8. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Terrence Malick's triumphant return to film-making happened in 1998, after an overlong 20 year hiatus. His comeback film was the anti-war allegory The Thin Red Line, a World War II drama set against the backdrop of the American invasion of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. The almost three hour film is notorious for the harrowing post production process, that took nearly a year and half to complete, as the methodical Malick shaped his film in ways that saw many actors and storly lines completely cut from the final version. The one theme that rang consistent throughout the film was Malick's thesis on what an impact war can have not only on man but on nature. The film boasts some of the most lovingly composed shots (courtesy of cinematographer John Toll) of man interacting with nature ever seen on film, something very prevalent in most of Malick's work. The Thin Red Line works to tell us that there are some places on this Earth that should not be allowed to be touched by the hand of man, and to include a war over such land is an even greater tragedy. The final shot of the film sums up what Malick is trying to say with this masterpiece. A lone palm sapling sits on a vacant beach side, gently blowing in the wind. Even through all the death, violence and unnecessary destruction, nature will prevail long after man is done with this planet, a very poetic parting image from a very misunderstood film-maker.