"Thin Red Line" is superb. A truly great movie.

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2011)

Two great war movies came out in the late nineties. "Saving Private Ryan" was a great war movie in that it introduced new and very effective filming techniques. It was extremely realistic and set new standards for military action movies, which made it also very entertaining. "Thin Red Line", on the other hand, is as different from "Ryan" as Guadalcanal is from Normandy. It is much more than a war movie and much more than an anti-war flick. It is a study into human nature and about the full range of emotions that uplift humankind to wondrous heights or sink it to horrendous depths. It is in fact a complete study of mankind under extreme conditions. The cinematography and soundtrack are also unique in setting new standards of quality and will probably be taught in schools for years to come. This film may not be great entertainment but is definitely one that should be kept in every library for serious viewing, preferably with one's kids when they're old enough to stomach the gore. It is simply superb. A truly great movie.