Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

The Thin Red Line Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 24, 2011

Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; audio commentary with production designer Jack Fisk, producer Grant Hill, and cinematographer John Toll; video interview with editors Billy Weber, Leslie Jones, and Saar Klein; interview with Oscar nominated composer Hans Zimmer; deleted scenes; archival newsreels; and cast and crew interviews. In English, with optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Abandoned

Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line is a war film about everything Hollywood made war films do not show – real horror, real pain, men who do not want to be heroes. It is also a film about fear, the type that could destroy men from the inside out, ripping apart their souls.

In 1943, U.S. troops are deployed on the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal and ordered to take over a Japanese stronghold. While making their way through the jungle, some of the soldiers collapse from exhaustion, some begin to question everything they have been taught to believe in. When they eventually clash with the Japanese, some of the soldiers also begin to lose their minds.

The entire operation is seen primarily through the eyes of five men: Lt. Colonel Tall (Nick Nolte, The Prince of Tides), a tough man who believes that the war is the only chance he has left to prove that he was born to be a leader; Private Witt (James Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ), who has come to realize that the war is a dirty business he has no desire to be a part of; Sergeant Staros (Elias Koteas, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), who does not approve of Lt. Colonel Tall’s tactics; Private Bell (Ben Chaplin, Birthday Girl), who cannot stop thinking about the beautiful woman (Miranda Otto, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) he wants to marry; and Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn, Mystic River), a cynical, cold-hearted but also just man. Occasionally, there are other characters that come and go; some get killed, some simply disappear: Sergeant Keck (Woody Harrelson, The Hi-Lo Country), a charming joker; Captain Gaff (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich), a brilliant tactician; Sergeant McCron (John Savage, The Deer Hunter), a quiet, ordinary man; etc.

Based on James Jones’ novel, The Thin Red Line is a notably chaotic film, one that relies on sudden changes of tempo and dynamics to effectively recreate the maddening nature of war. Malick’s camera often captures the soldiers as they question their sanity or recall dear moments from their once happy lives. A few are also shown being completely disconnected from reality. These constant switches - entering the soldiers’ minds and then showing the fierce battles - are what cause the aforementioned chaos.

Then there is the other reality, the other world which Malick shows - a beautiful, peaceful, secluded world, populated with exotic animals and birds, which the soldiers are not allowed to enter. They can sense it – especially at nighttime, when it gets quiet - but the moment they attempt to get close to it, they begin to disintegrate.

When The Thin Red Line premiered, one esteemed critic wrote that when the Japanese were defeated Malick did not know where to go with the movie. I disagree. The Thin Red Line does not tell a battle story. Rather it attempts to recreate what men experience when they face death – a gradual, maddening detachment from reality that destroys their souls.

In 1999, The Thin Red Line won Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival. During the same year, the film also won the ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (John Toll) granted by the American Society of Cinematographers.

The Thin Red Line Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer used for this European Blu-ray release of director Malick's award winning film is practically identical to the one Criterion used for their North American Blu-ray release. I did a number of tests today and the only discrepancies I could spot were during selected close-ups. For example, screenshots #8 and 19 look just a tad softer on the UK release when compared to the Criterion release. These discrepancies, however, are impossible to see when the film is projected. I went back and forth a number of times to see whether I would notice the differences since I knew exactly where to look for them and I could not detect the softness. Furthermore, the color-schemes of the two high-definition transfers are identical. The variety of blues, greens, reds, browns, and blacks are rich and wonderfully saturated (I tried to match a couple of different screenshots, so take a look at them). Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern. Heavy banding or artifacting do not plague the high-definition transfer either. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review whatsoever. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Thin Red Line Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is outstanding. In fact, I would argue that it is one of the very best loseless audio tracks offered on a Blu-ray release of a contemporary film - not only because it expands and enhances the battles scenes with incredible dynamic intensity, but because it also handles Hans Zimmer's beautiful music score with impressive precision; the balance is indeed outstanding. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow.

The Thin Red Line Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - an audio commentary with production designer Jack Fisk, producer Grant Hill, and cinematographer John Toll. This is the same audio commentary that appears on the Criterion Blu-ray release of The Thin Red Line. The three gentlemen recall their work with director Terrence Malick and discuss the production history of The Thin Red Line, the unprecedented cast, the film's powerful message, etc. In English, with optional English, French, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles.

• The Thin Red Line: The Actor's Perspective - various cast members recall their encounters with director Terrence Malick, the type of information they were given to prepare, the shooting process, etc. In English, with optional English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles. (24 min, 480/60i).

• The Editing of The Thin Red Line: Shaping A Terrence Malick Film - editors Billy Weber, Leslie Jones, and Saar Klein discuss how the final version of The Thin Red Line was put together. In English, with optional English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles. (25 min, 480/60i).

• Hans Zimmer on The Thin Red Line - Oscar nominated composer Hans Zimmer discusses his work on The Thin Red Line and relationship with director Malick. In English, not subtitled. In English, with optional English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles. (17 min, 480/60i).

• Deleted Scenes - in English, with optional English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles. (14 min, 480/60i).
  
  1. Witt and Storm drunk
  2. Band volunteers his squad
  3. Mazzi drunk
  4. Beade kills a Japanese soldier
  5. Witt and the sniper (with Mickey Rourke)
  6. Japanese POWs
  7. Bell and Bosche
  8. Fife leaves

• Guadalcanal in Newsreels - a collection of archival newsreels highlighting the successes of the troops but omitting the horrors and suffering the soldiers had to endure, which were shown in America during World War II. In English, with optional English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish subtitles. (16 min, 480/60i):
  
  1. The Battle for the Solomons
  2. United Nations Smash Japanese in South Pacific
  3. U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal Push Back Jap Troops
  4. Jap Ships Smashed at Guadalcanal
  5. Guadalcanal Victory Garden

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for The Thin Red Line. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

The Thin Red Line Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This European Blu-ray release of Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line is a very good alternative to the Criterion Blu-ray release of the film -- the high-definition transfer is of exceptionally high quality and a number of the supplemental features from the Criterion release have been ported (a few, however, are slightly shorter). More importantly, all of the supplemental features, including the audio commentary, arrive with various optional subtitles. The release is also Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.