SummaryA documentary which argues that Randall Harris was wrongly convicted of the murder of Dallas police officer Robert Wood by corrupt system of justice.
Directed By:Errol Morris
Written By:Errol Morris
The Thin Blue Line
Metascore
Generally Favorable
79
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.4
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
25% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
A mesmerizing reconstruction and investigation of a senseless murder. It employs strikingly original formal devices to pull together diverse interviews.
100
A fact-filled study that's also a full-fledged work of cinema art. [2 Sept 1988]
User score
Universal Acclaim
93% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
4% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
4% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Feb 6, 2023
10
This documentary should be required viewing for everyone including law enforcement.
Jan 23, 2016
9
It's a thrilling and compassionate, and objective tale of justice gone wrong. An in-depth look at the wrongful convictions which persist in our legal system, and how the facts are often right in front of us for us to witness, but sometimes no one wants to look at them. It's gripping, and it's real journalistic filmmaking at its finest.
90
Morris has fashioned a brilliant work of pulp fiction around this crime. [26 Aug 1988, p.C6]
75
At first I was irritated by what I felt were the unnecessary repetitions, but the film's final effect - for all its laughs - is a shocking reminder, as Adams says with resignation, that the lady who holds the scales of justice is blindfolded. [21 Mar 1988]
70
Morris pulls off a genuine shocker to cap his film, but his method exacts its price. It takes fully a third of the film's 109 minutes to become involved in it, thanks to Morris' deadpan tone and the initially jarring effect of his intercutting between straightforward talking heads and his B-movie reenactment of the crime. [2 Sept 1988]
60
The larger considerations and film noir overtones detract too much from the facts of the case, and what emerges are two effective half-films, each partially at odds with the other.
50
It is an intriguing subject, though so far all that Morris has brought to it is a combination of the morbid and the cruel; he needs to develop some sympathy, too. [16 Sept 1988]
Production Company:
- American Playhouse
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
- Program Development Company Productions Inc.
- Public Television Stations
- The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
- Fourth Floor Productions
Release Date:Sep 1, 1988
Duration:1 h 43 m
Tagline:A softcore movie, Dr. Death, a chocolate milkshake, a nosey blonde and "The Carol Burnett Show." Solving this mystery is going to be murder.
Awards
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Nominations
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
