{"id":11917,"date":"2011-05-20T00:39:05","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T23:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=11917"},"modified":"2011-06-12T04:42:43","modified_gmt":"2011-06-12T03:42:43","slug":"blu-ray-the-thin-red-line-malick-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2011\/05\/20\/blu-ray-the-thin-red-line-malick-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray: The Thin Red Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The release of Terrence Malick\u2019s 1998 World War II drama on Blu-ray is a major event for cinephiles and is easily one the best HD transfers I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Coming out in the UK in the very same week that his latest film The Tree of Life premiered at Cannes, this version looks essentially the same as the Blu-ray Criterion released in the US last September (though with slightly less extras).<\/p>\n

Possibly one of the most singular movies ever released by a major Hollywood studio, it is a startling and impeccably crafted film which looks magnificent on Blu-ray and repays repeated viewings.<\/p>\n

Adapted from the James Jones novel, which was a fictional account drawing on the author\u2019s direct experiences of the Battle of Mount Austen during the Guadalcanal campaign.<\/p>\n

The sprawling narrative depicts the experiences of various troops during the campaign which sees the troops land on the island, struggle to take a crucial hill defended by the Japanese and then capture an airfield crucial to US victory in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

Different characters intersect, but the principals include: Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) who comes in to conflict his cynical Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn); Private Bell (Ben Chaplin), who daydreams about his wife back home (Miranda Otto) and Captain Staros (Elias Koteas), who comes in to conflict with his aggressive superior, Lieutenant Colonel Tall (Nick Nolte).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Around these are various supporting characters, including Captain John Gaff (John Cusack), Pfc. Doll (Dash Mihok), General Quintard (John Travolta), Corporal Fife (Adrien Brody), Sgt. Storm (John C. Reilly) and Capt. Charles Bosche (George Clooney).<\/p>\n

When first released back in 1998, it was hotly anticipated as Malick\u2019s first film in 20 years and the extraordinary cast was testament to how many actors were willing to work with the director.<\/p>\n

The way the film boldly jettisons the spurious modern \u2018rules\u2019 of movie-making (e.g. three-act structure, a central character) is not only refreshing but helps create a special mood, which Malick embellishes with his masterful control of mood and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In short, this is a film lover\u2019s dream, an enriching drama which explores deep themes of war and nature in a bold, poetic way.<\/p>\n

Although it received mostly positive reviews and seven Oscar nominations, the 3-hour length and meditative tone prevented it from overshadowing the other big World War II epic of that year, Steven Spielberg\u2019s Saving Private Ryan.<\/p>\n

There are many fascinating comparisons and contrasts between the two, but Malick\u2019s has aged better and certainly bears comparison with some of the great films of the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Many things could be written about the film, but I\u2019m going to focus on the different elements that struck me whilst watching all the elements on the disc.<\/p>\n

IMAGE QUALITY<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is difficult to accurately describe how good this film actually looks on Blu-ray.<\/p>\n

Part of that is down the outstanding technical craft of the original film, especially the production design from Jack Fisk and the stunning cinematography by John Toll, which help augment Malick\u2019s obsessive desire for poetic cinema.<\/p>\n

This new high-definition digital transfer was supervised and approved by Malick and Toll, and was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from the original 35mm camera negative in 4K resolution.<\/p>\n

It looks immaculate and is among the best HD transfers I\u2019ve ever seen, easily comparing with previous standout Blu-rays like Baraka (1992) and The New World (2005).<\/p>\n

The shots of nature have an amazing amount of depth, the colours of the jungle and combat sequences are rendered beautifully and the faces of the soldiers are filled with detail.<\/p>\n

Look out too for the how the transfer highlights the depth of field that Malick used in the film, as characters can be clearly seen in the background of certain sequences.<\/p>\n

If you ever want a reference disc to show off the HD format then this is one of the films I\u2019d recommend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SOUND<\/strong><\/p>\n

The amazing visuals are complemented by a marvellous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio mix.<\/p>\n

Remastered at 24-bit from the original 6-track magnetic audio, various noises were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and a lot of work has gone in to this mix.<\/p>\n

The highlights are perhaps the battle sequences as the rifles and bombs really pop, but look out to for the more subtle sounds of nature (water, fire and wind) so beloved Malick in all of his films.<\/p>\n

The various voiceovers that pepper the film from different actors are also given a new level of clarity, which helps figure out who they are if you happened to be confused before.<\/p>\n

Hans Zimmer\u2019s astonishing score also sounds as good as it ever has.<\/p>\n

EXTRAS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The extras don\u2019t contain any lengthy documentary material but a highly informative audio commentary, some intriguing deleted scenes and two featurettes (on the editing and music) give us some valuable insight into how it was made.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t seem to have all the extras that were on the US Criterion disc but there is still enough here for those interested in the film.<\/p>\n