Let's unwind the grind of reality with Pick 79: Slick FlickPick: Rationing Compassion--Caught in Bayonets and War's Web (Wittness to Another World); (The Thin Red Line, 1998).
Today, we discuss--the merits to the aphorism the pen is mightier than the sword for a Dear John letter can hollowyou out into a walking, talking Jon fucking Doe, the rich and rampant duality present showing both the extremity of peace and war, of communal benevolence and comrades in the whirlwind of carnage, why Jim Caviezel was both the rightson of a bitch to play both Jesus Christ and Private Witt, how Nick Nolte is such a commanding presence, you forget he is not 7 feet tall, but rather 6 foot 1 inch, whereas SPR was a masterful film in demonstrating the European Theatreof WW2, its terrain, inhabitants and culture, this flick illustrated, with equal aplomb, the Pacific Theatre, island hopping and the humid horrors that await these clean shaven, but dirty souled and deeply scarred soldiers andwhile the magnum opus from SPR is often lauded as one of the most intense, grueling and fantastic war sequences of all time, this lone bunker on a hill moment stands in the pantheon of the kinetic greats in cinematic warfare achievement.
-Your worthwhile cinephile: Like Witt, I may turn left when told to go right, but for this film's reputation and deserving deeply penetrating praise, I shall continue to fight: Falsetto Prophet and my favorite bicolor creature present for this wartime feature: Othello.
P.S. (Procrastinated Statement) *Intro/outro song, Soulicious, courtesy of the artist, Dyalla.
F.C.F.U. (Fact-Check Follow Up) What does the phrase The Thin Red Line mean? The Thin Red Line has become an English language figure of speech for any thinly spread military unit holding firm against attack. The phrase has also taken on the metaphorical meaning of the barrier which the relatively limited armed forces of a country present to potential attackers.
What is the message of The Thin Red Line? It can be called an anti-war film, but its disdain for the very conventions of the medium make it an anti-anti-war film. "The Thin Red Line" is a movie about creation growing out of destruction, about love where you'd least expect to find it and about angels--especially the fallen kind--who just happen to be men.
Note that this film was released in 1998 just as SPR, this film is 171 minutes in length and features a wide, well known cast,SPR was 170 minutes in length and also features a squad of knock out actors. Both involve the storming of a beach and the attacking of a bunker, and the bombastic shocking sounds of the gunfire and explosions is contrasted warmly with whispers and deeply personal soliloquies.