FRwL

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.

lawyer goodwill

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.

Supermallet

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

das Monkey

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 The Thin Red Line was incredible, if a tad long, and I found Saving Private Ryan 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

Kal-El

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

Mondo Kane

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.

dadaluholla

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.

silentbob007

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.

matome

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

fernsita

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

Mr. Cinema

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.

zekeburger1979

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.

cleaver

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

movielib

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

sundog

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.

Tarantino

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

natevines

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

Johnny Zhivago

Strong agreement.

devilshalo

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.

Mondo Kane

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.

Filmmaker

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

Patrick G

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

Patrick G

False.

Filmmaker

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

Patrick G