Contrast to Private Ryan

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2002)

When I first saw this film I was still caught up in the wake of Saving Private Ryan, which I think is very gut wrenching and queasy- which is war and it was great. But it didn't seem to capture the individual character. Private Ryan was a war film construct for the mass population -directed by the most popular director ever. In other words- it's how everyone pictured the patriotism during WW2- only showing people the gritty reality that they may not have been able to imagine. The Thin Red Line tells a different story. It digs deep into the mind of the adult man trying to come to grips with the tragedy of War. The movie uses very little humor to express how confusing it feels to kill, watch your friends get killed, live in constant fear, etc. It seems these men are trying to explain to themselves how this war will change their lives. The characters in Private Ryan seemed to have magically adjusted to being in War... and they are MOSTLY "cool" with it.
A note on cinematography- Private Ryan may have been in color (unlike Schindler's list) but it still remained limited by shutter speeds and de-saturations that gave the image a time period LIKE other IMAGES from that time. This separates the audience from reality- especially when the effect has worn off after it's been re-used in other films (Every Spielberg and Ridley Scott film since as well as others). The Thin Red Line was rich in color, like the Guatal Canal has been for thousands of years. These soldiers didn't see a tight camera scope with every other frame skipped to give gritty strobe like effects when they were fighting. They saw reality- the same thing we see everyday when we're not glued to some kind of screen. This film captured that as closely as possible- but still achieved a specific softness in light that became its own look.
Conclusively- I want to say that Private Ryan is a film that was told by many Grandpa's who were proud to serve their country. The Thin Red Line is the reason why Grandpa never wants to talk about it.