This Sunday March 26, 2023 at 8:55 p.m., Arte is broadcasting a film monument by Terrence Malick, The Red line. A striking war film with a prestigious cast in which several actors were cut in the final cut.
20 years since the discreet Terrence Malick disappeared from the radar when his masterpiece was released in 1998 The Red line, broadcast this Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 8:55 p.m. Awarded the Berlin Golden Bear in 1999, the filmmaker signs a comeback with a fanfare with a war film like no other, far from the traditional soup served by Hollywood. Inspired by the novel of the same name by James Jones, published in 1964, Terrence Malick brings together a cast of stars, including Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, George Clooney, John Travolta, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson. Others, on the other hand, have not had the chance to appear on camera.
An atypical war film
In 1942, the United States and the Japanese Empire fought a merciless battle on the Pacific front. The Red line follows the journey of American soldiers sent to the island of Guadalcanal. Their objective ? Take back control of this strategic territory. A crucial mission for the outcome of the conflict. True to form on an artistic level, filmmaker Terrence Malick questions viewers about the horrors of war through a metaphysical, even contemplative dimension. A powerful work that stands out as a masterpiece of the genre, like its elders Full Metall Jacket by Stanley Kubrick or Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola.
The continuation under this advertisement
Editing magic
With an initial duration of six hours, the editing of The Red line was a real test for the post-production teams. In doing so, many actors have suffered from the outrageous modifications of Terrence Malick. Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman, Bill Pullman and Lukas Haas had their scenes completely deleted. But the prize for disappointment goes to Adrien Brody, known for his superb performance in The pianist by Roman Polansky. At the premiere, the actor’s dream turned into a nightmare. Intended to be the main hero of the plot, or at least the one with the greatest number of lines of dialogue, his character has almost disappeared from the story, remaining of his role only a brief appearance on the screen! “I was publicly humiliated” he remembers for The Guardian. “It was a very painful and difficult experience. I was 24 and it sucked.” We understand it.
