The Thin Blue Line (1988)

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Documentary investigating the 1976 murder of policeman Robert Wood in Dallas, Texas. Randall Adams was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death, after 16-year old David Harris blamed him for the crime. But filmmaker Errol Morris pursues the question of who was in fact responsible for the crime.

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Directed By: Errol Morris

Written By: Errol Morris

Starring: Randall Adams, Gus Rose, David Harris, Jackie Johnson, Dennis Johnson, Marshall Touchton, Floyd Jackson, Dale Holt, Edith James, Sam Kittrell, Dennis White, Hootie Nelson

Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery

Country: USA

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The Thin Blue Line belongs to 63 collections

1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 232 stars)

2. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 165 stars)

3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)

4. Rotten Tomatoes - over 95% (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 32 stars)

5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)

6. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)

7. National Film Registry (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)

8. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)

9. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)

10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)

11. Best of criticker: Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 26 stars)

12. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)

14. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 20 stars)

15. Best of criticker: Documentary (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 20 stars)

16. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)

17. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)

18. Best film of top directors (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)

19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)

20. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)

21. Sight and Sound 2012 (collaborative: moderated by DavidB - 13 stars)

22. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 13 stars)

23. True crime (collaborative: moderated by djross - 11 stars)

24. Criticker top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 11 stars)

25. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (public: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)

26. The Village Voice: 150 Groundbreaking Films (public: kevinjoseph - 9 stars)

27. Netflix USA (public: mpowell - 8 stars)

28. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)

29. Sight & Sound Greatest Documentaries of all Time (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 5 stars)

30. Availability: Netflix Canada (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 5 stars)

31. Djross best documentaries (public: djross - 5 stars)

32. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)

33. BFI Screen Guides' 100 American Independent Films (collaborative: moderated by Coheed - 4 stars)

34. Harvard University's Suggested Film Viewing List: Non-Fiction Films (collaborative: moderated by dardan - 4 stars)

35. Average Percentile >70 (collaborative: moderated by peyrin - 4 stars)

36. BFI 100 key Documentary films (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)

37. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)

38. Djross film as art (public: djross - 3 stars)

39. Capital Punishment (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 2 stars)

40. Netflix Watch Instantly (public: dgeiser13 - 2 stars)

41. Djross anatomy of a murder (public: djross - 2 stars)

42. mwgerb's Netflix Instant Queue (public: mwgerb - 2 stars)

43. Philip Glass (composer) (collaborative: moderated by djross - 1 star)

44. Time Out's 50 Best Documentaries of All Time (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 1 star)

45. Sight and Sound 2002 (Single Vote) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)

46. Top Film of Each Year (public: Judge Holden - 1 star)

47. Coheed's Celluloid Pit (public: Coheed - 1 star)

48. Edgar Allan Poe Awards: Best Motion Picture (public: sianaa - 1 star)

49. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)

50. Fascinating Crime Documentaries (collaborative: moderated by jimmyjazz)

51. Movies Every Man Should See (Esquire) (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub)

52. Parodied in Documentary Now! (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)

53. Favorites: Documentaries (collaborative: moderated by KasperL)

54. Djross seen at the cinema (public: djross)

55. Djross 1988 top ten (public: djross)

56. us-tv Kenny 101 Documentaries (public: timxyz)

57. 1988: Year in Review (public: polanski28)

58. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 21 (public: PeaceAnarchy)

59. Movies to See: Documentaries (public: Lord Moe)

60. Netflix List (public: Walser14)

61. Sight and Sound 2012 - Combined list - Part II (public: Ariaz)

62. Watchlist - Dokumenty (public: MikiRurk_STG)

63. Streaming List (public: xreleased)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

Order by:

TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
7	Judge Holden	8 _94th
This is not a documentary, it's a horror story disguised as a documentary. It's a terrifying look at a gross miscarriage of justice, and a chilling reminder of how -- without warning -- our lives can be completely ruined by forces beyond our control. The last scene -- Harris' final interview -- is one of the most frightening things you'll ever hear. "Probably been thousands of innocent people convicted and probably be thousands more. Why? Who knows."
6	frederic_g54	9 _90th
Vastly engrossing and overpowering, "The Thin Blue Line" is a fantastic documentary. It's hard for me to label one as a masterpiece (which I rate >90), but it's by far one of the best ones I've seen, mostly thanks to the haunting subject and Glass's enthralling score. The use of re-enactments was a great idea, that part has really stayed with me.
5	sensei	100 _99th
It's a terrifying and absorbing montage of interviews, still pictures, re-enactments, and a haunting score. One of the best documentaries ever. On the subject of re-enactments: this was the first time they didn't make me cringe (they're great, in fact). If there's any fault with Thin Blue Line, it's that it probably helped popularize re-enactments in documentaries, which has led to the swaths of shitty ones we have to endure now.
5	Jeb	95 _87th
Vastly absorbing documentary about how the justice system is so screwed up. Morris puts a lot of hard work into this, recreating the incident, articles and newspaper headlines. Transcends into being more than just a Documentary, but a horrifying, true and exposing Thriller. Reccomended.
4	doctor7	92 _95th
Superb documentary that really illustrates how the justice system can be manipulated and bent to the will of others. Morris creates a compelling story without narration and lets the story unfold through impressively filmed reenactments and strikingly candid interviews. By allowing the viewer to simply see and hear what the people involved say he makes the end result, Adams' wrongful conviction, all the more powerful and disgusting. Excellent score as well.
4	jimmynmu	95 _97th
A really strong documentary, the score is excellent. I really liked how we are introduced to two men, and during the course of the film we understand (and even like) the characters before we learn what they did.
4	Paxton	80 _87th
A dropped milkshake has never been more dramatic, except for one time when I dropped one. Dammit all I wanted to drink that milkshake.
3	MartinTeller	87 _89th
A really horrifying story of the failure of our justice system. The re-enactments and Philip Glass score help make this an engaging film.
3	willofgaia	90 _72nd
Completely engrossing -- this transcends being a documentary, and these people become the players in a film that you root for, that disgust you, that you feel sympathy for. And that final interview, with the camera on nothing but a tape recorder is one of the most haunting scenes in cinema.
3	Pickpocket	10 _98th
Great documentary or greatest documentary?
3	theficionado	88 _87th
Goes beyond its questioning of the justice system to become an epistemological mindfuck. The quintessential Errol Morris.
3	BillyShears	100 _98th
A completely absorbing documentary;chilling stuff.
3	CMonster	91 _95th
Murder, lies, and interracial couples round out a plethora of moral repugnancy that Errol Morris astoundingly and expertly explores in what should be considered one of the, if not the, greatest documentaries of all time. Just rewatched it for the first time since I was in high school and was blown away by its brilliance and the perfect score by Phillip Glass. And still, the most convincing message of the film is that women should not be allowed to be police officers.
2	jstry	87 _83rd
Really fascinating, shocking (sort of), and downright scary that the justice system could be so messed up. Morris's use of varying reenactments and the way he let the story tell itself made for a really gripping documentary. Looking forward to seeing more of his work.
2	hellsditch	80 _62nd
My first exposure to Morris' work, and I'm excited to see more. I don't know how he gets these people to be so revealing and intense, but hats off to him. A very interesting film about the malleability of truth that constantly twists the audience's perception of what is fact and what is a lie. In a word...absorbing.
2	fenixdown	81 _79th
The content is great but it's a little dry. Oddly found myself liking David more than Randall. D:
2	TrixRabbi	76 _50th
My rating is a bit off here because frankly I was a bit bored during the film. Nothing particularly shocked me because I read about these kinds of stories all the time. However, I would not hesitate to recommend this film to anyone. Everybody should see this movie, especially if you've always held an idealized view of the justice system. A piece of history and an important film. I hope they screen this to Criminal Justice students. It should be required.
2	ratedargh	90 _85th
Pretty gripping indictment of lazy or desperate policing and irresponsible prosecution. Cinematically, it's nothing special but the straightforward interviews slowly piece everything together to form a really interesting whole.
2	SirSass	80 _92nd
The blonde ladies left eye is just as lazy as the conviction in this case.
2	lisa-	7 _92nd
fantastic documentary that delves deep into an unsatisfactory justice system. it reveals the possibility of converging testimonies despite diverging realities. it even goes beyond that into some almost metaphysical question of why people end up where they do. this note is most clearly heard in the truly chilling final interview. also philip glass doesn't hurt when you want to feel all philosophical and mysterious.
2	rosenritter	7 _69th
I'm hesitant to express admiration for a murderous psychopath, but David Harris is truly captivating. There's an incidental profundity to some of the things he says, as if he's a character in a Coen bros movie. The Philip Glass score is similarly spellbinding.
1	wayofthegun	85 _78th
Very well-made documentary about a pretty common subject/theme, but the camerawork and score set this one apart.
1	AFlickering	4 _58th
not a postmodernist rejection of the goals of verité so much as an ironic rebuttal to its methodology, it asserted that to find the truth about a species which exists, individually and culturally, inside a maze of self-serving fictions, cinema should dive headlong into artifice itself. thirty years later this no longer seems very radical nor among the most comprehensive examples of its argument, but that's a testament to its formative influence, which i'm very grateful for.
1	Suture Self	7 _67th
How can anyone support the death penalty after watching this?
1	KasperL	80 _86th
This excellent documentary setting a new standard for reconstruction visuals tells a fascinating true story while problematizing the notion of truth. Actually managed to free a wrongfully incarcerated man, if I remember correctly.
1	WWallce4prez	90 _95th
One of the most fascinating and engrossing documentaries I've seen. Wonderful film making from the master, Errol Morris.
1	AndreasThau	80 _77th
The story, the reconstrucion of it and of course the context of succesfully freeing an innocent man solely because of solid research is all pure class. And worthy of a watch. The reconstruction scene of the shooting was shown probably 100 times though, which I found quite annoying. Also, some passages are so "undertold", that some viewers will lose attention, unable to follow the development. Third, it's not very artistically potent, with static and sorry pictures. Those were the ups and downs.
1	Noblet	86 _87th
Simply an amazing documentary. The re-enactments, paired with the great Phillip Glass score really made this film great. Knowing that this movie actually got the innocent man out of jail made me appreciate it even more.
1	snallygaster	37 _29th
Maybe I shouldn't be ranking this, but I've watched it twice now and both times I was left without any recollection of the experience, even while the end credits were still rolling. Just a 1h41m gap of missing time. I really don't know what I need to do to successfully see this movie. Is it haunted? Am I being abducted by aliens? I don't even know if it's boring
1	JSchlansky	75 _67th
This wasn't as funny as I expected. I'm not even sure who Rowan Atkinson played but he definitely nailed the accent

Average Percentile 74.85% from 1422 Ratings