clanciai James Jones also wrote "From Here to Eternity", and this novel has been filmed several times, last time in 1998 in colour, but the two versions compliment each other. This one is more stringent and poignant in its psychology and characterizations. Jack Warden and Keir Dullea clash from the beginning, they are both close to the thin red line separating sanity from madness, and they appear as rather half mad both of them, although Keir Dullea seems more liable, as he loses control a number of times. Jack Warden's madness is of a different kind, as he rather drives others mad than goes mad himself, and he is the better soldier of the two.It's about the critical battler of Guadalcanal, when more men were lost than even the Americans and theír ruthless colonel could afford. Although you don't see much of the Japs, the Americans didn't either, as the Japs were experts on ambushes and targeting Americans unawares, they appear as fearsome soldiers indeed. Many Americans have also testified, that Japanese soldiers were the bravest soldiers of all.It's a brutal and realistic war account from its worst sides, and if you can stand any amount of war atrocities, this is a film for you. If you can't, you had better stick to something nicer with dames. There are only two dames in this film, one in a short flashback, and the other one isn't even a dame, and her appearance is even shorter.

b4peace-1 Detailing the battle on the South Pacific Island of Guadalcanal in 1943 and the Americans' final success over the Japanese, this is a most poignant and underestimated war film. Seen through the narrator, one of the American soldiers, the film's strength lies in its depiction of the harshness, misery, madness, and yet also the depth of humanity, on both sides. There are no winners here. Superb acting all round from the plethora of well-know actors, this extraordinary film leaves you pondering about life long after the credits have rolled on by. It reminds me how fortunate I am not to have been forced to be a soldier as I could not do what so many have been, are still in parts of the world, made to do on behalf of their governments, or renegade armies. May we be forgiven for all the suffering humankind has meted out on other fellow human beings.

bob.lindell The trend today is to add realism into war movies in order to make them moving. Explosions with limbs flying, bloody bullet wounds, last gasps for breath and such can certainly add to the shock factor in modern movies as our progressive desensitization continues as we participate in the 120 minutes hate at the cinema. But in the process, we've fallen away from what makes great movies. Now we come out of the movie house with a tingling in our gut and a head full of imagery and dialogue and get fooled into thinking we just saw something of value, when in fact, we're queasy from the blood and our ears are ringing from the THX surround sound at freight train levels.The Thin Red Line moves you and sticks in your mind without using the smoke and CPU cycles that are the main tools of filmmakers today. Private Doll comes into the army as innocent as his name. He quickly realizes that he's just a pawn in someone else's war, and to keep from being fed into the machine he's got to think for himself. He even says "if they say 'go left', I'm going right" After being attacked by an enemy while out on his own he comes face to face with the reason he's out there in the first place, to kill. Shaken badly, he adopts the mindset that he wont die until his number is up and nobody, not the enemy, himself or his Sergeant can dictate when that is. He and his war hardened Sergeant are thrown together time after time and both effect each other.In the end, Doll reaches a place that his Sergeant has just come from. Doll becomes a solider to whom a human life means nothing, while his Sergeant jumps in front of a rifle to save Doll. They have a few words as Sergeant Walsh takes his last breaths, and the humanity inside Doll dies as he drags Walsh's dead body away as the credits roll.The most memorable line in the entire movie is when Doll's commander instructs him to take some men to capture a strategic point. Doll's commander specifically tells him "Try to loose as few men as possible" The men stare back blankly, realizing just how unimportant they are to the fat old men who the war belongs to.

helpless_dancer A battle hardened top kick tries to instill toughness in his men, preparing them for war. His softhearted c.o. tells him to go easier on the troops. Which was right? Had they not been brainwashed into fighting this unnecessary war, neither decision would have had to have been made. This film was a slow starter, but a big bombs and guns finale gave a fine portrayal of war at it's worst.