The Thin Red Line vs Saving Private Ryan
 

These two have been compared frequently since they were both released the same year and jump-started the WWII genre again. One relies on thought-provoking scenes for the horror of war, the other relies on the gory action to show that, after first watching TTRL after SPR i was underwhelmed because i was anticipating a SPR clone, but after years of seeing it again, TTRL has grown so much on me whilst SPR has become shallower, just a popcorn flick -which does good for what it is.

The only thing SPR still holds for me is the opening D-Day eyecandy of 20 minutes, however even that loses its shock value after seeing it so many times. TTRL has beautifiul cinematography and don't get me wrong, SPR excels in its way of showing the effects, sound and visuals, stuntwork, distilled cinematography but it didn't work on its characters. I didn't care if any of them lived or died while TTRL's characters made you feel like you are in their heads, and wow what a cast did it have. It's tougher to compare the two since they're on two ends of the war spectrum, one's like Kelly's Heroes, the other's like All Quiet on the Western Front, but it comes down to what type do you like.

Gotta go with the non-option Band of Brothers, which to me, was Ryan done right. I actually like SPR, but haven't seen TTRL yet. Definitely need to check it out.

The only thing Ryan has going for it is the D-Day opening. The rest is really awful.

I don't really like to compare these, since they're such completely different films in nearly every single way, but I can give my impressions of them individually when I left the theater. I thought <i>The Thin Red Line</i> was incredible, if a tad long, and I found <i>Saving Private Ryan</i> to be pretty average and uninspired outside of the amazing opening sequence. Those are two independent assessments, and my opinion of one is not affected by the existence of the other.

das

The Crappy Thin Red Line is the only movie I walked out on.

Exactly what came to mind as soon as I read the subject.

I like them both. One for action and the other if I wanna go abstract.

BTW, to me, the main highlight of SPR is the climactic battle of Rumel. That's 10x more intense to me than the D-Day landing.

The Thin Red Line is easily one of my least favorite films I have ever seen in a theater. What a boring mess of a film that was. It was like the actors were randomly wandering through stock footage.

Private Ryan on the other hand is now and will forever be one of my top movies. Great film from start to finish. Very powerful.

I can handle Ryan without the bookends. Ive only seen TTRL once when it first came out on video and couldn't stand it. It may be one of those titles I can appreciate a little more now.

Same here. I skip those scenes whenever I watch it. I turned off TTRL about half and hour into it.

Definitely Saving Private Ryan!! Thin Red Line did not live up to its expectations.

Thin Red Line is an absolute snoozefest. Cinematography only goes so far...
The only character in TRL I gave a damn about was Elias Koteas' Captain Staros. And Caviezel's voiceover sequences were pain to my ears.

I'll take Spielberg's amazing Saving Private Ryan.

Saving Private Ryan for me. I enjoyed the Thin Red Line, but SPR devastated me like few movies ever have. People always complain about the bookends, but to me, the movie earns the right to show those scenes.

I still remember feeling shellshocked after the first 30 minutes of the movie. I had to remind myself that it was all fake and that no one was actually killed.

SPR for me. I'm surprised it's this close; to me it's like comparing a warm glass of milk with a BJ.

SPR is hardly the best war movie ever made but compared to the pretentious dung of TTRL...

Given that the 2 films differ in content and theme as much as their settings are far from one another, and that I haven't rewatched either in their entirety since initial viewings in theaters, I opt for The Thin Red Line.

It was Saving Private Ryan that got dull after the initial adrenaline rush. And while I don't hold The Thin Red Line as a masterpiece and do admit its faults, I was still drawn into the languid pace and ethereal mood.

Maybe someday I'll revisit it to see if anything changed, but The Thin Red Line bored me to tears. SPR all the way.

= J

They're both 1998 World War 2 films. The context is the same; the content entirely different.
Overall though, Ryan was a much better film IMHO. I've never been much of a Malick fan.
But the guy who said Band of Brothers was right on :)

Strong agreement.

The 3 person narrative in Thin Red Line killed it for me. As with Malick's other film The New World about Pocahontas. Visually they were great films, but god forbid me having a chance to think for myself instead of the fucking narrative to tell me what's going on.

Pvt. Train (The one who wants to buy an automobile when he's done with the war) is actually doing the most narration.

And keep in mind, I was confused and disappointed as many of you guys were on first viewing of TTRL, but there was a similar curiosity I had about it (Much like I had when I first saw 2001) that I was actually anxious to quickly give it a 2nd viewing. A bigger improvement.

I wouldn't feed TRL to a starving cat. An aesthetically beautiful turd.

Name one that's better, other than Full Metal Jacket.

False.

APOCALYPSE NOW, and that's coming from someone who adores SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

-screwy-

This makes me want to start a Full Metal Jacket vs Apocalypse Now thread, now there's a battle! (I'd go with Apocalypse Now)

Same here. The opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan is the most critique portion of the entire film from all it's viewers. The remainder of the movie was just mediocre.

SPR was one tired cliché after another.

TRL was poetry and more of a meditative existential piece than anything else.

The Thin Red Line? Apocalypse Now? Platoon? I'm sure I can dig out more.

This thread is great. I can put all the Private Ryan lovers on my "ignore this person because his taste sucks" list. ;) And I'm only "somewhat" kidding.

ok, time to get off the high horse...

Saving Private Ryan by far.

Heck, I'd take The Thin Blue Line over The Thin Red Line.

A classic case of the old art vs. entertainment debate: I loved SPR's battle scenes, but found the story and some of the acting cliched; TRL was superbly written, acted and photographed, but I've only been able to sit through it once. Still, my vote is for TRL for bringing something new to the table.

I really liked the score from Ryan, especially "The Last Battle" ... or the song featuring the baritone/tuba-sounding brass. Man, I know my music lingo ...

'Saving Private Ryan' had the same gritty feel as the equally excellent 1945 'The Story Of GI Joe', with a script based on the 1944 'The Fighting Sullivans'. The movie was (and still is) a masterpiece upon it's inital release, and how it lost the best picture nod that year is still a mystery to me.

'The Thin Red Line'...gave it a try, but turned it off after 60 minutes of watching the grass and the trees bend in the wind.

Saving Private Ryan.

Not that I think Thin Red Line is a bad film, but Saving Private Ryan is just better.

What was so awful about the middle of the film?

Agreed.

SPR felt like a dumbed-down war movie created to entertain high school kids. It was very contrived and there were many cheap tactics used to get a shocked emotion out of the audience.

There were many scenes that had me rolling my eyes.

I couldn't take it seriously at all.

Agreed here as well. TRL is the better film but I'm not surprised that more people would like SPR since it has more mass appeal.

I'd probably be more inclined to watch Saving Private Ryan over The Thin Red Line on any given night, but I do think The Thin Red Line is a superior film. It's themes of the paradox of civilization and war, and human nature and nature were really interesting to me.

Platoon is better than both of them.

-Paul Jacobi-

Except it's not...better than SPR, that is.

That's a question that needs qualifying, much like hall of fame voting. I would say Bridge on the River Kwai.