The Thin Red Line (1998): Difference between revisions
The Thin Red Line (1998): Difference between revisions - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
The Thin Red Line (1998): Difference between revisions
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-1.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A MK II grenade hanging on Capt. Staros' ([[Elias Koteas]]) jacket.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-1.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A MK II grenade hanging on Capt. Staros' ([[Elias Koteas]]) jacket.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-2.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A grenade hanging on Pvt. Sico's ([[Robert Roy Hofmo]]) jacket as he fakes sickness to avoid fighting.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-2.jpg|thumb|none|600px|A grenade hanging on Pvt. Sico's ([[Robert Roy Hofmo]]) jacket as he fakes sickness to avoid fighting.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-3.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Sgt. Keck ([[Woody Harrelson]]) tries to pull a grenade off his belt but grabs it by the pin. The writer clearly does not know how grenades work. Since the grenade is hooked to his belt by the lever, which flies off when the pin is pulled, the grenade would have simply dropped to his feet instead. To compensate for this, the grenade here is attached to his belt with a wire.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-3.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Sgt. Keck ([[Woody Harrelson]]) tries to pull a grenade off his belt but grabs it by the pin. The writer clearly does not know how grenades work. Since the grenade is hooked to his belt by the lever, which flies off when the pin is pulled, the grenade would have simply dropped to his feet instead. To make this scene work, the grenade here is attached to his belt with a wire.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-4.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Sgt. Keck ([[Woody Harrelson]]) realizes how screwed he is.]]
[[Image:TRLMkIIgrenade-4.jpg|thumb|none|600px|Sgt. Keck ([[Woody Harrelson]]) realizes how screwed he is.]]
The Thin Red Line is the 1998 World War II film directed by Terrence Malick and is the second movie adaptation of the James Jones novel, the first being a 1964 film of the same name. This film features a very accurate, almost complete arsenal of genuine WWII Japanese weapons, a stark contrast to the original film where not a single Japanese weapon was seen. The film is a fictional account of engagement by the U.S. Army to capture an entrenched Japanese position during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. The majority of the film was shot in Queensland, Australia, in the South Pacific, far more accurate to the location of the Solomon Islands than the original film's filming in Spain. One of the notable characters in the film is Cpt. Staros (Elias Koteas), an intelligent, sensitive Army captain who refuses to send his men to their certain death on a futile frontal assault on a fortified Japanese position, which puts him at odds with the ambitious Lt. Col. Tall (Nick Nolte). Other notable characters include the cynical and shrewd 1st. Sgt Welsh (Sean Penn), Pvt. Bell (Ben Chaplin) who is heavily devoted to his wife, and Pvt. Witt (Jim Caviezel), a deserter who hates the Army, but loves the men of Charlie Company enough to rejoin them during the battle. The film's title derives a quote from Jones's book which reads, "they discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad... and the living from the dead..." Despite its seven Academy Award nominations, this film is often overlooked due to its release in the same year as Steven Spielberg's World War II film Saving Private Ryan.
The following weapons were used in the film The Thin Red Line:
Cpl. Queen (David Harrod) is seen using a Winchester 1897 shotgun, along with a BAR, although he is seen firing the Winchester rather than the BAR.
Handguns
M1911A1
Pfc. Doll (Dash Mihok) steals an M1911A1 hanging from a bunk in the ship carrying Charlie Company to the island. He notably uses it when he charges a Japanese machine gun emplacement and fires it at them. Basically, every other U.S. soldier also has an M1911A1 as their sidearm, although only a few soldiers such as Captain Gaff (John Cusack) are seen using them.
Other
M1A1 Flamethrower
One U.S. soldier is seen holding an M1A1 Flamethrower after Hill 262 is captured. He later uses it to torch the camp.
MK II Hand Grenade
Several U.S. soldiers are seen using yellow MK II Hand Grenades. Before having the more appropriate olive-drab color, Mk II grenades used on Guadalcanal were painted bright yellow to show they were high-explosive. At one point we see Sgt. Keck (Woody Harrelson) straightening the folds on the pin of his grenade, which proves to be a fatal mistake on his behalf when the pin pulls too easily while still attached to his belt.
Oerlikon 20mm Cannon
On the ship under the command of Brig. Gen. Quintard (John Travolta) is a pair of Oerlikon 20mm Cannon mounted on a Mk 20 Mod 2 gun mount.
Bofors 40mm
On the ship under the command of Brig. Gen. Quintard (John Travolta) is a Bofors 40mm twin mount.
M101A1 Howitzer
U.S. soldiers fire M101A1 Howitzers during the attack on Hill 210.
Axis Weapons
Rifles
Arisaka Type 38
Japanese soldiers are seen mainly using Arisaka Type 38 rifles.
Arisaka Type 99
Some Japanese soldiers are seen using Arisaka Type 99 rifles with monopods.
The issued sidearm of the Japanese Imperial Army is the Nambu Type 14 Pistol. One soldier is seen using it to commit suicide when refusing capture after Hill 262 is taken. Later in the film, we see Pfc. Doll (Dash Mihok) showing off a Nambu pistol to fellow soldiers in a personnel transport truck, likely taken off a dead Japanese soldier on the Hill.