Re: Saving Private Ryan vs The Thin Red Line

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Comments:
: Brent writes:
: : First off, let me say I really enjoy this discussion.

: As do I, Brent!  I love discussing film, and don't mind at all if opinions vary widely.

: : Here is why I liked The Thin Red Line, and hated Saving Private Ryan,
: : When I saw The Thin Red Line, I knew I was seeing something different, new and incredibly artistic. I don't believe there was anything pretend about this beautiful work of art. This film really got to the soul of what war is really about, and the internal struggle to come to grips with the brutality and violence of war."Every man fights his own war".

: Where we differ here is that I was always aware that the film was striving to do this...it just didn't work for me, as it felt too obvious.  It felt "self-conscious."  

: :One aspect of the film which I really enjoyed was the comparison of the violence of nature to the violence of war. 

: Yes, that comparison was being made constantly, but it drove me mad.  As an ardent nature lover, birdwatcher, canoeist, hiker, and outdoors kinda person, I have a whole 'nuther viewpoint on nature.  There IS violence, of course, but nothing compared to what man does to man in the name of religion and country.  I find it almost obscene to compare the brutality of human beings to nature.  But again, that's because of my own life experiences, and it definitely had an impact on my perception of the movie.

: :The cinematography was amazing,

: I'll agree with you, there.

: :as well as some incredible acting by Sean Penn as Sgt. Walsh, Elias Koteas as Capt. Stavros, and the amazing James Cavaziel as Private Witt. These characters were so realistic and made me actually care about them. 

: Somehow, they never touched me at all.  

: : With Saving Private Ryan, I liked the first 20 or so minutes, but after that it was your standard shoot 'em up action/adventure movie. I didn't think Tom Hanks fit his role at all. And I absolutely hated the equally annoying Giovanni Ribisi and Matt Damon, those two acters ruined the film for me. I didn't find anything realistic about the movie. And I did not care about the characters, I could of cared less about what happened to Private Ryan or the others. Even the few attempts at emotion, seemed like shallow emotion for the sake of emotion. 

: Well, here we come to different conclusions, obviously, as the emotion seemed extremely powerful to me, and it was one of very few films I've ever seen that made my husband "tear up."  He was deeply moved, and he normally is not emotionally involved in a film at all.  The only other movie I can remember doing that to him was Platoon, which I hated and he loved, having lived the VietNam experience, himself. 

: Of course, I have to admit, Brent, that as a rule, I do not like war movies, per se, anyway.  There have been very few I ever wanted to see more than once, so there's a bit of personal prejudice at work there, obviously.

: :The whole feeling was very empty. I also thought the screenplay was very weak. The dialogue just made me cringe.

: I HAVE seen stronger dialog written, that's true.

: :And I've heard the screenwriter for Saving Private Ryan wrote the sreenplay for The Patriot.

: Hmmmmm...do you suppose that means I'll love it and you'll hate it??? ;o)  Seriously, I haven't been totally blown away by what I've read and seen about The Patriot, yet, but I'm willing to give it (Mel) a chance.  It will be fun to see what our respective opinions are after we've viewed it!

: MMMMarcia




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