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When Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line arrived in theaters
six-months after the debut of Saving Private Ryan, it drew
obvious comparisons to Spielberg's film as both were World
War II dramas. After watching Fox's new DVD of Thin Red Line,
I don't see how the two pictures could have ever been compared.
Where Spielberg's primary focus was on the brutal reality
and horror of war, Malick's film is much more subconscious,
concentrating its energy into how men in battle draw themselves
away from the reality and fear that surrounds them at all
times. Interspersed with the very detailed battle scenes are
what could most closely be termed dream sequences, where the
soldier's need for familiar memories help to shield them from
the dangers just past any of the next ridges. Many people
apparently found fault with these sequences, but I found them
totally appropriate to understand each man's inner sanctuary.
What I found completely compelling about the concept of trying
to escape the horror through the hopes of returning to the
life in your memories, is that everyone of these men had the
past as their only link to home. None of the hopes and dreams
felt inside were ever what the present had to offer. With
letters from home, the reality of these men's lives had to
modified and their hopes compensated for.
Another element that I could understand people having trouble
with is that this is not one man's story, but everyman's story.
There's no linear storyline to be followed here and there
isn't what I would term a main character for the audience
to follow and experience the film through them. Instead, you'll
find performances by the likes of John Travolta, George Clooney,
John Cusack, John C. Reilly, and Woody Harrelson that could
be seen more as cameos than major contributors to the story.
There are however, some standout performances that gravitate
more towards main character responsibility. Elias Koteas is tremendous
as the Captain who can't agree with the idea of sending young
boys out to be slaughtered for nothing more than land. Ben Chaplin
is a man whose thoughts of his wife are the reason to keep fighting.
Sean Penn does his usual bang-up job as the Sargent who understands
the war they're fighting and knows his place in the order of things.
Jim Caviezel is one of the main standouts as Private Witt, a soldier
who has repeatedly gone AWOL and believes in something better
than what war can accomplish.
Perhaps my favorite performance in the film is Nick Nolte,
who as Lt. Col. Tall is so passionate about the war, that
he's willing to sacrifice his own in men in his pursuit for
advancement. After fifteen years in the service, this is his
first war and he'll be damned if he gets passed over in favor
of some young kid just in a few years. Even though you know
what he's doing is wrong, you can't help but to feel for his
ambition. High marks all the way around.
I could definitely understand why people seemed so split
over The Thin Red Line. Some people hailed it as brilliant
filmmaking, while others thought it was pretentious nonsense.
I loved it and further more, I love that it doesn't pretend
to be anything other than what it is. It's the rare example
of a film that doesn't tell you what to think about and doesn't
offer up a nice tidy story with a lovely fitting end, just
like life.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Start your smiling because The Thin Red Line is just about
the best looking DVD I've ever had the pleasure to witness.
Fox has come back to their senses, even for just a while,
to deliver a fantastic anamorphic widescreen presentation.
What we've been given is a picture with one of the most smooth
film-like qualities you're likely to see. Detail is extraordinary
with not even the hint of film grain. The intended look of
the film is slightly muted, but colors (especially the greens
of the jungle) are intense and precise with no bleeding or
oversaturation. Black level is perfect and shadow detail is
about the finest I've ever seen. Just look at people wearing
helmets and their visibility of their shadowed eyes.
Now I've already stated that the disc is about the best I've
ever seen. I'll go one further. This disc is perfect! There
are absolutely no traces of artifacting or pixilation to be
found anywhere on this RSDL disc. Even some of the nightmare
compression problems like dense fog are handled with out the
slightest bit of break-up in image. I seriously hope that
Fox is earnestly looking at anamorphic enhancement this time
because if this is how all their discs looked, I'd buy them
all! Fox, if you're reading this, just look at your opening
logo and see how much smoother and three-dimensional it is
over the usual mangled, crippled look of your logo on non-anamorphic
discs.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
As great as the picture is, the audio is not that far behind.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is exemplary of a completely
enveloping experience. Everything in this mix has been afforded
the utmost care. Dialog is smooth and clear with only the
slightest strain early in the film during Travolta's scenes.
Surround use is near constant with frequent split activity.
Listen to chapter 9, Staros' Attack, for a mind-shattering
experience which starts out very quiet, almost completely
silent, then escalates into a full-scale workout for all five
of your speakers and your subwoofer.
The music, by Hans Zimmer, is remarkably mixed into the pot
with quite a few musical passages reaching into the surrounds.
Dynamic range is also quite impressive with both the lowest
octaves and the highest frequencies represented well, even
in the surrounds. The .1 LFE channel has plenty of kick to
it from start to finish with a few of those kicks actually
making me cock my head back like a recoil. The only complaint,
and it's VERY minor, is that closer to the end there are a
few passages where the soundtrack loses its surround back
up and things tend to fall towards the front of the theater.
But this is very brief and only something that I picked up
on due to the over bearing attention that I was paying to
the soundtrack. I doubt anyone will find this smooth, dynamic
soundtrack a disappointment. An English 2.0 stereo track is
also included with English and Spanish subtitles. I had also
read reports that there were audio dropouts throughout the
disc. I experienced none leading me to believe that either
just those copies were bad or I didn't have that problem because
I don't have a Fisher Price DVD player.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Here's where Fox dropped the ball. The only "extra," for
lack of a better word, are a selection of eleven Melanesian
songs in 2.0 stereo. Personally, I don't know why there are
eleven of them because I only heard any of them used twice.
I would have preferred to have Zimmer's score instead of what
was offered, but thanks anyway. What I'm really not pleased
about though is that Fox has not included the fantastic trailer
with this disc. If they would have asked, "Melanesian songs
or trailer?," I think they'd have gotten the answer load and
clear.
Parting Thoughts
It's hard to beat this transfer, but the notable lack of extras
and the higher $35 price are a deal breaker for me. Had this been
even $29.95, I might have been able to give this a recommendation
without hesitation. As it is though, If you love the movie and
don't care about the extras, you'll be quite pleased with this
disc. If you've never seen it before, give it a rent first and
follow your gut.
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