Thin Red Line criterion edition

This is in supplement to my forthcoming lengthy article for Pop Matters:

For the Criterion release of The Thin Red Line, the label worked closely with Terrence Malick and John Toll. There was no talk of an extended cut, and, according to Criterion, the existence of one is just a rumor. “John and Terry were heavily involved in the new mastering and Terry had input into all other parts of the release as well,” states a Criterion insider. Malick chose to stay true to the original theatrical mix with no aural embellishments. Is there a future for Malick’s Badlands with Criterion? Criterion states, “We'd love to work on Badlands but it's not in the works at the moment.”

Note: This review is based on a test pressing of the DVD. I have not received the Blu-Ray version yet. Also, I am not an audio/videophile, all of which is secondary to me. More knowledgeable folks will have those up in no time. To these eyes and ears, it all looks and sounds great. This is more about the extras.

The digital transfer was supervised by Terrence Malick and John Toll. The blacks are crisp and have depth to it, with lush greens and blues giving the film a naturalistic feel. This is vital since the second-unit footage is all-important to a film so heavily dependent on it (leaves, rain forest canopies, ocean swells, birds and animals, one could argue, are on an equal par with the performers).

The Blu-Ray edition is DTS-HD Master Audio staying true to the fidelity of the original theatrical mix. I don't have the Blu-Ray yet, so cannot comment on it. I should get it any day now.

Criterion also provides brand-new audio commentary by John Toll, production designer Jack Fisk, and producer Grant Hill. Obviously, Malick's input would have been great, but we know the deal here. This is one quirk I wish Malick would get over. It seems that directors that have nothing to say, basically taking on a work for hire, will spout all kinds of banalities in their commentaries, but another like Malick (or Kubrick) will stay quiet. Though Fisk, Toll and Hill's banter is informative enough, some depth could have been given with guidelines pertaining to Malick’s vision, or of what he was trying to achieve, as well as more information about the superlative cinematography. A great idea would have been a separate commentary track with a film scholar or proffesor fo philosophy, not to try and tell us what the film is about, but recognizing archetypal imagery and maybe shedding light on it based on what we know of Malick's readings. Grant Hill, of course, sheds no light on his legendary spats with Malick when he could not figure out what the director was doing with his time, the film and the erratic habits he kept (like refusing to watch dailies) In short, I was really looking forward to the commentary and found most of the information provided to be pretty generic for a film label that thrives on cinema history. Most of this information has already been given in past interviews.

A separate feature hosts interviews with actors Kirk Acevedo, Jim Caviezel, Thomas Jane, Elias Koteas, Dash Mihok, and Sean Penn. These are drawn in part, from past interviews given for the documentary Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick. Though this documentary is little seen (commonly available on the Internet for those who want/need to find it), it does give a fresh perspective on all of Malick’s films to date (it came out before The New World). This advantage, of course, is that the interviews are closer to the actual filming of The Thin Red Line, and not remembered in happenstance. Others are new, and actors like Thomas Jane and Kirk Acevedo give new information on Malick’s directing style and how they were cast. There are glaring omissions here. John Dee Smith’s experience was unique in that Malick had attached himself to him for the duration of the filming as well as the post-production process. Malick intimated his past as a shared experience with Smith’s own southern upbringing. Both had troubled pasts, so there was an affinity for what Smith had to offer despite his inexperience as an actor that Malick uniquely tapped.

Another feature is a new interview with film composer Hans Zimmer. His past with Malick is checkered with stories of legendary spats with the demanding director. Malick also had a musical ear with a quirky sense of how he wanted certain keys to be employed to bring out disparate elements to the film. Zimmer, like composers before and after him seem to be affronted by Malick’s intrusion into their own world, yet, admittedly, he did bring out the best in their work. Zimmer does not address all the music he didn’t use, a veritable bug in the ear of thousands of fans of the released soundtrack that yearn to hear more (to the degree that they have bootlegged the music lifted from the film by separating it from each of its channels in the 5.1 mix). It is a serious shame that most of this is sitting in Zimmer or Fox’s vault, unused and ignored. Also, it would have been enlightening to hear about some of the other musicians used in the film under Zimmer's Media Ventures productions. Composer Francesco Lupica's Cosmic Beam was an important element to Malick, and it is mentioned twice by the commentary and by editor Saar Klein, but some footage of Lupica performing on it would have brought a whole lot to the table in understanding what a "cosmic beam" is and how it was used in the film. Instead, Zimmer continues to this date to use samples of what Lupica performed and Media Ventures recorded (and they even baked some of Lupica's tapes, notably the track "Sit Back and Relax" included on the official soundtrack, cut down from its fourteen+ minute version to just under three) without compensating Lupica or giving him recognition. But that's for another post . . . rest assured, Lupica is preparing to release his music independently, which means all of the music composed and used for Malick's last three finished films.

To me the most important and interesting feature are new interviews with editors Billy Weber, Leslie Jones, and Saar Klein. These three, so to speak, along with a team of assistants, went through hell to constantly come up with various assemblages of the film to suit Malick’s indecisions and experimental approach to film. I only wish they had also done a commentary, as it would have added a whole lot to this release. Editing a Malick film is an experience that, as Weber states at one point, if you had been through it at all, any other film by any other director will be easy by comparison. Saar Klein is one of the fresh voices, and his insight into Malick’s vision and how he strived to accommodate it is remarkable.There was a whole lot that could have been added here, and to this point, it means it will be brought out in depth in my book. There is a story here to tell . . .

Criterion also added a new interview with writer Kaylie Jones, the daughter of The Thin Red Line’s author, James Jones. Though she does delve into her father’s experiences with the war, which is interesting to a degree, she barely mentions Terrence Malick. Malick had been paid by some private investors to work on a screenplay of The Thin Red Line, and lived in Paris for many years staying in close contact with Jones’s widow, Gloria Jones. She does not share any of this, and for that we are at a loss. The writing of this screenplay and its metamorphosis through Malick’s rebel vision is vital to the history of American cinema.

A brand new interview with casting director Dianne Crittenden brings with it some archival footage of various actors auditioning for roles in the film (Crispin Glover!). She is insightful enough, commenting on what Malick wanted in his acting talent and how she went about doing it. It is good for watching once or twice.

Criterion also included fourteen minutes of outtakes, all of which were chosen by Malick. The general tenor of the clips are one with Rourke and Caviezel, one with Matt Doran in a violent encounter with a Japanese soldier, a drunken Mazzi ranting about Lt. Band, another where he and some company members go to confront a drunken Band. There is an outtake between Clooney and Ben Chaplin discussing Bell’s divorce options after he receives his “Dear John” letter. John C. Reilly gets to rant a bit to Caviezel. I think the two best are Coombs and Rourke’s sympathetic sniper being led through the brush by a Melanesian scout. I really wish that one made the final cut, Rourke brings to his performance what he similarly did with Sean Penn’s The Pledge.

The remainder of the features are a few minutes of World War II newsreels from Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands and a batch of the Melanesian chants The original theatrical trailer is also included, but why not include the teaser that is still available on the film’s official web site from Fox? There is also a booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Sterritt, but I have not received that yet.
In the end, if I had to criticize, I wish there would have been more material included that would have answered our questions about the longer cuts, more outtakes, and they also could have included The Making of The Thin Red Line documentary shown on HBO, or, accessed all of that footage shot, Malick’s skittish dislike of appearing on film notwithstanding. A documentary much like they included with The New World would have been a fantastic addition to Criterion's disc.

Most importantly, the film looks phenomenal, it finally has room to breathe and breathe it does. I will add more to the look and sound of this film once I receive the Blu-Ray version.

Peace, Paul

 

There's already a thread on this. You even started it!

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=211735&highlight=thin+red+line

 

Thanks for the review. It's one of the Blu-ray releases I've been looking forward to the most.

 

Great review. Many thanks. I've got this near the top of my netflix queue on blu.

 

can't wait to see this

 

Criterion has quite a few great titles lined up for the next couple of months...

The Thin Red Line
Paths of Glory
The Darjeeling Limited
Modern Times
Night of the Hunter

And of course, the America Lost & Found collection....

 

Anti-Christ!

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Thin-Red-Line-Blu-ray/11300/#Review