The Thin Red Line (1964)

In WWII, just before landing on Guadalcanal, a private (Keir Dullea) is determined to survive the war and do anything to accomplish that. A sergeant (Jack Warden) has an almost existential attitude that war is insane and that if your time is up, there is nothing you can do. But as the platoon marches to capture a strategic hill, it's the private whose behavior almost dares death to get him. This is a loose adaptation of James Jones' 1962 novel which Terrence Malick made again in 1998 with Jim Caviezel and Sean Penn in the Dullea and Warden roles. Directed by Andrew Marton (KING SOLOMON'S MINES), this version remains an uncompromising look at how war can push combatants to the edge of madness. I wish the acting were better, some of the performances are stiff and Dullea's performance seems off. The film isn't helped by Malcom Arnold's (BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI) obtrusive score which pummels you. Manuel Berenguer's (KING OF KINGS) crisp B&W CinemaScope photography is a major asset to the film with Spain standing in for the South Pacific. With Kieron Moore, James Philbrook and Ray Daley.