KODAK: Shooting the Movies

John Toll, ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), received two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Cinematography: in 1995 for Legends of the Fall, and in 1996 for Braveheart. The Thin Red Line has also earned the cameraman a New York Film Critic's Circle Award and a Golden Satellite Award nomination. Toll's other credits include Wind, Jack, The Rainmaker and the upcoming Simpatico.

"Right from the beginning, Terry (director Terrence Malick) and I talked a lot about making the viewers feel as if they were watching this story from close up, almost as if they were participants. A lot of what the characters go through emotionally is unspoken, so it was necessary to convey those moments in a visual way. We wanted the camera to tell the story and yet somehow be part of the story — almost as if the audience was making the same journey as the characters.

"We hauled some lights into the jungle, but when we turned them on, they completely changed the character and nuances of the natural light. It was beautiful in there, but we were dealing with extremely low light levels. There were subtleties in the colors and gradations of the natural light that completely disappeared when we mixed in any artificial fill light. There was plenty of contrast, though, because the sunlight that did filter in created great hot highlights." Toll immediately recognized the value of this natural look, and made great use of it throughout the film. Most of The Thin Red Line was shot on Eastman EXR 5248 film.