Change after 30 minutes.

Rating: 4/10 (7 April 1999)

I highly recommend seeing this movie at the theatres...then seeing another movie after the first thirty minutes is over. The first thirty minutes was all of the balls that this movie had. After the grisly scene, Spielberg castrates this movie. The movie was too long for its own good.
First, the 20-second intro and finale. These were the most emotional scenes of the whole movie. They brought tears to my eyes, seeing all of the soldiers that died in the wars for this country. That is what the crosses were, and it was in a national cemetary, probably Arlington. These were two of the three most sad moments of the movie.
Second: the thirty-minute D-day battle. This was the other emotional moment of the movie. This is the only time that I disagree in that I thought that the movie was very realistic. I was depressed by it, and saddened. Especially when one soldier picks up his arm. The use of sound, visuals, and effects were outstanding for this portion of the movie. It depressed me.
Third: the rest of the movie. It SUCKED. I was bored to tears, that is why it is depressing. I sat there, and sat there, and sat there waiting for something intellectual to come up and at least slap me. No, I do not think that the dilemma of trying to rescue one soldier is intellectual, I think it is STUPID. It did not show any realities, and I did not want to go along, and it just was pure crap. This is very superficial, and I felt that I should have probably cared about the people, but I DID NOT. This ruined the end of the movie because I was so bored, that I did not notice the violence all that much in the last scene, and was only a little moved by the crosses reappearing.
I give this movie a four because it did not try. It is just as fluffy as "Shakespeare In Love," which also did not deserve to win. I must highly recommend "The Thin Red Line" because it makes you think for yourselves, instead of trying to force you to think "THERE. THIS IS BAD. CRY. BE HAPPY. FEEL THIS." My response to these movies is "I'm not stupid, don't insult me. Let me make my own judgement." If you want oscar-calibur movies go see "Elizabeth," or "The Thin Red Line." Also, "Life Is Beautiful" is really good.