After arriving on the scene with Badlands and Days of Heaven in the 1970s, Terrence Malick disappeared from filmmaking for decades. In 1998, however, he made a glorious comeback with The Thin Red Line, an adaptation of James Jones‘ 1962 novel. In addition to many of the cinematic hallmarks audiences have come to associate with Malick, including voiceover narration, stunning cinematography, and the often confounding exploration of existential themes, the World War II drama is notable for its ensemble cast.
From Sean Penn to John Travolta to George Clooney — alongside a handful of up-and-coming actors who would soon become household names — the film features a murderers’ row packed to the hilt with talent. But due to Malick’s fluid and ever-evolving approach to storytelling, several actors involved with The Thin Red Line were in for a rude awakening when it hit theaters. While some of them had their screen time cut down to next to nothing, others were shocked to discover they’d been altogether removed from the final film.
Who Was Cut From ‘The Thin Red Line’?
When Terrence Malick arrived in Australia to shoot The Thin Red Line, he was in the company of a dedicated crew, hundreds of extras, and an impressive core cast. Among some of the older and more experienced actors on-set, like Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson, was Mickey Rourke, whose role would ultimately hit the cutting room floor. “It was some of the best work I ever did,” he said in 2005. “I’d gone through a really bad time and Terry knew about it so he incorporated it into the character. It really worked.” As Rourke has theorized, his role was cut because of his less-than-stellar reputation within the film industry at the time, leaving a lasting and upsetting impression on the actor who would later make one of Hollywood’s greatest comebacks.
Rourke wasn’t the only well-known actor whom Malick cut from The Thin Red Line, with Bill Pullman and Lukas Haas also having shot scenes that never saw the light of day. According to Indiewire, behind-the-scenes photos of Pullman and Haas exist, though the substance of their respective roles may never be known, and neither actor has publicly discussed his work on the film. As it turns out, Malick wasn’t only selective about on-screen performances, reportedly opting to discard three hours of narration recorded by Billy Bob Thornton in favor of a collage of voiceover work from multiple actors.
Adrien Brody Was Originally Cast as ‘The Thin Red Line’s Lead Character
While The Thin Red Line is an ensemble film, it’s difficult to name one particular character as its lead. As Adrien Brody recalls, however, he was originally cast as the film’s lead, making the experience of seeing the final cut all the more shocking when he discovered his role had been drastically reduced. In a 2001 interview with The Independent, Brody said, “The pressure on that film was that I had to carry the movie with a cast of stars that I truly admired. I was so focused and professional, I gave everything to it, and then to not receive everything…in terms of witnessing my own work.”
Understandably, the realization he’d been cut from The Thin Red Line was a bitter pill for Brody to swallow, and he doesn’t mince words when discussing the disappointment he experienced as a result. “It was extremely unpleasant because I’d already begun the press for a film that I wasn’t really in,” he said. Brody also hasn’t been shy about expressing feelings of disillusionment over his experience of working with Terrence Malick, telling The Independent, “You know the expression ‘Don’t believe the hype’? Well, you shouldn’t.'”
The Thin Red Line is currently available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.
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