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"I've lived
with these men, sir, for two and a half years and I will not order them
all to their deaths." -- Capt. James
Staros
The
Thin Red Line
I found this movie to be a powerful look at the human emotion of war.
As a member of the Armed Forces, I know all too well the implications of
defying the orders of a superior officer. 
I think that's why I could sympathize with Capt. Staros. Some
people would call Staros a coward for failing to obey orders and charge
the hill; others would see his actions as a true stance of bravery --
sacrificing your career and reputation to save the lives of your men.
Growing up, Elias said he admired Nick Nolte. In this movie, he acts
opposite his idol and holds his own, showing what a marvelous and mature
actor he has become. He portrays Capt. Staros as a reluctant
commanding officer, a perceived coward and a misconceived decorated war
hero. Is there any wonder why I admire this man?
Trivia
about The Thin Red Line. 
Did you know...
-
While most of the character names are
consistent in all three versions, the Captain's name is not: it's
Stein in the novel, Stone in the 1964 film, and Staros in the 1998
version.
-
Terrence Malick changed Elias Koteas'
character's name so late in the production that the costume can be
seen with the name Stein on it, not Staros.
-
During his argument on the phone, Capt.
Staros states, "It is now 13:21 hundred hours," when his
wrist watch clearly shows a time of 14:32 hundred hours. The watch
also shows other times during the conversation.
|
"It was a dream
come true for more reasons than just sharing screen time with
Nick. He proved to be everything I'd suspected and hoped he
would be. He's a totally committed actor. All those screaming
matches we have were played at top volume and intensity whether
the camera was on him or on me."
--
Elias, on working with Nick Nolte.
|
The Inside Film
Interview with Elias Koteas
 This interview originally appeared in Inside Film on an unlisted date.
Interview by Steve Goldman. Copyright of A & R Publishing, Limited.
How did you get cast in the film?
The usual way. I was sent the script by my agent about a month or so
before filming started. We set up an appointment. I auditioned. They put
me on tape and sent it off to Terrence Malick in Australia and that was
it. It happened real fast. Just the same way I'm sure that real soldiers
are recruited. You get the news and boom! You're on a plane and suddenly
you're off overseas with all the fear and anxiety of fulfilling your
mission and the fear and anxiety that you might not be able to cut the
mustard.
Were you up against any major names?
I don't know. It was tough for him to cast the whole film, though. I
heard that it took a while. So I felt that weight as well, that sense of
rsponsibility in taking on the part, which was paralled in the character's
sense of responsibility towards his men. Each time you go into a job, each
journey is different. Sometimes you feel like you're nailing it, other
times you feel like you've never acted before. This time it was more of
the latter. Couple that with having limited reheasal time and that puts on
a lot of pressure. As an actor you try to use it.
What is the relationship between this film and Steven Spielberg's
Saving Private Ryan?
America learned a lot about warfare during Guadalcanal, as depicted in
this film. The troops were green and inexperienced. Hence the major
connection with Private Ryan is that what we learned in warfare in
that vicious South Pacific battle we took to D-Day--Oddly enough, I was
also cast for this film on the anniversay of D-Day.
What did you know about Terrence
Malick?
Only his reputation. It was only when I got home that I watched his
previous films. I was aware of Days of Heaven and Badlands,
but I hadn't seen them. But I learned a lot, obviously, by working with
him. Terry has an amazing improvisational quality. When he discovered my
Greek background, for example, he incorporated it into the character.
How close did it feel to a real battle?
For those five months, it was my war. You have to go through that
process. For better or for worse, my life paralleled some of those
anxieties. And I could only use that in terms of myself and my craft. If I
don't get this job right as an actor, will I have a future? The same for
Captain Staros. If he doesn't fulfill his mission, will he have a future
as a soldier?
What was day-to-day life like on the set?
Obviously, we didn't have trailers, we had camps. And then we would
either hike along the trails or be driven to the set, or "the
front" as I would call it. It was very similar to Chapter Four of All
Quiet on the Western Front. That's the parallel. And I don't mean
disrepsect towards the men who endured it. Whatever I understand, it is in
my own minuscule way, compared with what any soldier goes through.
It's quite a jump from your Ninja Turtle films. I assume Malick
didn't base his casting decision on those performances.
No. He didn't se anything I've done. Didn't want to. He felt it would
distract him from assessing me. He wanted to see me as me and then try to
capture that. And I respected that. I also didn't want to see his other
movies and be intimidated. So we both started on a level playing field.
Has being a part of this film altered you?
I knew going in I would come out altered. That was part of the
attraction. No one ever changes on a casual whim. You have to go in
kicking and screaming to come out the other end in some positive way with
a different appreciation for life. After a while I felt such a connection
to the insanity of the moment that I was addicted to it. Anything other
than that wasn't enough. We were scared, and that's why the film is
authentic.
 With every A-list actor in town clamoring to take a part -- any part --
in Terrence Malick's WWII epic "The Thin Red Line," the key
roles of Private Witt and Captain Staros were landed by relative unknowns:
Jim Caviezel and Elias Koteas, respectively. The two have garnered some of
the film's strongest reviews, not surprising given that Witt and Staros
represent the moral backbone of C for Charlie Company, a group of green
recruits either sickened by fear or deadened by their capacity to kill.
Although not as prominent in James Jones' earthy novel, Witt -- who
figured in Jones' "From Here to Eternity" and was made immortal
by Montgomery Clift in that 1953 film adaptation -- becomes as much a
Malick creation as a character from Jones' pen. Part rebel, part hero,
he's given a kind of tragic serenity by Caviezel, who plays him as a man
seemingly at peace with his impending death. Koteas, on the other hand,
plays Staros, a man who will avoid placing anyone in his platoon in harm's
way at any cost, with sweetness and humanity
What the actors share is an almost awestruck regard for Malick's
rigorous yet gentle approach to direction. "I think that he cast guys
for their particular essence and what they could bring to the role that's
individual," says Koteas, whose Greek heritage caused Malick to
change his character's name from Stein (in the book) and imbue him with a
palpable spirituality.
Caviezel, imitating the director's drawl, adds, "(Malick) often
says, `Jim, do whatever's real, whatever's natural.' There is a kind of
controlled chaos, but within that chaos you have many real moments."
Since Witt's character is from Kentucky, Caviezel -- who grew up in
Mount Vernon, Wash., and "couldn't speak a lick of Southern
dialect" -- spent time in Kentucky and the Black Hills, absorbing
speech patterns. He also spoke to WWII vets. "One such man talked
about the difference between killing a man with his own hands and using a
weapon," recalls the actor. "How kinesthetically different it is
feeling somebody's life leave their body as a direct result of your own
actions. And each of them says, `Well, something in me died.'"
I am not going to do
injustice to Terrence Malick's first film in nearly twenty years by trying
to compare it to "Saving Private Ryan." It just wouldn't be
fair! The movie (although far from flawless) is able to stand on its own
merits as a memorable war picture.
Although I tried to steer
clear of the "Ryan" comparisons, I did find myself noting
similarities to previous "war" films such as "Hamburger
Hill," "Apocalypse Now," and "Platoon."
Definitely good company! Thanks to some spectacularly shot action
sequences, Malick is able to achieve his biggest objective: convincing the
moviegoer that war is hell. He accomplishes this by centering more on the
ravaging psychological effects than the horrifically graphic scenes that
we've become accustomed to in other pictures.
The film is based on James
Jones's novel and is basically composed of three recurring elements:
flashbacks, narration, and potent action sequences. The movie follows the
rifle company "C" [Charlie] Company, whose mission is to secure
the all-important terrain of Guadalcanal from the Japanese, a key to
victory during the war.
The film starts as the
company lands on the island virtually unopposed, but that's about the only
quiet time these men will know. The essence of the their adventure is told
through narration which is used as effectively here as it was by Martin
Sheen in "Apocalypse," and by his son Charlie in
"Platoon." Although I would have preferred Malick use this tool
for just one of the leads instead of several, I still found it powerful
rather than distracting.
The director makes it clear
from the start that there will be no stars in this group regardless of the
egos and weekly paychecks involved. This is exactly the reason they jumped
on board accepting scale instead of their inflated salaries. By agreeing
to be part of a team, they actually resembled a real-life combat unit.
Don't be misled by the big names above the marquee -- recognizable faces
such as George Clooney, Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, and John Travolta
come and go as quickly as artillery fire.
They're all part of
well-oiled machine, but some parts work better than others no matter how
expert the craftsmanship. Jim Caviezel as the AWOL private and Ben Chaplin
as the soldier who just wants to go home are both solid, but it is the
work of Sean Penn as the noble sergeant, Elias Koteas as the captain with
the heart of a gold, and Nick Nolte as the overbearing lieutenant colonel
overseeing the operation that make the film tick with intensity.
We've seen Penn's character
played out a million times before on film. You know the kind -- the good
soldier and quiet leader. He does his job well only because he realizes he
has to. All he knows is war -- here is no other reality and he fully
accepts it even though he may not like it.
Nolte picked up an Oscar
nomination for his work in "Affliction" last year, and he proves
that he can still get the job done. In fact, at times I thought his veins
were going to pop out of his forehead. His character (Lt. Col. Tall) has
waited a lifetime to taste a piece of the action -- to show that he
belongs. He realizes that it will take the loss of many men to win the war
and he fully accepts that "sacrifices will need to be made."
It's his destiny to win the war and if he doesn't live up to his
expectations- of himself it will be his undoing!
The colonel knows very well
that taking Guadalcanal will cost nearly every young life under his
command, but he never hesitates and places the order. It is at this point
that the film really shows its heart. His second in command, Captain
Staros (Koteas), who cares deeply for his men and refuses to see them
become martyrs, dismisses the order. The film gains strength from Koteas,
who started off as a lost soul but shows (at just the right time) that he
is in fact the right man for the job, not only orchestrating a terrific
cat & mouse game with his superior but saving the lives of his men.
Staros might be a failure to his colonel, but he's a hero to the men whose
lives he saved.
Malick returns from a
prolonged hiatus with a powerful and memorable film, but it would have
been even more unforgettable if the director did a few things differently.
First of all, the time spent in the movie theater felt as long as Malick's
sabbatical. The battle scenes were exquisite, but after a while you prayed
that they would take that hill already! Three hours could have easily been
trimmed to two. Besides capturing some wonderful action sequences on film,
he also had some breathtaking shots of nature, but after a while I felt
that I was at the zoo instead of my local cinema.
Although some may prefer a
more fast-break approach than the film's half-court appeal, it is for this
reason the film works. He uses a calculating style that shows that war can
kill-slowly and convincingly. Even if war has miraculously left your body
without a scratch, it has eaten away at your psyche as well as spitting
out your soul.
The film's cinematography,
choreographed battle scenes, acting, and overall message make it worthy of
a place among last year's best. The director beautifully captures the
backdrop of war in all its anguish with some superb location shoots. The
battle scenes' precision can match those found in any other film. They're
less graphic, but since the focus is psychological and not physical, the
impact is just as strong. Malick dove head first into interpreting what
these soldiers were feeling and stresses the pain that they endured in the
face of horror and the infinite courage that kept them alive. His message,
although convoluted at times, was that these soldiers were no longer
fighting for their country, they were fighting to stay alive.
"The Thin Red
Line" is far from perfect and the journey may seem endless, but it is
still a powerful journey in which the only way the heroic victors at
Guadalcanal can get to heaven is to survive a brief stint in hell.
Home
|
|
As a member of the Armed Forces, I know all too well the implications of
defying the orders of a superior officer. 
I think that's why I could sympathize with Capt. Staros. Some
people would call Staros a coward for failing to obey orders and charge
the hill; others would see his actions as a true stance of bravery --
sacrificing your career and reputation to save the lives of your men.
Growing up, Elias said he admired Nick Nolte. In this movie, he acts
opposite his idol and holds his own, showing what a marvelous and mature
actor he has become. He portrays Capt. Staros as a reluctant
commanding officer, a perceived coward and a misconceived decorated war
hero. Is there any wonder why I admire this man?
This interview originally appeared in Inside Film on an unlisted date.
Interview by Steve Goldman. Copyright of A & R Publishing, Limited.
With every A-list actor in town clamoring to take a part -- any part --
in Terrence Malick's WWII epic "The Thin Red Line," the key
roles of Private Witt and Captain Staros were landed by relative unknowns:
Jim Caviezel and Elias Koteas, respectively. The two have garnered some of
the film's strongest reviews, not surprising given that Witt and Staros
represent the moral backbone of C for Charlie Company, a group of green
recruits either sickened by fear or deadened by their capacity to kill.