to witness, but sometimes no one wants to look at them. It's gripping, andIt's a thrilling and compassionate, and objective tale of justice gone wrong. An in-depth look at the wrongful convictions which persist in our legal system, and how the facts are often right in front of us for us to witness, but sometimes no one wants to look at them. It's gripping, and it's real journalistic filmmaking at its finest.… Expand

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