The Thin Red Line - A War in the Heart of Nature
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2018
- What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? These are the central questions at the heart of Malick's war film and we'll explore them in this analysis.
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The Thin Red Line is an experience. It’s a fascinating look at war that only a visionary director like Terrence Malick could have achieved. Much more than a conventional war film, it’s a dreamy meditation between the real and the metaphysical, between being and transcending. Unlike for example Spielberg’s graphic portrayal of war in Saving Private Ryan, which came out a few months before Malick’s film, The Thin Red Line offers no clearly defined emotional solutions, it isn’t based on pro-American principles and overall wasn’t marketable entertainment to general audiences (except for the massive cast). Because of this The Thin Red Line is better approached as art and as a philosophy lesson than a traditional war film. It’s a film that focuses on questions that are perhaps impossible to answer and seeks to examine the very purpose of all war and man’s role in nature.
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In my opinion this film and The New World were Malick's back-to-back masterpieces. Thanks for making a video about one of the greatest films of the 20th century.
I don't think the bird is dying, it has just been born.
The best film I've ever seen in my entire life. You enter in a state of meditation and get in touch with characters so deeply that you end up to feel they're real people...
And you end up feeling sick of just how fucked up humans really are
@@davidbarnard1409 true. That’s not untrue. God damn we suck as much as this movie ruled.
I felt the same thing with das boot and stalingrad 1993
I never thought to compare viewing this film to meditation before. but you have an absolute point in stating that. it's the most anti war film successfully put to film, that doesn't outright tell the viewer what to feel. while it may centralize around american soldiers. it leaves you just has heartbroken to see the "enemy" come to terms with the destruction war brings. never have I been so captivated by scenes of death and sadness while simultaneously recognizing the sheer humanity brought to light
Its a beautiful tear jerker😢
Hans Zimmer's incredible score gives this film something more than what most war films have
JFW Barnes its something else
Journey to the line is amazing
th-cam.com/video/9qfb0kJujMw/w-d-xo.html
You guys would like this to I bet it's from thin red line as well
This along with Black Hawk Down is peak Zimmer. Before he got stuck doing epic fantasy movies over and over again. The guy is incredibly talented, and when given the right opportunities and freedom, he’s able to do fantastic work.
Still got the CD soundtrack I bought after the film.
It’s such a shame Saving Private Ryan overshadowed this movie, I watched this movie and fell in love with it, absolutely fantastic.
Malick doesn't even give us an easy out with the Melanesians in the film. When Witt returns to a village (I think it's a different village, but regardless), he sees skulls on shelves and men fighting, and realizes maybe these people haven't found the whole answer either. Just like the one guy thinks he has found the answer in his wife, who breaks up with him later in the movie. Or how the jungle is shown to be cruel and devouring as well as kind and life-giving.
And yet, the film is not at all nihilistic or hopeless. I think it suggests that our true salvation lies in the possibility of rising above our primal behaviours and transcending all the insanity of life , and that there is a way to be in the world but not of it.
I think the scene when he returns to the Melanesians is showing the destruction their presence has brought to that village. The character whose wife leaves him is a different guy.
Yes, it's a different guy, the one who is using the memory of his wife to get through the war experience, but then gets a letter from her saying she has left him.
I would have to disagree with your interpretation of the scene. The skulls on the shelves are old, and the people of New Guinea (near Guadalcanal) were known to have head-hunted before colonization and engaged in very violent wars.
I'm just saying, the scene appears to show the Melanesians have a piece of the puzzle figured out but not the whole thing.
The only reason I think it's something the Americans brought it the fact that they're suffering from disease. Seems to be an allusion to the destruction brought to America via diseases centuries earlier.
That's true. The Americans and the Japanese brought foreign diseases with them. And the war brought destruction to these communities like a bolt out of the blue, with technological terrors they had never seen. And they must have wondered what the hell everyone was so pissed about, fighting for abstract reasons on the orders of a 'chief' far away.
And then the perspective shifts again. One of the most profound scenes in the movie is when the old native walks by the American soldiers and doesn't even look at them. Living as he does, in an ancient way of life governed by the cycles of nature, the Americans and the war might have also been seen as just another event that ebbs and flows like the tide.
@@squamish4244 Some of them were still cannibals. A native guide told soldiers in my grandpa's company that human meat taste like dog.
The greatest "war" film ever made, in my opinion.
Yes
@@offspringfan1288 but this movie has more meaning
@@offspringfan1288 The Thin Red Line is also based on the true events of Guadalcanal, but to each their own. What makes TTRL so great is that it's less a war film and more a study of the human condition.
My choice would be "Johnny Got His Gun".
My favorite is Paths of Glory but The Thin Red Line and Apocalypse Now are probably tied for second.
One of the greatest movie ever made. I wish I could watch it for the first time again. It was that good.
One of the greatest war films ever
I'm with you!
The entire film is basically a meditation on the problem of evil.
Or the perception of Evil. The only real Evil is Man.
@@spyhunter2410 this is also just perception
@@spyhunter2410 "Everyone is capable of great good and great evil. Everyone even the Firelord and the Fire nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance."
Saw this as a teen. It always stuck with me. Id find myself thinking about it now and then. Now as a thirty something and watching it again i appreciate it way more. The best film ive ever seen.
I feel like this film was much about the Pacific War as, Coppola's Apocalypse Now was about the Vietnam war. The wars themselves were nothing more than backdrops to which Malick and Coppola shaped their thesis on the Duality of Man. Understandably, the fact that they chose the routes that they did so must've been extremely risky. I had thought so too, because I hated absolutely hated both films as an adolescent. All I wanted was the shoot-em-up violence and brilliant scores of carnage. Not this esoteric, artsy movies about narration and long shots of nature.
In retrospect, i was a fool, and am truly sorry to have ridiculed these pictures.Truly blessed that I can now appreciate art in a more mature perspective.
Nah, Apocalypse Now really is a masterpeace, but this one really is an esoteric, wannabe artistic and pseudoreligous.
@@UnmenschgebliebenerMann67 Funny, I feel the exact opposite. Oh, well. To each his own.
@@UnmenschgebliebenerMann67 there's references to religion and philosophy which of course are not out of place in a movie that contemplates questions such as man's relationship to nature and evil. Some probably think Malick's style in general is pretentious but at the end of the day those kinds of things are very subjective and just a matter of taste. Personally I enjoy Malick's films but can't stand some other films because of the same thing.
This film is certainly an experience - I was never so affected by a film on first viewing; I remember staring at the screen in a state of awe for some time, unable to comprehend the power of what I had just seen. It still affects me today and certain shots of the film, such as the cutaway to the injured bird, the sun breaking over the swaying grass of the battlefield, as well the stunning Hanz Zimmer score, all come to mind often and remind me of this masterpiece.
KainedbutAble123
When I was young and dumb and went to see this film in theatres, I expected to see Saving Private Ryan in the Pacific. I had only thought Saving Ryan a passable film. As soon as I heard the voice over and the melancholy music, I thought "oh God, this is even worse". The plot seemed non-existent, so it seemed like the hours of directorial self-indulgence. And then it wasn't long after that, when I happened to see if on cable that it struck me like lightning. Ever since then, it has been my favorite film and The New World perhaps my second favorite. Somewhat pathetically I suppose, I kind of use The Thin Red Line as a litmus test for how humane other people are. If people tell me it's meh, I see their humanity as suspect and in need of further review.
@@Sokrabiades Thats amazing
There is a scene I will never forget in this movie, The Thin Red Line, where the bombs and guns were going off and this little bird was trying to fly, cope, and couldn't. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. In this analysis, it shows it at 6.18.
This film is way better than saving private ryan. It speaks to me alot more..
We were blessed to have "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Thin Red Line" They were both released at a very similar time which took away a little of the focus of TTRL. Both great films which showed the brutality of war and the philosophy behind it.
Apples and Oranges man.. Both films are different and both films are masterpieces in their own right.
spr is good but the story is stupid and seems like propaganda
This movie is beyond good.
Deep man, love these philosophical films
Terrence Malick creates masterpieces that are above the sublime...they transcend..
Agree
This is and always will be my favorite war movie.
I take only one issue with this review in that it suggests that Malick asserts war to be a crime against nature. I think that's a subjective interpretation of the subject matter. I think Malick deliberately leaves these questions open. The movie makes many appeals to the opposite notion, that humans are every bit a part of nature, for better and worse, and that war is every bit an extension of nature and it's cruelty, yet humans possess the unique cognitive capacity to seek transcendence above nature, and in this exists the great conflict of the mind and soul. Whether we are capable of doing so or not is of course one of the existential questions. Perhaps it's a futile endeavor. Colonel Tall: "Look at this jungle. Look at those vines, the way they twine around, swallowing everything. Nature's cruel, Staros."
What makes TTRL unique and brilliant, in my opinion, is that it answers nothing yet presents a legitimate and earnest portrayal of duality. Contradicting aspects of human nature and within nature in general. It provides the inquisitiveness and introspection of human existence. It asks, ponders, and wonders yet it always acknowledges the ambiguity and elusiveness of drawing any concrete conclusions. Cruelty and primitive survival on one end, beauty and higher ideals on the other. Both products of the duality of nature and man.
Is Witt's spiritual worldview right, or is it just an exemplification of man's inherent struggle to find meaning and transcendence? Is Topp's coldly rational and cynical view right, or is he closed to seeing the light of an innate good and a reality that lies beyond temporal existence? Do Witt and Topp together not represent the embodiment of duality? Are they not both accurate representations of the human condition?
What I truly admire about the film is that it presents these existential questions from both perspectives and angles, proclaiming neither to be fundamentally or exclusively true but leaving the viewer in a state of wonder, which is effectively the state we exist in since at present we are incapable of answering or knowing such things.
Then you have seen the things which I will never see. :)
Tremendous video about a phenomenal film. In my opinion the Thin Red Line is the greatest war movie every made. It’s a transcendent experience watching it.
The man who wrote the book, James Jones, was from my hometown. One of his other books, Some Came Running, was based on the people he hated the most from the town and put them on blast. It was banned for a while if I remember correctly lol.
Such a beautiful film! I remember watching this as a teenager, expecting something more like a traditional war film, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how different it was, in a positive way.
i was 17 and drugged and heartbroken when i watched this movie, now 31 years, still unable to shake off its horrors
I love how you edited this video together, really helped me experience the emotions I felt throughout the movie all over again. Keep up the good work!
An eye-opener! I was young when I saw this and I know it's not excusable but I arrived w/ this film looking for war but got boredom instead... I am not ashamed of saying it because art for me at the time was poetry, painting, drawing and cartoons. This would make me see it in a different perspective that I would reconsider watching it again. I salute you!
Finally someone talks about this movie!! 😭 this movie introduced me to the entire Criterion Collection! And Terrence Malick!
A Matter of Film and StoryTellers are absolutely great channels that talk about films and their philosophical meanings
The Amazing Jack Like stories of old does a brilliant job too!
I love this. I love this so much.
As a huge WWII history buff, seeing this was a no-brainer. However, it immediately became one of my all-time favorites, not only as a historical film, but as a deep, thought-provoking experience. It's as much a film about man's search for some semblance of meaning in this chaotic thing called life as it is a war movie. It details how different men look for it in different places, and what better way to display that than a war where a bunch of different men from different backgrounds and walks of life have congregated together to achieve a common goal. Some, like Witt, turn to spirituality, and because of it exude an almost other-worldly presence. Others try to find it in order such as what one might find in the military or in other things such as love. By the end of the film, however, we see that the only one whose faith has really held true was Witt's. Military order failed the men almost immediately when it became clear it could not save them from the bullets and artillery, in fact it was even the driving force that was sending them into the meatgrinder to begin with. Faith in a single man, such as how the men respected Captain Staros, only lasted until he was screwed over by command and sent back to the states. The sole thing that seemed to be getting Private Bell through the chaos, his love for his wife, faltered too. The only character who retained a consistent cool-headedness throughout the film was Witt. That's my take anyways.
I’ve been on the fence for some years about which film is my favourite. I always seem to come back to the thin red line as my top and think it’s a good choice. I’m a pretty big war film guy , but this one doesn’t peak my interest in that regard, but always gets my mind going about internal questions about who we are , why we do the things we do, and what is our purpose on this planet. This movie hits on so many levels that it always starts to make me ask personal questions about the way I act and carry myself through my life. I think it’s a masterpiece that everyone should watch at least twice and truly analyze what Terrence Malick is trying to convey to the audience. Great video by the way! You guys are awesome for making this 👍👍👍
Amidst all these wars(Russo-Ukraine war for example) going on, this work of cinema is like a book everyone should watch to make the sense out of all these madness.
One of the best movies ever made. And this is the best video I've seen about it. Can you do Gattaca next?
Upon first viewing this picture a while back, I didn’t get all the hype around it. I thought it was too slow at times and that the action scenes weren’t sexy enough.
Looking back on it, I was utterly wrong. The slower scenes are masterful, forcing you to think about how life has a funny way of taking your peace and quiet and throwing you into a hellscape out of nowhere.
The cuts with animals, particularly the ones with the baby bird and the butterflies, always stuck with me. They expertly display how little political differences and ideological tensions matter in the grand scheme of things, and how we cheat ourselves out of making the most of this world through exaggerating and weapon using our differences.
This is by far the best war movie I’ve seen.
One of the most unappreciated great
The film is a work of art. Great video, thank you
Saw this in theater after Saving Private Ryan sold out. Hadnt even heard of this before i saw it.. just took a chance. Now its one of my favs of all time
Great Video guys ! I love this film, Malick depicts an entire world of pure darkness, where we witness of the atrocities of war. Beyond that absolute growth of never-ending violence, we are also struck by the monstruous cupidity of some characters, who only thing of their carreers in the army, the gold and silver stars...They are fighting for the big picture, the Peace and the end of World War II. But they seem to somehow forget it and it only become for them a personnal goal, getting a promotion, etc...Meanwhile, the privates are the ones who struggle with another very simple aim : first, how to survive; second, how to avoid to become mad...So much to say about this picture...This is a sensitive experience, poetic and philosophical as it is said at the beginning of the video. Malick is one of the greatest director of all time.
Nice video. Humanity's place in nature is probably the greatest theme of Malick's filmography. Days of Heaven, though very different in story and setting, also foregrounds the petty squabbling and scheming of its human characters against a serenely beautiful natural landscape. The characters all live in beauty even if they don't recognize it. There's something similar going on in The Thin Red Line and this video brings that out beautifully.
I always remember seeing this film many years ago when I was probably 10/12 years old and in my “war movie” phase. The way it differs from the likes of ‘Saving Private Ryan’s all American hero trope or even ‘We Were Soldiers’ war is hell but you have to fight to survive type theme. It’s so ambiguous for me personally, maybe remembered through a young mind, that I didn’t know what war it was portraying, or even who the ‘enemy’ of the protagonists were. I think I prefer it that way as it’s applicable to any and all war and enhances, now, the real message.
Thank you. This is one of my fav movies and I am still searching for the reasons behind it... there is something beautifully haunting, calling to come to peace amidst the chaotic everyday battles in life... A great inspiration for film making... the way the monologues are communicating the inner thoughts and feelings, so we all can associate with.. Most of all I love the beginning, sort of paradise with the hymns, full of beauty, love, life, harmony, peace and tranquility, as if one was sitting on the beach gazing at sunset horizon, marvelling at the miracle of life... Also I love the performance of Jim Caviezel, who in a way shows the hero's unselfish way living in peace and sacrificing for others.. He leads by example and in a way is example to us..
You have a surprising number of underrated movies I love on your channel. I don’t know why TRL hasn’t gotten more analysis online yet.
I would love to see you do Babe: Pig in the City.
Your summary is spot on, well done
I remember being rocked by Saving Private Ryan, and I still enjoy watching it from time to time. When I first saw Thin Red Line, it was inevitable that I would compare it to Ryan, and being a slower movie with fewer action scenes, I walked away thinking it was "good, but not great".
After watching Thin Red Line a few years later, (and being a bit more reflective), I realized it is the superior story. While Ryan relies mostly on spectacle and the single story line, Thin Red Line combines a few threads together into one larger narrative. Ryan is about saving one person because the Army told them to, while Thin Red Line is a number of individuals trying to save themselves from the Army.
I love both movies, and will watch them when I need whatever they each give.
Just wanted to ask for The thin red line, and you made it, thank you))
There is so much love and skill in the edeting of this video! You have a talent! I love your work!
grats, you just earned yourself some $ for your patreon account!
this movie had a large impact on me as a young person. ultimately you have to embrace good and evil, just like the final voice-over "...all things shining"
Thank you, Tristan! Welcome to the family :) glad to have you on board.
The music, cinematography and existential narration make this movie a raw beautiful master piece
Excellent content as always.
Thank you for this video... thank you so much
Watching this moved me to tears.
The score is sublime!
moments of pure brilliance ! 💖
Absolutely enjoyed this brilliant narration
Great video👍🏿
Just subbed
reason is you are the one of the very few movie youtuber who did a video about the thin red line
i feel this movie is underrated though its one of the best war movies
Great work!
amazing man, earned a new sub with this one.
A perfect video for a perfect film.
An awsome movie.
I come back to it once in a while.
the craziest part of this movie is that for every single character theres a personality in my life that kinda replicates that
Now I have to watch this film again. I like the pace.
I love Terrence Malick's films. They are always filled with so much passion and heart.
When I first watched this film in theater, I was hyped up. I left feeling bored and confused. Then I watched it again, on TV (a repIay on cable I think) understood a little more, then I watched it again, understood a little more. And so on, I believe I watched it about 6 or 7 times and each time I saw and understood a little more. It now is one of my favorite movies because I know each time I watch it I'll get something new. The story and the way Malik directed this film, is so deep with layers of meaning, far more than most war movies. It doesn't depend on realism and "as if you were there" cinematography which is the more popular way of showing the horror of wars rather it asks why are humans like this at all?
That was amazing
Bravo. Thanks.
thank you for this x
Very deep... a great narration!
This must be the best short movie review I ever saw
Haven't been here for a bit but finally catching up on all the videos
Welcome back man :)
A Matter of Film Good to be back and keep up the great work.
my favorite war film along with band of brothers being the best war series imo
Best war movie of all time
Awesome movie with a great soundtrack
Great movie, great insight
One of the most realistic and superb films ever made! Great commentary in this clip too!
Love it, thanks for watching!
I always appreciated this film because it doesn't glorify war like others do. It's ugly and heartbreaking
Hands down the best war film I've watched. (yet to watch come and see)
Oh my God this was amazing
This is the most poignant interpretation of this powerful piece of work, you captured every aspect of this film I experience with each viewing. Thank you for saying that it should be treated as a piece of art. I feel this way about his work & don't understand why Malick gets bashed so often, I know I can't be the only indiidual his work speaks to on this level. Thank you-
Just watched the movie, it was incredible! Visually beautiful and horrifying. The cinematography was some of the best I've ever viewed
Muchas gracias por el análisis...
De nada César!
Excellent review! This is my favorite WW2 film. Which track are you using for your intro?
This is simply put my favourite 'war film'
my favorite movie ever
Woww bravo listening & guide
thanks, nice vid
Just found your channel. Suscribed.
I've been binging war movies and this one seriously messed me up. This movie is a philosophical work of art and does not compare to other traditional war movies. It was definitely worth the three hours.
Great channel
I watched this movie on the heels on of saving pvt ryan and dismissed it. About 20 years later I decided to give it another chance and rewatch it. Holy shit this movie was amazing...
I feel like you’ve given too many quality videos too fast. You’re channel is amazing and deserves way more people watching it. Everyone needs to help this channel out and spread the word!
That means the world to us. Thank you!
The battle scean with rise or the music combination makes it unforgetable. i fast forward the film just to see this scean a great molding and mix of music and image.
Thanks, it got nominated for 7 Oscars but had Zero. Societies contrast should be touched on this marvelous report
The Thin Red Line grabbed me. IMO it’s one of the greatest war films ever made, together with Come And See and Apocalypse Now l.
I agree! Including some more films like
Der untergang/downfall, Stalingrad 1993, Unknown soldier ,Schindler's list And probably alot more
My favorite movie of all time!
One always hears about Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan, etc. Good films but Thin Red Line stands head and shoulders above any war film I have ever seen.
This movie is haunting and beautiful. Wonderfully ambitious and ambiguous at the same time. It's a meditation of humanity on film
One of the best films period
May not be my best film ever but god, ive seen this movie maybe a 100 times.
Man, I think even that butterfly flying by at 5:36 means something. MASTERPIECE!
I agree! It's really the involvement of nature in our path, even if we decide to destroy each other for idealistic purposes. Nature knows best.
Yes, that scene reminds me the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale:
"(...)
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone."
Amazing
Thank you David, how's everything going?