Viewers of this movie are overcomplicating it -- it is a straight-forward tale of young men from peaceful homes in battle.

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 1999)

It seems that few people who have seen this movie and who have commented on it understand the meaning of the title: "The Thin Red Line." James Jones is simply alluding to "the thin red line" of British Imperial Infantry that stood between the civilized world and the overwhelming forces of ignorance and savagery in colonial lands, then controlled by Imperial Britain. Jones draws on this notion to draw attention to "the thin line" between modern civilized man and the savagery which he faces in 20th Century war, specifically in WWII on Guadalcanal. The film succeeds in presenting Jones' idea magnificently. To overanalyze this idea is to do injustice to the film. Think back on the first few minutes of the film and the image of the crocodile sliding into the water. This ancient beast is the metaphor for all that is savage in nature and in man. This metaphor runs through the entire film and is at the basis of the horror facing civilized men in modern war. It is "the thin line" of civilized men who must confront this savagery. It is the great irony of "The Thin Red Line" that in facing and ending this savagery, 20th century man must, for a time, become bestial himself. It is a puzzle within a riddle, within a conundrum, within a mystery; that is what this film so starkly depicts.