Love or hate him, Terrence Malick has a unique style. Personally, he’s not for me. The New World was a decent enough film, but it left me wanting more. I had such high hopes for The Tree of Life, only for it to result in one of my most frustrating and tedious theater-going experiences ever, that I was ready to write him off. However, there is often an anomaly. For me, it was his devastatingly beautiful portrayal of World War II in 1998’s The Thin Red Line. Rightfully or not, The Thin Red Line will forever be associated and compared with Saving Private Ryan, another World War II-based Best Picture nominee of 1998. And, if I’m being 100% honest, I did not know that Malick directed the Thin Red Line until after I finished watching it.
1998, Academy Award Nominees, Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, Dash Mihok, Drama, Elias Koteas, George Clooney, Jared Leto, Jim Caviezel, John C. Reilly, John Cusack, John Travolta, Kirk Acevedo, Larry Romano, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line, Thomas Jane, Tim Blake Nelson, Top 10 Movie of 1998, War, Woody Harrelson