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Is It Hollywood or Is It History?

© John Lovett

Is It Hollywood or Is It History? That is the question that is most often asked by Sander Vanocur in MOVIES IN HISTORY on The History Channel . That expression caught my attention, but we'll get back to that. This last week or so, he has been showing excerpts from THE THIN RED LINE along with interviews from actual participants of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The two interviewerees, Ken Hoser, USA, and William Schumacher, USMC, participated in action on Guadalcanal. They both came to the conclusion that THE THIN RED LINE was 60% history and 40% Hollywood.

When intervewed, George Stevens, Jr., the producer of THE THIN RED LINE stated that he was trying to stay faithful to Jones' original book and portray the men of that conflict as Jones' saw them. In that effort, he succeeded. In showing warfare as it was in the Pacific, he did not do as well.

As a rule, I watch war films with a jaundiced eye. I have been the recipient of attempts on my person by belligerent forces and have a sense of what goes on in combat. At least, I think I do. I don't think any person who has experienced combat can accurately describe their experience. I am also not particularly involved in nit - picking esoterica out of movies. That is, I really don't look for the wrist watches in SPARTACUS. However, if I see things in the movie or TV show as egrecious as a soldier in WWII wearing Vietnam era web gear, ranks turned upside down, or a soldier of WWII wearing a VN service ribbon I get a little upset.

THE THIN RED LINE has a number of these little mistakes. Nick Nolte as the battalion commander is wearing his rank on the underside his collar. Okay as far as that goes, but the little clips (dammits) are subdued. Subduing rank did not come in until 1968/1969. Also, I don't believe rank was held on by the little clip connectors in WWII. I believe they had pin backs. When the battalion is advancing on the Japanese bunker, the artillery explosions are WAY TOO BIG. Hollywood has yet to understand that mortar explosions are small puffs of smoke. It's not the smoke that makes the explosion.

In another of the more emotionally charged scenes, Nolte loses his temper when he orders a company commander to advance on a hilltop. There are two itty - bitty problems with the scene. He probably would have listened to the company commander in his recommendation without screaming. Second problem, there's this little button on the handsets. It's called the push - to - talk button. That's what you have to do to operate to the radio phone: push - to -talk. Neither actor on either end of the radio used the PTT switch. They both screamed at the same time. Sorry, can't happen. This film needed badly a real military advisor.

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