MovieChat Forums > The Thin Blue Line (1988) Discussion > A thought or two on the director

A thought or two on the director

posted 18 years ago by Axaroth
10 replies | jump to latest

I just realized I've seen 4 Errol Morris documentaries in the last year. I really liked Thin Blue Line and Fog of War. I thought Dr Death was pretty good. I didn't really like Gates of Heaven.

Errol Morris is very deliberate in his presentation of his topics, wouldn't you say? I know there are some real film authorities on these boards. I've never studied film or anything, I just watch lots of them. My fiance would definitely describe his films as "slow". Thin Blue Line is slow at times, which is remarkable to me because I found the subject fascinating.

Do you think it's worth the time Morris spent in this film showing all the reenactments, or the drive in movie theater footage of people in cars watching the films Adams and the other guy saw? Do they add to the feel of the moment enough to justify having them in? Some details he included, like showing the small differences between the two models of blue car, were very worthwhile because it showed how easily a witness could confuse what they saw. But other details or stock footage didn't add much, to me. This, to me, slows the film down as I'm watching.

My fiance is out of town, but I guarantee she would have fallen asleep during this film. She would see the whole thing eventually, but it would take a few tries. The pacing is too deliberate to keep her awake, hehe.

I bring this up to pose another question:

How aware do you think the director is of the fact that his style of presenting these topics will put some people to sleep? Do you think he purposely paces his films the way he does? What would be some reasons for what to me is slow pacing?

I think it's amazing Morris has chosen to take on the topics he has. I've made little documentaries of my own with video cameras, and even simple things are incredibly hard to make into good movies. Fog of War was probably pretty easy to make, once McNamara decided he wanted to be involved. But Thin Blue Line--- I cant even imagine what Morris must have gone through to get all those people to participate and be interviewed on camera. Or scenes like the drive in movie with the movie showing that the guys had watched--- I assume Morris had to set that whole scene up and film it, yes? That's a TON of work!

So having said all that, I wish Morris would make his films a little more accessible to a general audience. EVERYONE should see Thin Blue Line. EVERYONE should see Fog of War. The subjects are so important. But an "average" moviegoer will never hear of or find these films. My fiance certainly wouldn't, and neither would hardly anyone else I know. I don't personally know anyone who has seen an Errol Morris film before I recommended one to them. This is really a shame.

I'll leave it there and hope that some other users' responses may enlighten me.

[–] BDavis- 18 years ago

Funny. I just got through watching The Thin Blue Line, and about 10 minutes into the movie, my girlfriend looked over at me with her "Oh no, not another crappy off the wall weird old documentary" eyes. 20 minutes after that, she was asleep. :) I don't have anything to add in response to your questions, but I'll say that I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie.

[–] tay-15 18 years ago

It's just a 100-minute documentary. Anyone who can't stay awake is either not interested, or too tired.

Yeah, documentaries aren't paced like Spielberg's latest, since they usually rely on interviews, and static images. Ironically, TBL is a lot more dynamic than most documentaries I've seen, with the re-enactments, the singular music, the unusual filming techniques.

I think most films that make you think are slower paced. That's a mechanism of the film that makes you think. Like watching 2001.

Unfortunately, we've become more accustomed to fast-paced, no-think entertainment.

After this one, make sure to turn your girlfriend on to the Sorrow and the Pity.

[–] danielhegder 18 years ago

I don't think a slow pace necessarily equals boring or sleep-inducing. The subject matter is serious and complex and needs appropriate time to reveal itself. The alternative - having it faster and more kinetic - would have almost trivialised the movie. I like Michael Moore's films but I think people often don't take them seriously enough because they are engaging in the same way that MTV is and thus get dismissed.
The Thin Blue Line is a documentary with a very filmic eye, but much of its aethestic is made up of the still-shot interviews. Think about what ISN'T in the movie though: voice over, title-cards explaining who everyone is, television news footage from the period, Errol Morris himself.
Maybe it is a shame that people won't see this film, but I doubt it's the pace that turns them off. Some people just won't see a documentary, no matter how well made.
By the way, to anyone that enjoyed this film and felt strongly about it, I cannot recommend the documentary Paradise Lost (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117293/) any more. It involves a similar miscarriage of justice but no exoneration.

[–] tay-15 18 years ago

I also like to consider films in a historical context. TBL broke some new ground, there was really nothing like it before. Since then, stylized dramatizations have become so commonplace, whether in a documentary or shows like CSI ...

Since you mentioned another documentary about justice or its miscarriage, I would recommend Reckless Indifference -- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265633/combined. Not as arty as TBL, but they definitely had TBL on the brain: The film addresses some highly dubious convictions, and there's even a haunting theme on the soundtrack, natch.

[–] tcole666 18 years ago

You should see Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control next. I believe Errol Morris is one of the few film makers working today that is in complete control of his medium resulting in a transcendence of the form. To me he is the Stanley Kubrick of documentarians. I think the pace of his movies and all his choices of shot, image, and sound are orchestrated in a way so masterfully that the viewer, if open to his style, will walk away from the experience considering much more than the immediate intent of the subject. His films seem to be more ruminations on themes that are inspired by the subject he is investigating and less pure documentaries. The pace and the music seem to me the means by which he is able to create this reflective environment.

After watching The Thin Blue Line I ended up considering not only the nature of the criminal justice system, but also the motivating factors of individuals, the way we hear what we want to hear and discount that which doesn't validate our beliefs, the idea of winning and the destructive consequences of that supposedly noble desire, the struggle to be heard amidst the din of public perceptions, and how simple choices can have life altering consequences.

Think about the shot of the milk shake flying slow motion through the air and sploshing onto the ground. In the time of that shot and the subsequent images the viewer is able to consider so much more than what could explicitly be expressed.

As for Errol Morris achieving "average" moviegoer exposure - don't hold your breath. Not to be condescending in the slightest, we are trained by the majority of the movies presented to us to expect something completely different than what he offers. Most movies are step by step progressions than lead to an ultimate conclusion which is fine and good. But all movies don't have to be that way. When confronted with abstraction and juxtoposition and space for out thoughts to roam, we don't recognize that which we are comfortable with and lose interest and discount the experience. Errol Morris shouldn't alter the style he has been cultivating through the years in order to garner larger audiences, but we should hope one day more people will be open to what he creates.

[–] polysicsarebest 15 years ago

Never found any part of the film slow or boring in the least.

"But an 'average' moviegoer will never hear of or find these films. "

What? My mom owned a copy of this movie, and my mom likes BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHA. Plenty of "average" people know of this film (and Fog of War).

[–] robb-20 15 years ago

Sounds like you need to trade in your fiancee for a little bit brighter more intelligent model. Sorry dude but that's the truth. A filmmaker can't make this exactling, well described and detailed documentary and make it feel the same as American Idol or Project Runway. And ask Randall Adams, since Morris saved his life, I'm sure he can appreciate the painstaking detail and deliberate pacing Morris took to overturn the evidence of the state and his death penalty conviction.

[–] The_Great_Ahmed_Kahn 15 years ago

Agreed. There should be no countenance for the stupid...cute or not.

(my wife liked this movie)

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

"His style of presenting these topics will put some people to sleep".

There´s nothing wrong with the pacing - if someone really "goes to sleep" watching these films, it clearly indicates they didn´t have any real interest in the material in the first place. There´s no point in trying to try to cater to every dumb yokel out there. And what exactly should be done to speed things up, really? In a certain comical sense it´d be interesting to see TTBL edited at a pace of a Michael Bay movie, with an average shot length around a millisecond, but that hardly serves the stuff right... right?

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] Broodhunter2 11 years ago

I have seen (and own) a lot of Errol Morris movies. Thin Blue Line, Gates of Heaven, Vernon Florida, Fog of War.....

I think his pacing is brilliant. People who fall asleep during movies just because they aren't staring big name actors or have things blowing up and that sort of thing, are people who have labotomized themselves already.

For the coward there is no life, for the Hero there is no death"
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