The Thin Blue Line

Over the years, there have been many different types of documentary films made ranging from those that are educational to those that have more of a performance component. Although most of the documentaries do inform the audience about the subject matter, hardly any of them have go beyond just informing and actually make a difference. One of the few documentaries that has made a difference is Errol Morris' film The Thin Blue Line. This documentary was sort of a murder mystery. Morris was trying to figure out who really killed police officer Robert Woods in the 1976/77 shooting.

The Thin Blue Line is an interesting documentary because of its interesting set up. Throughout the film, Morris uses three types of footage: interviews, archival materials, and reconstruction. Before this time, reconstruction was not a method used in documentary films. Critics felt that a filmmaker could not make a credible film using reconstruction. However, Morris proved everyone wrong. By using reconstruction, he was able to show the audience all of the different scenarios of what actually occurred on that night from the numerous testimonies he gathered. Basically, there were two suspects: Randall Adams and David Harris. Harris had picked up Adams along the side of the road after he ran out of gas. The car Harris was driving was stolen. Despite the fact that Harris already had a lengthy criminal record at the age of 16, the 28 year old Randall Adams was accused of the murder and found guilty. One of the big factors that played into the sentencing of Adams was that he was an adult and could be sentenced to the death penalty.

Harris was let go free of punishment but later got sentenced to prison time for killing a man. On December 5, 1985, Morris interviewed Harris one last time. During this interview, Harris admitted that Adams was innocent and that he himself was the one that killed the officer. It is ironic that the psychiatrist declared Adams as unsafe and that he would kill again when in actuality Harris was the murderer and did end up killing another innocent bystander.

In the end, Morris was able to prove Adams innocence. Exactly one year after The Thin Blue Line was released, Randall Adams was discharged from his prison sentence. Morris' documentary literally got Adams out of his life sentence and gave his life back to him. In addition to that, the film also proved that reconstruction can be effective.