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The Thin Blue Line
by MGM (Video & DVD)
| List Price: |
$19.98 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
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DVD
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Robert Chappell
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Actors: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson, Marshall Touchton
Academy AwardÂ(r)-winner* Errol Morris broke new ground with the "riveting" (LA Weekly) film that dramatically reenacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas. So powerful and convincing that it helped free an innocent man from prison, The Thin Blue Line is "one of the finest documentary features ever made" (Boxoffice). On November 28, 1976, when drifter Randall Dale Adams was picked up by teenage runaway David Harris, his fate was sealed. That night, a police officer was shot in cold blood. And though all the facts pointed to Harris, a sociopath with a lengthy rap sheet, Adams was convicted of capital murder. Was Adamsguilty? And if not, can Morris unlock the secrets of this baffling case? *2003: Documentary Feature, The Fog of War (with Michael Williams)
This landmark award-winning documentary, which revolutionized the form and helped acquit an innocent man of murder, came about almost by accident. Errol Morris had already directed such offbeat documentaries as Gates of Heaven (concerning pet cemeteries; a favorite of Roger Ebert's) and Vernon, Florida, which touchingly portrays the small town's eccentric inhabitants. He'd intended to travel to Texas to make a film about the criminal-psychiatry expert James Grigson, or "Dr. Death" as he came to be known for his frequent testimony against defendants, who were often then sent to death row. When Morris discovered that the doctor was involved in the trial of Randall Dale Adams, a man who, it seemed, had been falsely accused of the highway murder of a police officer, he decided that Adams's story was the real one to tell. Morris's innovative use of repeated dramatization, multiple points of view, talking-head and phone interviews, and symbolism--in concert with Philip Glass's haunting music--establishes that a combination of communitarian zeal and overly eager testimony persuaded the jury to find Adams, a "drifter" from the Midwest, guilty of the crime, instead of his underage (and, for the death penalty, ineligible) acquaintance, David Harris, who had a criminal record. The "thin blue line" of police officers separating the public from chaos--as the judge, quoting the D.A. in the case, has it--destabilizes in Morris's world and puts people at risk of injustice as often as it protects them. After serving time for a sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Adams was freed, making Errol Morris his most talented advocate. --Robert Burns Neveldine
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| Best Documentary ever |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This film changed the style of documentaries forever. Before this docs were just talking head movies, with some historical footage added for context. Morris uses so many elements to tell the story, and he never tells the names or titles of the people he interviews, and he is never seen or heard. This is a chilling film, witha haunting soundtrack--true classic. A revolutionary film that should be studied by film classes for a good time to come. Just be warned, that many of the conventions used in this film have become commonplace and cliched in many true crime docs you see on Dateline or 20/20, but know that this is where they originated.
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| Thin Blue Line |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Riveting - keep in mind that it is a documentary and not intended to be a fiction action thriller - the tape recording at the end gave me chills
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| So well done it's criminal |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Sorry for the bad pun, but this engrossing documentary is indeed ground-breaking, and memorable. I first watched this film years ago, and its excellence has stuck with me, to the point I've purchased the film so I can share it with my family.
David Harris and Randall Adams hook up in Dallas Texas in 1976, when Adams moves down to find work. He's traveling with his brother, and staying in a motel. Adams' car runs out of gas, when 16-year-old Harris picks him up in a stolen car. Adams thinks he can help Harris get a job where he has just found a job. Instead, Harris frames him for the murder of a police officer.
Based largely upon the testimony of a pint-sized habitual criminal Harris, Adams is sentenced to death.
Errol Morris had already made several critically-acclaimed documentaries when he traveled to Texas to interview a psychiatrist, James Grigson, nicknamed 'Dr. Death' because based on virtually no evidence, he always found the accused to be a potential threat to society if he was ever released from prison. Morris encountered the Adams murder case and became intrigued with it, believing it to be a better subject for a documentary than the one he envisioned on Dr. Death (though Grigson has a memorable interview with Randall Adams that the latter recounts for 'The Thin Blue Line.'
What a treasure! Very Highly recommended; gets my highest rating. It's one of the top 25 documentaries of all time, in my opinion. 'The Thin Blue Line' is really an essential film! It will immerse you in the tale of a complete miscarriage of justice.
Update: I've just watched this film again, just tonight, primarily because I wanted my wife to see it. In spite of the fact the documentary was made years ago, it still is spell-binding and convincing. One must remember this came long before the television documentaries and dramatizations of 'Law and Order' and '48 Hours' and the like put us squarely in the midst of a murder investigation. Coupled with a score written by Philip Glass, the movie holds up very, very well and is as fascinating as ever. As I told my wife after the movie ended, 'talk about doing something with your life' as Mr. Morris has done here.
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| My Favorite Documentary EVER |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Should be required watching for all those "law and order" types in favor of capital punishment.
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| Beware, It CAN happy to YOU |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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this is a must see documentary! investigative reporting at its best! this story assisted in setting Randall Adams, an innocent man, free. I can't help but think that Errol Morris also wanted to point out how our system has become a big game of wins and losses at any and all expense. unfortunately we have forgotten this lesson all too soon. speaking from experience. Get this documentary and beware. It could happen to you too!
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