Red Line on Arte: This actor found out he wasn’t in the movie and nobody warned him

The Battle of Guadalcanal was a key stage of the Pacific War. Marked by encounters of unprecedented violence, it pitted the Japanese and Americans against each other for long months in the heart of a heavenly place inhabited by peaceful Melanesian tribes. Voices intertwine to convey the horrors of war, reassurances, complaints and prayers intertwine…

In 1999, Saving a Soldier Ryan won 5 statues at the Oscar ceremony. La Ligne rouge, which marks Terrence Malick’s big return to cinema after a 20-year absence, remains in obscurity with 7 Oscar nominations and no awards that night. Not even the best photography to highlight the exceptional work of cinematographer John Toll, who sometimes spent hours waiting for the right lighting.

The lack of reward that evening, all the more damaging red line is, so to speak, a rather rare example of a war film with some philosophical depth, produced in large part by Major. A real risk that unfortunately didn’t pay off as the film didn’t even make $100 million worldwide, where Spielberg’s film made over $480 million.

In this sublime poem and reflection on culture and nature, which gives and takes away (figuratively) life and death in the midst of hostile nature, on thought and language, humanity and inhumanity, Malik the Pantheist constructs a fabulous gallery. characters, all of whom are eventually engulfed by the vengeful forces of Mother Nature.

“The world and life are one” said the great philosopher of language Ludwig Wittgenstein. An auteur of whom Malick is a deep admirer and a point that the filmmaker proves wonderfully with this film, is sublimated by the hypnotic music of Hans Zimmer, who signs perhaps his most beautiful soundtrack here.

Death in the field of honor

It was with this extraordinary film that the legend of “Malik Carver” was built. Imbued with an almost mystical aura, the announcement of a return behind the camera after such a long absence caused panic behind the scenes in Hollywood. Many stars were ready to accept any role in his film, even a silent role, as long as he appeared in the credits.

We know that Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicolas Cage or Josh Hartnett wanted to film. red line. Of course, nothing will come of it. But there’s still a fabulous line-up of actors on the bill. Even if for some, their character’s screen presence has been significantly reduced, such as George Clooney, John Travolta. Or Adrien Brody, who even thought he had one of the main roles in it before finding out he only had a few lines left in the final cut.

And there are those who filmed their scenes but never made it into the final cut of the production. Bill Pullman, Gary Oldman, Martin Sheen, Jason Patrick, Viggo Mortensen. and Mickey Rourke.

We can easily imagine his bitterness when he discovered the film without seeing a single image of his presence in it. He played a desperate rebel sniper, leaving the jungle only to run out of ammunition. A character who is terrified and driven mad by the horrors he has witnessed.

Unfortunately, only a small part of this scene was cut during editing; A longer version can be found on Criterion’s deluxe US DVD/Blu-ray edition.

In 2005, Rourke confided in the interview His bitterness: “It was one of the best roles I’ve ever played. I’d just gone through a really tough time and Terry knew that and he put that into my character. It really worked.”

If his character was cut, that is “for a political reason” Rourke added. “It really got to me. Because of my temperament towards the industry, my scenes were cut.” Fire the actor who felt betrayed by the filmmaker when he discovered his complete absence from the film.

If it’s true that Rourke had a reputation for being unmanageable on set, despite his immense talent, as if his own worst enemy were himself, we’re not bound to fully subscribe to that view.

Actually, and more simply, Fox contracted Malick for less than 3 hours of editing, which is already generous. Provided that it is also set there, the war film obliges, big swigs for battle scenes. In the inevitable and brutal arbitrations that were made, the Rourke role that we so desperately wanted to see was left entirely on the editing table.