The Thin blue line

Duration: 101 mi

Genre: Educational

Year Published: 1988

Creator: Films Incorporated

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Described by Errol Morris as a non-fiction feature, this non-traditional documentary, probes the circumstances surrounding the conviction of Randall Dale Adams in the November 28, 1976 slaying of a Dallas police officer. On the day in question, Adams was picked up by David Harris, a 16-year-old with a criminal past, and the two drove around town before Harris deposited his passenger at a motel. A few weeks later, Harris was questioned by police regarding the murder of the officer and fingered Adams. Morris builds a convincing filmic exoneration of Adams using interviews, and haunting, stylized re-enactments, reminscent of film noir and underscored by Philip Glass's melancholy monothematic music. The director navigates a labyrinthine path through the testimony of witnesses and court officials to expose the gross miscarriage of justice which resulted in Adams' life sentence. In the film's chilling conclusion, Harris, in prison for a subsequent murder, is heard in a taped interview confirming Adams' innocence and his own culpability. Based on Morris' cinematic investigation, Adams, who at the time of filming had served 12 years in prison, was released. (Circulates) , The story of police protection provided to the people of this country.

Complete Record: Described by Errol Morris as a non-fiction feature, this non-traditional documentary, probes the circumstances surrounding the conviction of Randall Dale Adams in the November 28, 1976 slaying of a Dallas police officer. On the day in question, Adams was picked up by David Harris, a 16-year-old with a criminal past, and the two drove around town before Harris deposited his passenger at a motel. A few weeks later, Harris was questioned by police regarding the murder of the officer and fingered Adams. Morris builds a convincing filmic exoneration of Adams using interviews, and haunting, stylized re-enactments, reminscent of film noir and underscored by Philip Glass's melancholy monothematic music. The director navigates a labyrinthine path through the testimony of witnesses and court officials to expose the gross miscarriage of justice which resulted in Adams' life sentence. In the film's chilling conclusion, Harris, in prison for a subsequent murder, is heard in a taped interview confirming Adams' innocence and his own culpability. Based on Morris' cinematic investigation, Adams, who at the time of filming had served 12 years in prison, was released. (Circulates) , The story of police protection provided to the people of this country.NOTE: Two (or more) records have been merged together to create this data.