war on two fronts: Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line"

In 1998 Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line debuted in theatres and critics in the popular press were quick to discuss the revival of the World War Two film and to classify both films within this genre. Through an examination of genre, art cinema, the styles of the Steven Spielberg and Terrence Malick, and a close textual analysis of both films, this thesis argues that Saving Private Ryan, although updating generic conventions of violence through its opening segment, quickly turns traditional in its depiction of plot, character, masculinity, and nation. The Thin Red Line, however, combines conventions of the war film with elements of art cinema, producing a film that popular critics often labeled in an inadequate or incomplete manner, creating inappropriate generic expectations among viewers.