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The Thin Red Line

1998 · directed by Terrence Malick · 171 min
24,324 feet · Prominence
729th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredNo Rewatchables episode on file.

How this film scores

Draw61

Lifetime worldwide gross $98m, re-releases included; about $199m in 2026 money.

Rank1,742 of 11,051In 199837 of 198

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise85

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics79 baseAwards56 signal → +6 lift

Oscars7 nominated Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Dramatic Score, Sound
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy52

Judged directly: Criterion Malick, cinephile standing endures.

Verdict52 of 100IMDb7.6 from 212kWikipedia43k views a monthAge28 years

On the listsCriterion Collectionevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 925 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 61 praise 85 legacy 52averages 66, placing it at24,324 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Nick Nolte19,320 ftJim Caviezel19,161 ftSean Penn19,056 ftElias Koteas18,508 ftBen Chaplin18,507 ftJohn Cusack18,080 ftJohn C. Reilly17,980 ftDash Mihok17,855 ftAdrien Brody17,663 ftWoody Harrelson17,661 ftJared Leto17,654 ftJohn Travolta17,653 ftGeorge Clooney17,652 ftThomas Jane17,651 ftNick Stahl17,646 ftJohn Savage17,644 ftTim Blake Nelson17,642 ftMiranda Otto17,634 ftMark Boone Junior17,633 ft