You made me go and watch it again
The Thin Red Line 5 out of 5
The best War film of all time, no scratch that!
One of the best films of all time.
As soon as this film ends, I just want to put it straight back on and watch it again another time, but its a little long to do that. Long it is, but its something that keeps my full attention for its near 3 hour running time. Its such a gorgeous looking and sounding film, played out at such a slow leisurely pace that it just happens in front of me and its more of an experience than a film.
The film isn't told to the viewer at a normal pace, or even in a normal way. The films flows slowly from scene to scene with voice overs from many different cast members and mixes in flashbacks and scenes from past lives. Its basically a war film of the invasion of an island, with an important air strip on it and we follow C Company as they invade this island from the ships, to the beach and on into the long lush green grass to the jungles. All the time constantly aware that at any moment they could be killed by the Japanese who inhabit this beautiful place.
The cast is massive, and the amount of people crammed into the film plays out through the film and we see new characters introduced here and there as some are killed, some we just never see again, and some stay with the journey to the end. The camera lingers on many different faces thru the film and it doesn't have to be a star for the camera to give someone a close up, it just spots a moment in time and focuses on a cast member. These extras usually look scared, or in shock and so many extras are given long lingering close ups we just get to see so many faces among the masses and it kind of gives you some feeling of how many different people were involved in the movie.
Its a large cast of faces, some big stars and some small familiar actors you just wont know the name, but you will know the face. I recognised so many people I know, some appear only for a few seconds in the background, some get big meaty roles and yet some of the bigger stars get very little dialogue. More dialogue is spoken in the voice overs than in the actual film.
The voiceovers play a big part in the whole feel of the film. They just seem laid on over the films more quite moments and usually say pretentious things and try to be enlightening and make you think. I don't know if they do that, and I am not sure if I got what they were saying at times, but it just seems calming and they are all spoken clear and well and just seem to give out a nice slow calming tone which plays with the film well. We don't learn a lot from these speeches, but they do help us get with some of the characters past lives and they do have a strange effect on the viewer as they see images flash before there eyes with a male voices telling us a small tale, or trying to be very Zen about the situation.
The look of the film is one of visual splendour. Green lush vegetation plays a big part in the colourful look of the film. The colour of nature is green and the long grass blows in the wind as the sun peeks thru the clouds and illuminates a once darkened field of grass, the shots are amazing and some must have been accidents, but some must have been moments where they waited for hours for the shots to be perfect and for me it shows.
The way the colourful world is brought to life is a joy to watch, and its always there on screen wanting to be looked at. Small details are brought to the screen, such as the animals and plants of the island. They get as many close ups as the cast, and the island feels like a part of this large cast. Brightly lit shots of a tree, a close up of a leaf, a slow pan across a bright field of swaying long grass, its all easy on the eyes and at times should feel like a nature show, but it doesn't. It just cuts from the action or the story and intertwines with the rest of the film. A tiny new born bird helplessly trying to stay alive in the mud is intertwined with a battle and it makes you feel for the bird as much as for the people dying in the hundreds as the Japanese blow them apart. The whole world the film takes place in is just an amazing place with so much going on and so many places to look. The camera picks out there natural moments and focuses on them for us to see, nature is at rest while man kills itself and it ends up a stunning and striking looking film.
The sound of the place too is as impressive as the visuals. The wind blows and the trees sway, the sound of animals in the distance and thunder in the clouds all give the film a soundtrack to turn up high and sit back and take it all in. I just could listen to the wind in the grass all day, as the various soldiers crawl thru it not knowing what is beyond the green horizon. Its a nice discreet soundtrack which is always there teetering away in the background and it does a superb job of bringing the island to life.
Then add into this the music by Hans Zimmer and your ears are in heaven. The score to the film is easily one of the single most effective soundtracks ever made and compliments the film as well as anything ever created. The music is so effective in the way it plays out, and the various tracks seem to rise and fall in conjunction with the visuals on screen and when the action gets big the score raises to deafening levels. All in all the music is one of the best Zimmer has ever created and that's saying something, as he is a master in most his films, but for this film he excelled and tops off a perfect film with style.
I am not sure if you could call the film an action film, it definitely has massive amounts of action, but its not structurally just about action. It just follows the C Company on there journey and the action evolves and features extensively once it does get going. And what action it is! the first gunshot isn't really let loose for maybe a third of the films running time and then moments later all hell breaks loose as a barrage of explosions and bullets rip thru C Company. Its all impressive pyrotechnics and people are scattered all over in the green fields of death. The battle grounds have never been better looking and its just nice to look at people in battle among the beautiful grassy hills and valleys.
The best action comes later in the film and its a stunning attack on the Japanese camp, hundreds of soldiers both American and Japanese are involved. The camera runs thru the camp and people exchange bullets with impact and force as the advancing Americans sprint thru the entire camp shooting anything that moves, even if it poses no threat. Its as exciting as the film gets and the handheld cameras follow the soldiers and we really get stuck in among the action and carnage. The music pumps up to immense levels of excitement as the speed picks up and people just run as fast as they can shooting all the way. Cinema at its best.
I could talk about the film all day, but will try to wrap to up as best I can. Its just a film I could watch over and over again and never get bored of, it assaults all your senses and just makes me feel like I am watching something different from your average war movie. Small simple moments stand out for me, a shot of a captured crocodile on a flatbed truck with American soldiers all around it, not speaking, but saying everything we need to hear as they glance in awe of the animal. Or the speech Nick Nolte gives to the silent John Cusack about water and the need to push on. Cusack not saying but 2 words in a few minutes of Nolte's barrage of dialogue, but Cusack comes off as the winner in the verbal contest, yet saying everything that is needed with his blank face. Moments like this permeate the film and get to me on an emotional level. Its just a film I love and words don't really say why, you definitely have to see this one yourself.
his worst by far.
