Saving Private Ryan vs The Thin Red Line

[Red Spyder]

When both those movies came out on DVD, which one did I choose? SPR of course. I did like The Thin Red Line too but it just seemed so..... looooooooooong! I got this rule of thumb: whenever I go watch a movie, if it seems rather short even if it was 2 hours long, then it sure was FUN. Not necesarily "good" but fun. A boring movie that's one and a half hours long will seem twice that long.

 

[zell]

That is so not true. It features several themes including honor, trust, loyalty, morality, family, brotherhood etc etc etc

I guess that's true,but what war movie doesn't show those themes as well?

I guess my point was that the graphically violent accuracy is the most unique quality to the film,while The Thin Red Line's unique quality is it's introspective view on war from the soldier's perspective.I find the latter a bit more interesting.

 

[DogHouseRilley_1980]

I have to go with The Thin Red Line. I like Saving Private Ryan, it is the more entertaining movie of the two and the one I've seen more often (because other people want to watch it) but it's not a movie that I think about afterword. The Thin Red Line, it gets into my head and keeps coming back.

 

[cindy CD/TV]

Spielberg is probably my all time favorite director,but with that said,I prefer The Thin Red Line.

Private Ryan is a really good movie,but after the opening,which is extremely visceral,there are big dull spots that have you waiting for another battle.

The Thin Red Line is a fucking masterpiece of a war film that asks questions that I haven't seen in any other war movie.While Private Ryan shows you the horror or war,in probably THE most realistic way ever captured on film,that's all it does.

The Thin Red Line shows you the inner struggles and focuses on the psyche of the soldiers,which I found to be much more interesting.

I think Spielberg is probably the greatest director of all time with hands down the most impressive resume of any other director ever,but between these two movies,Terrence Mallick has crafted a much more thought provoking film that imo has been severely overlooked.

One thing I want to say in defense of SPR is actually voiced by Sizemore's character late in the film: "What if the mission IS a man?" There is plenty of depth to SPR that seems to be overlooked. The fundamental question with which the squad struggled is a wrenching one -- how does a group of soldiers risk their lives to save the life of ONE fellow soldier? This seems counter to basic philosophy, which typically contends that the welfare of the greater good must be served over that of the few. Yet SPR flips this on its ear. This is WHY Miller and his men were so heroic. They wrestled against their collective human nature in order to carry out a mission that, on its face, seemed absurd. But in the end, they followed through (most of them dying in the attempt) NOT because they were ordered to, but because they learned that Pvt. Ryan wasn't just a name, or a mission. He was a fellow soldier, a brother. There is no closer bond than that forged among men who fight alongside one another in battle. A man will gladly give up his own life for a brother soldier, without hesitation, without regret. This is what Miller and the others ultimately did for Ryan -- fighting for a brother who had, ironically, lost all of his familial brothers. :2 cents:

 

[STDiva]

I haven't seen either.

 

[Galactic]

I haven't seen either.

Liar. No way.

 

[Smallville22]

Saving Private Ryan