RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (Full Version)

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worr -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/15/2005 3:35:39 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jnier

I suspect some still believe the movie to be inaccurate, because the characters are too thoughtful & philosphical,


A good summary...but too thoughtful? Yea, there is a lot of introspection going on which drags the film. But the more bothersome thing was the axe griding you could hear from the director's chair.

Why do a anti-war film, or a pro-war film? Why not just do a war film? Because it is such an interesting chunk of history....with its own introspection.

Worr, out



worr -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/15/2005 3:40:55 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: byron13

No doubt the cinematography was striking, but the supposed moral dilemmas were conveyed a little too heavy-handed. Nolte's character was too overdone and I remember the advance through the village and all of the shots of the dead and dying was just . . . well . . . heavy-handed. I didn't get the "gosh, isn't war awful" feeling that I think I was supposed to. Instead I got the "gimmee a break/when does this movie end" feeling I wasn't supposed to get. Just too artsy-fartsy for my taste. If I remember, there were like three endings to the movie: the movie would clearly end and then UGH! another ten minutes until another obvious ending and then UGH! still more.


Well said, byron13.

For me the most overdone part was the shots of the IJA prisoners groaning, crying, and looking depressed. I got that with the first camera pan. Six minute later your'll still watching the camera pan. Why?

Worr, out



jnier -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 4:33:07 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

quote:

ORIGINAL: fbastos

By the way, what is the thin red line the title refers? I don't remember any phrase in the movie explaining that.


I always thought the thin red line was the redcoats who didnt break at Waterloo, but how that gets linked with Guadalcanal I'm not sure. [;)]


Thin Red Line refers to a part of the campaign that was fought on Exton and Sims Ridges. And I think the machine gun nest in the film was supposedly the real life machine gun emplacement on Sims Ridge (does the book say this? it's been a while since I've read it). Here is an excellent website that compares the terrain the shown in the film and the actual terrain:

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/visitors/flahavin/sims.html

The author of the site doesn't think too highly of the movie, because very little of the film was actually shot on Guadalcanal (was mostly shot in OZ according to the website). But IMHO, I think there is a pretty strong similarity between the actual site and the site used in the movie.



tonyingesson -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 5:26:47 PM)

One thing I truly liked in The Thin Red Line was that fear was almost always present. Numbing, total, horrifying fear. Most war movies miss that part or under-emphasise it. That, and mental strain of combat; people who act utterly insane or simply break down and cry. If you've read Walter Lord's excellent Day of Infamy, for example, you will find plenty of examples of people who act utterly bizarre or are so struck by fear that they only try to hide, even in unsafe places. I remember the example of the officer standing on the lawn, firing his pistol at the planes while the tears were streaming down his face. Or the people fighting for the best hiding places. Or the mother who prepared to kill herself and her children out of fear for a Japanese invasion. Or the gunners who were so worked up that they forgot to put on fuzes on their AA shells. These are things at least I rarely see in ordinary war movies.



sprior -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 5:37:47 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

quote:

ORIGINAL: fbastos

By the way, what is the thin red line the title refers? I don't remember any phrase in the movie explaining that.


I always thought the thin red line was the redcoats who didnt break at Waterloo, but how that gets linked with Guadalcanal I'm not sure. [;)]


The Original Thin Red Line was the Argylls in the Crimean War. Have a look here:

http://www.argylls.co.uk/93bala.html

I have no idea how this moves to Guadalcanal except as a parallel of a thin line holding back superior forces.



tsimmonds -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 5:47:06 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: sprior

quote:

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

quote:

ORIGINAL: fbastos

By the way, what is the thin red line the title refers? I don't remember any phrase in the movie explaining that.


I always thought the thin red line was the redcoats who didnt break at Waterloo, but how that gets linked with Guadalcanal I'm not sure. [;)]


The Original Thin Red Line was the Argylls in the Crimean War. Have a look here:

http://www.argylls.co.uk/93bala.html

I have no idea how this moves to Guadalcanal except as a parallel of a thin line holding back superior forces.

"There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad." From the book and the original movie, not in this remake.



Ron Saueracker -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 6:47:12 PM)

I thought the movie was lame and yet another example of producers making movies according to their knee jerk reactions based on what others are doing. SPRyan started the deluge of moral dilemma war movies. Worst case are the chop suey martial art crap movies and the constant remake fetish. I hate the industry right now....completely vacuous.



jnier -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 7:03:51 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ron Saueracker

I thought the movie was lame and yet another example of producers making movies according to their knee jerk reactions based on what others are doing. SPRyan started the deluge of moral dilemma war movies. Worst case are the chop suey martial art crap movies and the constant remake fetish. I hate the industry right now....completely vacuous.



Thin Red Line had been in production for years before Saving Private Ryan came out. It had long been the director's pet project. So it was not an attempt to copy Saving Private Ryan. It was a coincidence that they were released in the same year. Granted that copycat movies are very common and it is an annoying trend, but this is not a good example of it.



Ron Saueracker -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 7:05:57 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jnier

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ron Saueracker

I thought the movie was lame and yet another example of producers making movies according to their knee jerk reactions based on what others are doing. SPRyan started the deluge of moral dilemma war movies. Worst case are the chop suey martial art crap movies and the constant remake fetish. I hate the industry right now....completely vacuous.



Thin Red Line had been in production for years before Saving Private Ryan came out. It had long been the director's pet project. So it was not an attempt to copy Saving Private Ryan. It was a coincidence that they were released in the same year. Granted that copycat movies are very common and it is an annoying trend, but this is not a good example of it.


Well someone started it and it sucks.[:D] As if Alan Alda was secretly behind the trend.[8|]



BlackVoid -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 7:12:11 PM)

Thin Red Line - I could not watch it all the way.
- It is boring.
- Too sentimental.

Saving Private Ryan is much better.

95% percent of war movies are a big disappointment including TRL. Other examples of crappy films: Pearl Harbor, Enemy at the Gates. Its a long list.

There are few non-Us war films, but those are much better. Das Boat and Stalingrad for example.



testarossa -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 7:21:56 PM)

Stalingrad is a great movie. Iron Cross is a good one too.

To the list of the bad ones: U-571.

Althoug may by it was filmed originally as comedy or parody in an effort to outdo Norman Wisdom with his "Mr. Pitkin" flicks.



Apollo11 -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/16/2005 11:25:34 PM)

Hi all,

For me the best WWII war movie is "Das Boot".

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/

This is also the very first DVD I bought (director's cut = 210 minutes - still shorter than original TV show which I also saw but it was remastered and has great picture and sound)....


Similarly for me the best WWI war movie is "Aces High"

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0075627/


BTW, I remember watching one Russian WWII move where there was no dialogue at all. I watched it on TV when I was teenager on TV (thus 20+ years ago) and it made lasting impression on me. For the love of God I can't remember the name but I think it could be "Ivanovo detstvo" (My Name is Ivan).

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056111/


Leo "Apollo11"



IronDuke_slith -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/17/2005 4:13:16 AM)

I realised after watching this movie why Malik makes so few. I was bored %%^&less. The constant celebrity cameos were a distraction, and half the characters they protrayed looked written just to get them in it, not add anything. After SPR, the Battle scenes looked a little plastic to me, alright for pre SPR, lacking post SPR.

To round it all off, it seemed the premise of the movie was that somehow, an American Army unit had been recruited exclusively from Philosophy campuses up and and down America. The idea behind this new unit seemed to be to bore the Japanese to death, perhaps driving them to commit suicide and thus save Allied lives and time flushing them out of their bunkers. Some of the Allied characters were so boring, it was a relief when they got shot.

Although slightly overdone, the only character who looked like they belonged on a WWII battlefield was Nolte's. The movie was almost watchable whenever he was on screen.

Regards,
IronDuke

P.S. Von Murrin, I read that you suggested the movie would have benefitted from a couple of extra hours. I disagree, but then I don't have trouble sleeping [;)].

P.P.S. The movie may not have been shot on location, but I believe those responsible should have been. [;)]



velkro -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/17/2005 7:32:07 AM)

WORST! movie I ever saw...absolute crap...horrible...even Travolta was horrible...



WhoCares -> RE: Blatantly OT topic - Thin Red Line (2/17/2005 10:30:31 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jnier
...
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/visitors/flahavin/sims.html

The author of the site doesn't think too highly of the movie, because very little of the film was actually shot on Guadalcanal (was mostly shot in OZ according to the website). But IMHO, I think there is a pretty strong similarity between the actual site and the site used in the movie.

How can he blame them for not shooting the film on Guadalcanal? If you check the whole page linked, you will see how much live ammo is still lying around, barbed wire, ...
quote:

For me the most overdone part was the shots of the IJA prisoners groaning, crying, and looking depressed. I got that with the first camera pan. Six minute later your'll still watching the camera pan. Why?

Worr, out

Probably to show everyone that war is an ugly business. Boring as hell most of the time, ugly as hell once the serious fighting is going on. In most war movies you just see dead people and on a rare occasion some wounded. Often enough it was the other way around. And usually, they just show a short pan of some dead and wounded and then 10 seconds later nothing of this is seen anymore. Unfortunatly it wasn't always that easy to escape such horrors. And it is a good way to show the blunting of the soldiers, standing around chatting and smoking.
For those looking for a more romantic picture of the war, I suggest to look Pearl Harbor [;)]



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