526 - The Thin Blue Line, United States, 1988. Dir. Errol Morris.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

526 - The Thin Blue Line, United States, 1988.  Dir. Errol Morris.

Randall Adams, 28, and his brother drove to Dallas.  On their way from Ohio to California.  They arrived on Thanksgiving night.  The next day Randall got a job.  The next day, Saturday, he went to start his new job.  But his new job did not start on Saturday.  They were not working.  They were closed, as always, for the weekend.  His job would be begin on Monday.

Adams was a little eager.

So he started to drive back to where he was staying.

He ran out of gas.

He got his gas can out of the trunk and started walking.

David Ray Harris, 16, was driving his blue Chevy Vega.  He saw a man walking down the side of the street carrying a gas can.  He presumed the man was out of gas.  He offered him a ride.

The next day, Sunday, they hung out.  Drank beer.  Smoked joins.  Went to see a movie.

That night, at 12:30 am on Monday, November 29, 1976, Officer Robert Wood was shot and killed by a small-caliber pistol at point-blank range when he pulled over a blue Chevy Vega with the license plate containing the letters HC.

His partner, new female officer Teresa Turko, shot at the car as it sped away, and then went to her partner's side.

What happened?

Who did it?

Who all was involved in the subsequent case?

How did it turn out?


Errol Morris continues with his new documentary method, in this his third film, of setting the camera on a tripod and allowing the interviewees to speak, without himself or any other interviewer speaking.  We hear no questions.  Only monologues.

Randall Adams speaks.

David Harris speaks.

Judge Donald J. Metcalfe speaks.

The detectives.  The attorneys.  The witnesses.  The friends.  Many people speak.

We are left to piece the pieces together and decide for ourselves.  What happened?  Who did it?  Who all was involved in the subsequent case?  How did it turn out?

But Errol Morris does something new here.

He creates dramatic reenactments using actors to portray the stories.  Something that was not done at the time, and was considered controversial.  But is a standard now.  It is in fact an entire industry.  Production companies and entire TV channels now are dedicated to reenactment shows.  For better or worse.

Morris also goes to the trouble of tracking down footage from TV shows and movies referred to by the interviewees.  He has to find them, find who owns them, and pay for the rights.  And several of them are obscure.  Never released to the public.


Try not to read about this film before you see it.  Most articles give too much away and spoil the viewing experience.

The Thin Blue Line was a watershed film in Morris' career.  And for composer Philip Glass.  It made an impact as well.