The thin blue line effected realworld change, proving film s power beyond the shadow of a doubt. Instead, it is a masterful film that slowly reveals a hidden universe. Finally, the the thin blue line script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the errol morris movie. The thin blue line film actually presents two plots. Errol morris construction of innocence in the thin blue line renee r. A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in dallas. But errol morris the thin blue line is not sensational in any traditional sense. Death though grigson has a memorable interview with randall adams that the latter recounts for the thin blue line. Home films explore films the thin blue line 1988 member rating.
In the years since, although he has worked on several projects, there has been no new morris film until the thin blue line. This is my entry for t in the blogging a to z challenge. A recent poll by the british film institute ranked it fifth in the documentary pantheon. Released by nonesuch records in 1989 containing music from the thin blue line 1988. The film contained reenactment scenes built carefully from witnesses statements, which became common in later documentary. Film summary errol morris chilling film, the thin blue line, tells the story of a regular man going about his everyday life when fortune turns against him.
Randall adams, 28, runs out of gas on his way home from work. It strongly makes a point that the circumstantial evidence was very flimsy. The thin blue analysis jess, joe, sam ap lang randalls attorney goes into more detail concerning randalls case and how everyone seemed to be against him while david was getting off easy which really just showed the viewer that the town was biased and had very little. The thin blue line 1988, directed by errol morris film.
On november 28, 1976, when drifter randall dale adams was picked up by teenage runaway david harris, his fate was sealed. The thin blue line film 1988 wikipedia bahasa indonesia. The thin blue line is an atypically constructed documentary with apparent production value. Created by ben elton, the series aired from 1995 to 1996. Video archive for the film the thin blue line, which has a domestic theatrical release in the year of 1988. This film, released in 1988 was instrumental in getting randall adams released from prison in 1989, after he had. A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in dallas county, texas imdb. A movie trailer for errol morris 1988 film the thin blue line. The thin blue line 1988 one night in november 1976, after his car breaks down on a road outside dallas, randall dale adams accepts a ride from teenager david harris.
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. Before making a murderer, before the jinx, before serial, there was the thin blue line, errol morris 1988 documentary investigation into the murder of a police officer named robert wood in. Fortunately the director, who has been a private detective, has done such. The thin blue line is a 1988 american documentary film by errol morris, depicting the story of randall dale adams, a man convicted and sentenced to death for. Instead, it is a masterful film that slowly reveals a hidden universe by simple allowing everyone involvedcriminals, judges, police. The thin blue analysis by samantha eligene on prezi. In fact, it becomes apparent that harris was a much more likely. Errol mark morris born february 5, 1948 is an american film director primarily of documentaries examining and investigating, among other things, authorities and eccentrics. Billed as the first movie mystery to actually solve a murder, the film is credited with overturning the conviction of randall dale adams for the.
Movies can enrich lives, movies can brighten lives and, in the case of errol morriss masterpiece the thin blue line, movies can even save lives. This has to go on my list of the best 100 movies ive ever seen. The movie brought the case to national attention, but it was my investigation part of which was done with a movie camera that got randall adams out of prison. After all was said and done it was kind of unbelievable.
The thin blue line is a 1988 american documentary film by errol morris, depicting the story of randall dale adams, a man convicted and sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. There are currently three videos available for the film, of which one and only one is a trailer, as listed below. The thin blue line adalah sebuah film dokumenter amerika 1988 karya errol morris, yang menampilkan cerita randall dale adams, seorang pria yang. Gates of heavenvernon, floridathe thin blue line the. It will immerse you in the tale of a complete miscarriage of justice. A work of meticulous journalism and gripping drama, it recounts the disturbing tale of randall dale adams, a drifter who was charged with the murder of a dallas police officer and sent to death row. Randall adams, david harris, gus rose, jackie johnson, marshall touchton, dale holt official content from criterion collection. The thin blue line and the ambiguous truth inquiries. I have often heard people say that the thin blue line got an innocent man out of prison. In this classic police sitcom, rowan atkinson plays inspector fowler, head of the uniformed branch of the fictional gasforth police station. Film critic roger ebert, meanwhile, described film as an empathy machine that allows us to step into someone elses shoes for a few hours. That night, a police officer was shot in cold blood. Will a new movie succeed in getting convicted murderer randall dale.
Among the most important documentaries ever made, the thin blue line, by errol morris, erases the border between art and activism. Documentaristextraordinary morris original and delightfully bizarre slice of investigative film journalism attempts, successfully, to set the record straight. This is the criterion collection edition and includes a new interview with the director just made last october, 2014. Welcome to the thin blue line official youtube channel.
Fowler is constantly in battle of wits with di grim and the criminal investigation department. Director errol morris in the thin blue line, 1988, was highly criticized for using reenactments within his documentary film because people worried that the vividness of the reenactments will misconstrue the actual events of what happened. Death, a chocolate milkshake, a nosey blonde and the carol burnett show. In short, one could imagine the thin blue line as a quite different film, one about an innocent man convicted of murder because the police believed he was gay. Having originally stumbled upon the subject, morris chose to make the documentary after he became personally persuaded of the convicted mans innocence curry 157.
Morris next film, about the strange and wonderful people who can be found in and around a small southern town, was called vernon, florida. The thin blue line unravels like a detective story and engages in the practices of several of the conventional processes of the documentary layout yet correlates them in a manner that was strikingly distinct to the standard methods used back in nineteen eightyeight, and even now the results stand head and shoulders above the majority of true crime features. Foremost it has a score courtesy composer philip glass, and previsualized cinematography morris website contains storyboards for the film. Thin blue line facts law enforcement patches morale. Why did errol morris choose the thin blue line as the title of his film. E rrol morriss the thin blue line 1988 is widely recognized as a monumental achievement in the documentary tradition.
The thin blue line 1988 depicting the story of randall dale adams, a man convicted and sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. Thin blue line uses the reenactment style of documentary storytelling and ive heard was one of the first pioneers. Most audiences would expect a documentary made about a police officers shooting death to be sensational also. The film is credited with overturning adams conviction, a crime for which he was sentenced to death. Curry california state university, san marcos the home box office video promotional campaign for errol morris documentary the thin blue line 1988 calls the film a new movie mystery and aligns it in the tradition of the executioners song and in cold.
The film smartly stops the presentation of the story itself from being an attentiongrabbing account of a lack of justice, and. There are over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the united states. The film shows the audience the evidence gathered by the police, who were under extreme pressure to clear the case. This modern moaning aside though, the thin blue line is a well made film that simply and matteroffactly condemns the justice system as it applied to randall adams. The thin blue line soundtrack from 1988, composed by philip glass. The film touches on issues of feminism and racism, but when it comes to sexual orientation, the thin. The thin blue line is the true story of the arrest and conviction of randall adams for the murder of dallas policeman, robert wood, in 1976. Incorporating stylized reenactments, penetrating interviews, and haunting original music by philip glass, morris uses cinema to build a case forensically while effortlessly entertaining his viewers. Kevin macdonald the director of touching the void and the last king of scotland on the power of 1988 documentary the thin blue line. Errol morris construction of innocence in the thin blue.
Laying out a case for wrongful conviction, the movie played a major role in. Here are some staggering facts about our law enforcement and the thin blue line. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of the thin blue line. The shooting death of a police officer is a sensational subject. Autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play next. I feel, you know, shucks, i shouldnt have done that. Walking to the nearest gas station, a stranger stops his car and offers adams help. His 1988 documentary the thin blue line is cited among the best and most influential documentaries ever made. In 2001, it was placed on the national film registry by the library of congress. The thin blue line script transcript from the screenplay. Revisiting the thin blue line 1988 and its missing. 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.
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