Watch The Thin Red Line

The Thin Red line is based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It shares the lives of two American soldiers in Charlie Company during the World War II invasion of Guadalcanal. The movie was filmed in black-and-white. The film focuses on the sensitive and emotional Private Doll and his apparently merciless Sergeant Welsh, played by Jack Warden. It begins with the meeting of the two and the theft of a Colt .45 pistol by Doll who later uses it to kill a Japanese Soldier. The red line referred to in the film's title is a metaphor for what distinguishes an ordinary and caring man from a killing soldier and how Private Doll transitioned into that killing soldier.

Doll completes that transition at the end of the film where he crosses the red line with a small contingent of men that engage a large number of Japanese soldiers in combat.