Better war movie of 1998?

[TheForce8686]

The Thin Red Line was awful. There was almost nothing to like about that movie. It was soooooo boring. It is no where near as good as Saving Private Ryan. SPR is a better story, has better characters, is directed better, has better war/action scenes, and is over all a much more entertaining movie.

[Monolithium]

I voted for The Thin Red Line because I found it to be a superior film from a story/acting perspective. Although for straight up combat footage I would give the edge to SPR.

Like both films.

[tbizzle]

Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite films, but I've become a huge Malick fan after seeing Days of Heaven and The New World. I can't wait for The Thin Red Line, I think that will definitely be a rare blind buy

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by TheForce8686

The Thin Red Line was awful. There was almost nothing to like about that movie. It was soooooo boring. It is no where near as good as Saving Private Ryan. SPR is a better story, has better characters, is directed better, has better war/action scenes, and is over all a much more entertaining movie.

You don't understand The Thin Red Line, simple as that. I mean no disrespect, btw, but if you think there's nothing to like and that it's boring then that almost guarantees you missed the point. That being said, it is a polarizing film for sure.

Ryan and Red Line are completely different films, but it's natural that ppl will compare them. Ryan is the superior war film, but Red Line is the superior film. Ryan is an extraordinary achievement in showing the brutality of war, Red Line is an extraordinary achievement in showing the duality of man.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I think that will definitely be a rare blind buy

If by "blind" you mean "will want to gouge your eyes out halfway through it", sure, certainly qualifies...

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

If by "blind" you mean "will want to gouge your eyes out halfway through it", sure, certainly qualifies...

I'm telling ya, it's so easy to spot the ppl who didn't understand the film that it's almost not even fair.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite films, but I've become a huge Malick fan after seeing Days of Heaven and The New World. I can't wait for The Thin Red Line, I think that will definitely be a rare blind buy

Def do it. I'm sure it'll get a great treatment bc it's Criterion and it's a film that ppl who love great movies, as you do, will appreciate and enjoy.

[RatedRstar]

You don't understand The Thin Red Line, simple as that. I mean no disrespect, btw, but if you think there's nothing to like and that it's boring then that almost guarantees you missed the point. That being said, it is a polarizing film for sure.

He understood TTRL perfectly. It was stupid as much as it was boring.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by RatedRstar

He understood TTRL perfectly. It was stupid as much as it was boring.

Oh really, you watched it with him? You're entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to proclaim that ppl who think it's "stupid" and "boring" quite simply didn't understand it. Not everyone film is as mindless as Transformers or Twilight, sorry to say; some films actually require you to use your brain and do that very difficult thing called thinking.

[Member-115369]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Oh really, you watched it with him? You're entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to proclaim that ppl who think it's "stupid" and "boring" quite simply didn't understand it. Not everyone film is as mindless as Transformers or Twilight, sorry to say; some films actually require you to use your brain and do that very difficult thing called thinking.

Nothing good comes of that.

I love the movie, but I don't feel a need to go around saying people who don't like it are stupid or don't get the movie. No movie is for everyone.

No reason to care what other's think about movies IMO. I like sharing my opinions, but I don't argue with people over them as at the end of the day I don't care what anyone else thinks about movies or other forms of art. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and your own opinion is all that matters. So it's a waste to go around bashing people with different opinions.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Nothing good comes of that.

I love the movie, but I don't feel a need to go around saying people who don't like it are stupid or don't get the movie. No movie is for everyone.

No reason to care what other's think about movies IMO. I like sharing my opinions, but I don't argue with people over them as at the end of the day I don't care what anyone else thinks about movies or other forms of art. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and your own opinion is all that matters. So it's a waste to go around bashing people with different opinions.

I never said they were stupid; I said they didn't understand it. My point is that it's a movie that requires patience and thinking, and that it can be very rewarding if done so. To claim that a movie is stupid and boring is fine, as long as there's a basis for it. If you don't understand the film, then the opinion lacks validity.

It doesn't bother me whatsoever if someone doesn't like a film that I like. It bothers me when ppl make unsubstantiated claims and hide behind it being an opinion. It actually amuses me more than anything else.

[TheForce8686]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I never said they were stupid; I said they didn't understand it. My point is that it's a movie that requires patience and thinking, and that it can be very rewarding if done so. To claim that a movie is stupid and boring is fine, as long as there's a basis for it. If you don't understand the film, then the opinion lacks validity.

It doesn't bother me whatsoever if someone doesn't like a film that I like. It bothers me when ppl make unsubstantiated claims and hide behind it being an opinion. It actually amuses me more than anything else.

I am a college graduate and a school teacher. I have patience and intelligence. I understand and enjoy more movies than anyone I know. But the Thin Red Line is in that 5% of really really bad movies. It is not a better movie than SPR. There is nothing entertaining or interesting about it. If a movie provides nothing good or interesting or exciting or fullfilling then it is not a good movie.

[SkillzthatKillz]

IMO, SPR is a far better film. It's not only the greatest war film ever made, it's one of the greatest films ever made

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by TheForce8686

I am a college graduate and a school teacher. I have patience and intelligence. I understand and enjoy more movies than anyone I know. But the Thin Red Line is in that 5% of really really bad movies. It is not a better movie than SPR. There is nothing entertaining or interesting about it. If a movie provides nothing good or interesting or exciting or fullfilling then it is not a good movie.

I'm not questioning your intelligence at all--I have no right to. But you didn't understand it, simple as that. I welcome you to prove me wrong.

Saying a movie is boring or stupid without a basis deserves no respect because anyone can do it. Surfdude doesn't like Days of Heaven and thinks it's kind of boring, I love it. However, he provided great reasons for thinking so. TBizzle thinks Summer Hours is boring, I love it. He provides legitimate reasons for thinking so. See a pattern? You have to be able to provide a basis for not liking something in order for that opinion to garner validity.

Example: I have the Spanish version of the Da Vinci Code in my room. I go read it cover to cover, every word. I state that it sucks, is stupid, and is boring. The catch? I can't read Spanish at all. My opinion isn't valid because I don't understand what I'm reading.

Example 2: I read the great Italian author Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, or The Island of the Day Before. I don't understand hypertextuality, its purpose, or the allusions he's making. I have no right to say these books are boring or terrible, because even though I can read them, I don't understand their meaning.

Point: Unless you understand something, proclaiming something is boring, terrible, or stupid lacks credibility and validity.

This is not a knock on you. If you have no desire to understand the film or put in the work needed to understand it, that's perfectly fine. Accordingly, it would be perfectly valid to come on here and say "Red Line was boring to me and I really didn't like it. It was apparent that there's much more going on than I gathered, but I simply didn't have the patience to really look into it."

[jebhdb]

Saving Private Ryan for me, not even close. Thats not to say Thin Red Line isn't a good movie, but in my mind Saving Private Ryan may be the definitive war movie ever made.

[TheForce8686]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I'm not questioning your intelligence at all--I have no right to. But you didn't understand it, simple as that. I welcome you to prove me wrong.

Saying a movie is boring or stupid without a basis deserves no respect because anyone can do it. Surfdude doesn't like Days of Heaven and thinks it's kind of boring, I love it. However, he provided great reasons for thinking so. TBizzle thinks Summer Hours is boring, I love it. He provides legitimate reasons for thinking so. See a pattern? You have to be able to provide a basis for not liking something in order for that opinion to garner validity.

Example: I have the Spanish version of the Da Vinci Code in my room. I go read it cover to cover, every word. I state that it sucks, is stupid, and is boring. The catch? I can't read Spanish at all. My opinion isn't valid because I don't understand what I'm reading.

Example 2: I read the great Italian author Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, or The Island of the Day Before. I don't understand hypertextuality, its purpose, or the allusions he's making. I have no right to say these books are boring or terrible, because even though I can read them, I don't understand their meaning.

Point: Unless you understand something, proclaiming something is boring, terrible, or stupid lacks credibility and validity.

This is not a knock on you. If you have no desire to understand the film or put in the work needed to understand it, that's perfectly fine. Accordingly, it would be perfectly valid to come on here and say "Red Line was boring to me and I really didn't like it. It was apparent that there's much more going on than I gathered, but I simply didn't have the patience to really look into it."

I am not sure what specific examples you want. I did understand the movie. I watched it in English. I can't remember specific scenes because it has been a long time since I've seen it. I do know that i have no interest in watching it again. I've understood every other war movie I've seen. It can't compete on any level with SPR, We were soldiers, Enemy at the Gates, Black Hawk Down, Three Kings, etc etc. I really like all those movies. I understood all those movies. I didn't like the characters, story or direction of the Thin Red Line.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by jebhdb

Saving Private Ryan for me, not even close. Thats not to say Thin Red Line isn't a good movie, but in my mind Saving Private Ryan may be the definitive war movie ever made.

I agree--it's the better war film. Red Line isn't really a war film; it's masquerading as such.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by TheForce8686

I am not sure what specific examples you want. I did understand the movie. I watched it in English. I can't remember specific scenes because it has been a long time since I've seen it. I do know that i have no interest in watching it again. I've understood every other war movie I've seen. It can't compete on any level with SPR, We were soldiers, Enemy at the Gates, Black Hawk Down, Three Kings, etc etc. I really like all those movies. I understood all those movies. I didn't like the characters, story or direction of the Thin Red Line.

I wasn't asking for examples, I was asking for an explanation of the film. A simple paragraph will do. You state that you understand it yet you avoid showing you do. I'm not calling you out--if you don't want to provide an explanation or can't do so that's fine. But stop saying you understand it.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by TheForce8686

I am not sure what specific examples you want. I did understand the movie. I watched it in English. I can't remember specific scenes because it has been a long time since I've seen it. I do know that i have no interest in watching it again. I've understood every other war movie I've seen. It can't compete on any level with SPR, We were soldiers, Enemy at the Gates, Black Hawk Down, Three Kings, etc etc. I really like all those movies. I understood all those movies. I didn't like the characters, story or direction of the Thin Red Line.

That's because those films are straight war films and don't require thinking. That's not to say they're not good movies, they are (well, at least SPR, We Were Soldiers, and BHD--not the other two). They simply aren't complex films and they don't pretend to be.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Holmes

I am sad for people who find Malick films boring. I imagine they, as children, were the ones in class who hissed when the teacher said the word "poetry."

I can understand not liking his films--they're polarizing for sure. Those that actually put the effort forth to like them are rewarded. Those that don't think they're boring and rambling. Both are fine, it just depends on what you try to get out of movies. It's those that have no basis for disliking them and claim that those who actually do understand the films are in the wrong, that are annoying.