War films should be made like Malick's "The Thin Red Line".

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2000)

Based on James Jones' novel, director Terrence Malick comes out to direct his first film in two decades. And he hasn't lost a bit of skill in that long absence. This movie is very poetic and show more than Oliver Stone's "Platoon", Samuel Fuller's "The Big Red One", and Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" did. The characters, Hans Zimmer's music, and John Toll's cinematography make this film one to cherish. There are strong performances given from Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, Jim Cazeviel, Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, John Savage, and so on. Nolte, Penn, Chaplin and Cazeviel stand out as the best. In my opinion, if "Shakespeare In Love" didn't win BEST PICTURE, this movie should have. Toll and Zimmer deserved Oscars for their efforts. Forget "Private Ryan", rent or buy "The Thin Red Line".