Should you watch The Thin Blue Line?
Who it’s good for, who it isn’t, and what’s in it. No ratings, no scores.
The Thin Blue Line
Documentary · 1988
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.
The sides of The Thin Blue Line
- A policeman shot dead at a Dallas traffic stop
- A man sentenced for a killing he says he did not commit
- The same night retold by each witness
The Thin Blue Line is good for you if…
- you want a real case laid out witness by witness.
- you like testing one account against another.
- you like a repeating score that holds the dread steady.
The Thin Blue Line is bad for you if…
- you need momentum, this one circles the same night.
- a killing and a death sentence are too much for your evening.
About: justice · truth · doubt
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