The Thin Blue Line

Where to watch: Philo

Movie · Crime · Documentary

1988 · 1h 43m · TMDB 7.7/10 (428)

Erases the border between art and activism.

Director: Errol Morris

Starring: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose

Overview

One night in November 1976, after his car breaks down on a road outside Dallas, Randall Dale Adams accepts a ride from teenager David Harris. Harris is driving a stolen vehicle and, later that night, when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulls the car over to check its headlights, he is shot and killed. A jury believes Adams is the killer, but stylized reenactments and interviews with key figures, conflicting testimonies and evidence are presented to argue that Adams was framed by a corrupt justice system, ultimately leading to his exoneration.

Director

Errol Morris

Production

American Playhouse, Third Floor Productions

Cast

Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson, Marshall Touchton, Dale Holt, Sam Kittrell, Hootie Nelson, Dennis Johnson, Floyd Jackson, Edith James, Dennis White, Don Metcalfe, Emily Miller, R.L. Miller, Elba Carr, Michael Randell, Melvyn Carson Bruder, Ron Adams, John Dillinger

Where to watch

Philo, AMC+, Sundance Now, Kanopy

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