An anti-war masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10 (27 August 1999)

This is possibly the finest anti-war film I have ever seen. It is beautifully shot, daringly edited, extremely well acted, and philosophically challenging. Is the plot slow moving? Hell yes. So what? This film isn't about what happened in the battle for Guadalcanal. It's about the human and philosophical significance of man's warring nature. Just because its plot is de-emphasized in favor of character and theme does not necessarily make a film "boring." Certainly it doesn't in the case of The Thin Red Line. For me, the film's three hour running time passed in a flash. It was one of the most exciting films I've seen in a long time. Is the film "artsy"? If by that is meant "does it take risks in its narrative structure and in its handling of the film medium?", then, again, hell yes. And thank you Mr. Malick. Compared to this film, Saving Private Ryan is shallow drivel.