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Thin Red Line, The (1998) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Thin Red Line, The (1998) a score of 2.9315 out of 4
based on (112) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(35)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(53)
Good
2
Good
(17)
Fair
1
Fair
(6)
Poor
0
Poor
(1)
Reviews by Score:
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Majestically lyrical and maddeningly introverted, Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line is a one-of-a-kind movie experience. Of all the things this mysterious writer-director may have accomplished during his 20-year absence from filmmaking, none of them ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
Writer/director Terrence Malick, known as the J.D. Salinger of the movies, is the nearmythic Harvard graduate, Rhodes Scholar, former journalist and philosophy professor who has exiled himself from Hollywood's film industry for nearly two decades after ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
Having never seen Malick's previous films, I was not quite sure what to expect from a Malick movie. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. While missing some of the interesting camera techniques Spielberg exploited well in Ryan, Malick takes things at a ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Newsweek (David Ansen)Newsweek (David Ansen)
Juxtaposes beauty and horror to fashion a savage and lyrical cinematic poem. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
An art film to the core. If it's an epic, it's an intimate, dream-time epic, an elliptical, episodic film, dependent on images and reveries, that treats war as the ultimate nightmare, the one you just cannot awaken from no matter how hard you try. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
This may have its occasional dull stretches, but in contrast to "Saving Private Ryan" it's the work of a grown-up with something to say about the meaning and consequences of war. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)
The thinking person's Saving Private Ryan . ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)
The thinking person's Saving Private Ryan . ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
Perhaps the movie's final, lasting image embraces all we know: From the mud grows the lotus. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Variety (Todd McCarthy)Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Like a Rousseau painting splattered with carnage of warfare. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Netflix (James Rocchi)Netflix (James Rocchi)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Slate (David Edelstein)Slate (David Edelstein)
No movie in the last decade has succeeded in psyching out critics and audiences as fully as the powerful, rambling war epic The Thin Red Line. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Slate (David Edelstein)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
An intensely internalized portrait of external pandemonium, a slippery, insidiously haunting work of poetry rather than brilliantly realized pulp. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.12 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Despite this film's narrative lapses, Malick has a unique way of distilling the poetry from the commonplace -- and for that precious gift we should say amen. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The movie's schizophrenia keeps it from greatness (this film has no firm idea of what it is about), but doesn't make it bad. It is, in fact, sort of fascinating: a film in the act of becoming, a field trial, an experiment in which a dreamy poet meditates ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Like no other war movie you've ever seen. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Weekly (Susan Tavernetti)Palo Alto Weekly (Susan Tavernetti)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Susan Tavernetti)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
far more interested in juxtaposing the beauty of nature untamed and the harsh destruction of mankind at war than ... telling a story or developing characters ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)
It's a thin (red) line between love and hate ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) (Judith Egerton)Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) (Judith Egerton)
Won't be a commercial hit, but it will rank at the top of my list of best movies of 1998. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) (Judith Egerton)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
A highly original piece of motion picture artistry! ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Moviola (Jorge Avila Andrade)Moviola (Jorge Avila Andrade)
Presenta los horrores de la guerra de una manera mucho más sutil que la cinta de Spielberg ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Moviola (Jorge Avila Andrade)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Globe and Mail (--)Globe and Mail (--)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Globe and Mail (--)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Although The Thin Red Line will not go down as the kind of war movie classic that Saving Private Ryan will, there are still many reasons to see this motion picture, especially for those who appreciate epic battle stories. See it for ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)
Not without a theme, The Thin Red Line does finally feature a performance of the main theme by all three string sections in track eight; if you're not listening closely, however, it could be easy to miss. The only full outburst of electronic ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for DVD Talk (Chris Hughes)DVD Talk (Chris Hughes)
The Thin Red Line is a demanding film and, in the end, a very satisfying one. Many viewers may find the pace too slow on first screening and others may resent the fact that it isn't more concrete in its message. To my way of thinking those are its ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at DVD Talk (Chris Hughes)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for DVD Talk (Scott Weinberg)DVD Talk (Scott Weinberg)
I'm well aware that The Thin Red Line is very well-regarded by the Malick fans out there, and on this, my second visit with the film after being fairly bored to tears during a multiplex viewing seven years ago, I really tried to "broaden my horizons" ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at DVD Talk (Scott Weinberg)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Reviews UKMovie Reviews UK
I imagine legendary filmmaker Terrence Malick directing The Thin Red Line crowned with a star-emblazoned wizard's hat, a coterie of idolising film buffs staring in awe as he stirs a steaming giant cauldron marked "My War Movie." This nearly three-hour ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Movie Reviews UK
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
War is hell. I think. Terrence Malick’s long-awaited and severely overhyped Line is plenty red, but it isn’t thin at all. In fact, it’s damn thick and dense, and it meanders about like a lazy river. At almost three hours, The Thin ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
Among those characters are Capt. James Staros (Elias Koteas), Private Witt (James Caviezel), and Private Bell (Ben Chaplin). The latter two probably receive the most screen time of any of the characters. Witt is a dreamer, a soldier who has gone AWOL ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
Many of the `stars' who appear are nothing more than cameos. John Travolta, portraying the General in charge, looks surprisingly reminiscent of John Hodiak, a handsome star of the WWII era. George Clooney has but one scene as well. It is said that his ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
Malick reaches for profundity once again in THE THIN RED LINE; the result is another good, greatlooking tone poem where deep thoughts stand in the way of genuine drama. Based on James Jones' 1962 novel, it tells the tale of the 194243 World War II ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The actors in "The Thin Red Line" are making one movie, and the director is making another. This leads to an almost hallucinatory sense of displacement, as the actors struggle for realism, ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
“The Thin Red Line” is an ambitious film attempting to project a complex experience onto the big screen. Written first as a novel by James Jones from his own combat experiences, this translation into film is both haunting and disappointing. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
I have the feeling that, because writer/director Terrence Malick disappeared from the film scene for 20 years and became something of a myth--a legend--along the lines of J.D. Salinger, many have tried to see more in his third film, The Thin Red Line, ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Natural Born Viewers (Natural Born Viewers ("Geeky Marcus")
"The Thin Red Line" is about the Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese on crack and Americans on crack. I assume they are smoking some really powerful pot, because while the Japanese are doing Banzai charges like all the time, the Americans ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Natural Born Viewers ("Geeky Marcus")
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
The film is based on James Jones' 1962 novel, which was filmed in 1964 by Andrew Marton, focuses on dramatic tension, and philosophical imagery with each soldier of Charlie Company having a personal story.POSITIVE/NEGATIVE NITPICKS:The music of Hans ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Dallas Observer (Andy Klein)Dallas Observer (Andy Klein)
What Malick has fashioned here is less a conventional narrative than an impressionistic mosaic of our common, yet varied experience of life and death, as focused and clarified through the relentless lens of war. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Dallas Observer (Andy Klein)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
A big, fat, gorgeous, mesmerizing mess. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.68 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
An epic aestheticization of World War II, a movie at once bold and baffling, immediate and abstract. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.52 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Examiner (Edvins Beitiks)San Francisco Examiner (Edvins Beitiks)
Powerful war spectacle neglects novel's heart and much of story. ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Edvins Beitiks)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for JoBlo's Movie Emporium (JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
This film may just be the best-looking movie of the year. It may also contain a solid cast of actors, effective tension when required, and a life-like feel of being in the bush with the boys. Unfortunately for this 170-minute, overdone, ode to ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
William Thomas Cummings said "There are no atheists in foxholes." According to "The Thin Red Line," there was at least one, along with a number of bad poets and first year philosophy students. Visually sumptuous and astoundingly pretentious, "The Thin ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
One thing you can't fault is the cinematography by John Toll. There are some fantastic images in this film. The battle scenes are also well done and there's some good stunt work. The story, an adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel is ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
This film certainly doesn't play like a conventional war film. A good portion of the film focuses on the soldiers' thoughts about the starkness of reality while scenes of their personal Eden flash back and forth like some Nature channel montage. As an ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
"The Thin Red Line", Terrence Malick's brooding, over-long return to filmmaking after a nearly twenty-year hiatus, can be summed up with three truisms to which the film vehemently adheres for its almost three-hour running time: Every soldier is a poet, ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
At two and three quarter hours long, the movie meanders throughout but not nearly as bad as in the relatively pointless first and last acts. The movie might be a candidate for the record book in that it is perhaps the first movie that would be improved ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
Thin Red Line, The (1998) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for IMDB.comIMDB.com
could be said about THE THIN RED LINE, 1998 war movie directedby Terence Malick.THE THIN RED LINE was one of the most talked about and mosteagerly awaited films of 1990s. Its director Terence Malick has madeonly two films in 1970s; in next two decades ...read the complete Thin Red Line movie review at IMDB.com
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Thin Red Line, The (1998) Reviews
Thin Red Line, The (1998)

RANKINGS:

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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
3.0104
Thin Red Line, The (1998) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
2.9315
Thin Red Line, The (1998) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
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