Review: The Thin Red Line (1964)

Centring on the invasion of Guadalcanal (in the Solomon Islands) in WWII, Keir Dullea is the Private always looking for a pistol to protect himself from potential death at the hand of enemy Japanese soldiers. He gets on the wrong side of embittered and battle experienced Sgt. Jack Warden, whose antagonistic tactics are either outright bullying with a side order of psychological torment, or a strategic attempt to prepare his men for the madness of war. Unfortunately, Dullea seems hell-bent on not following Warden’s sometimes petty goading masquerading as orders (e.g. Asking Dullea to complete a task he knows Dullea has already completed). When Dullea manages to kill a Japanese soldier (which seems to please the blood-thirsty Warden in a still shockingly brutal scene), something inside him appears to have snapped. Aren’t these two guys supposed to be on the same side? Are they almost as bad as each other? Ray Daley plays Capt. Stone, who always tries to look out for his men, but may be a little too compassionate for harsh combat situations.

I found myself completely unmoved by Terrence Malick's 1998 version of the James Jones WWII novel, as it was detached and depersonalised to a skull-crushingly boring and seemingly never-ending fault. This 1964 version from director Andrew Marton (best-known as a 2^nd Unit Director on “55 Days at Peking” and “Ben-Hur”) and screenwriter Bernard Gordon (“The Lawless Breed”, “55 Days at Peking”, “Krakatoa: East of Java”) whilst a much lower-budgeted, B-movie kind of approach, was a whole lot more to my liking. It’s not without flaws; An overly insistent music score by the usually reliable Malcolm Arnold (“Hobson’s Choice”, “Bridge on the River Kwai”, “Inn of the Sixth Happiness”), supporting characters who aren’t afforded much depth, and a mid-section that is perhaps a little unfocused. But whenever the film focuses on the personal battle between the two main characters and the shocking amount of death that is war, it’s quite riveting.

Bullying Sergeant Jack Warden (perfectly cast) and Keir Dullea (as the Private who refuses to take any crap and continues to think and question in an institution that perhaps breeds obedience, conformity, and compliance) are both excellent. The way Warden bullies Dullea, and the latter’s eventual breakdown is quite reminiscent of the early (and best) scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket”. It may not earn any points for originality, but there’s some really strong stuff here and it makes war look far more maddening, dehumanising, psychologically damaging, and likely to get you killed, than any war film I’ve seen of, or before its time. Like “Platoon”, it really makes you believe that war truly is hell and gets the psychological issues of war down pat. The film also scores on an action level, despite limited funds, it’s all very exciting. Best of all is the incredible B&W cinematography by Manuel Berenguer (“King of Kings”, “Krakatoa: East of Java”, and a tonne of Spanish films), which is as nightmarish and harsh, as it is beautiful. There are images in this film I don’t think I shall ever forget, especially that swamp tricked with mines. And littered with dead bodies.

The remake failed to move me, but this one definitely gets the job done and is worth a look, especially if you were as disappointed with Malick’s version as I was. If this presents war as hell, then Malick presented it as an abstract painting to be admired from a distance. I have no idea which was more faithful to the source (I have a feeling the answer would be ‘neither’), but I very much preferred this version, even with some misgivings. At least it gets the damn point across in a little over 90 minutes instead of nearly three hours like Malick’s film.

Rating: B-