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TREE OF LIFE REVEALS STARS, TRAILER

post #1 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:40pm
Thread Starter 
Terrence Malick is your density.

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post #2 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:42pm
I'm intrigued.
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post #3 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:44pm
Pretentious philosophical wankery or a profound Kubrick-esque cinematic experience?

The coin's in the air.
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post #4 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:46pm
My only concern at the moment is the actual plot, which seems to have the spiritual pretentions of Hereafter that are only explored at a surface level and some rough details that are a bit too film school-y for my tastes. I'm afraid that the connection between the cosmos and the central relationships in the film will come off as a bit too much for the film to sustain as well, but we shall see.
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post #5 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:52pm
It's a beautiful trailer and a beautiful poster. And people are already using the word "pretentious."

Sigh.
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post #6 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:54pm
Stupid locked down work computer. Can't install QuickTime and the trailer hasn't appeared on YT yet. Grrr.
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post #7 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
It's a beautiful trailer and a beautiful poster. And people are already using the word "pretentious."

Sigh.
Not everyone has the same idea of what constitutes a totally "beautiful trailer", especially since many users here fall on the "unfavorable" side of the Malick debate. I can easily acknowledge that he's an interesting filmmaker, but I don't think that excludes mentioning certain pretentions.

Also, I don't think expressing concerns over the risk of pretentions is in any way unreasonable. There's a difference between that and calling the film "pretentious" outright.
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post #8 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:56pm
Wow.



Just. Wow.

I don't know how anyone would start making assumptions about the film's entirety and use of the cosmos' and its relationship with the characters off of this trailer. Or why you'd want to.
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post #9 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:57pm
Now there's one theatrical poster that already looks exactly the way its Criterion release will look!
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post #10 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
Now there's one theatrical poster that already looks exactly the way its Criterion release will look!
I was thinking that too.
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post #11 of 85
12/15/10 at 3:59pm
I'm not into the whole "lyrical film about the quest for spiritual meaning by using some corny sci-fi/fantasy or literary mechanism" genre. It strikes me as the geek version of New Age religion. I'm sure TREE OF LIFE will make a lot of people around here weep tears of joy though.
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post #12 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelM View Post
Stupid locked down work computer. Can't install QuickTime and the trailer hasn't appeared on YT yet. Grrr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPe0...layer_embedded
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post #13 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Cellophane View Post
Wow.



Just. Wow.

I don't know how anyone would start making assumptions about the film's entirety and use of the cosmos' and its relationship with the characters off of this trailer. Or why you'd want to.
Again, I don't see any issues with this. If I saw the film and was discussing it on this thread, then I would be stating my viewpoint more absolutely, but I don't think that I am making assumptions that I am not willing to modify over the course of the next few months. A trailer is meant to give you a feel for the film to provoke certain reactions, and if those reactions involve concerns that the trailer brings up for you (especially if you feel that they tie into concerns that you have about the previous work of the director), then so be it.
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post #14 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:07pm
Of all the things to wonder about, I think I am most curious to see how Malick deals with the 2001 vibe the film is seemingly going to evoke.
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post #15 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:26pm
Putting aside talk of pretentiousness or what have you, did you guys look at some of that cinematography? Holy hell, there are some outstandingly beautiful shots in there. It's a Malick movie, so of course it's pretty but it looks to be even beyond his past work in terms of visuals.
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post #16 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:28pm
Is this the first time Malick has shot a film in 1.85:1? Or is that simply how the trailer is framed? It really is a gorgeous trailer. I have no idea how the origin of life material will go with the story. Interesting.
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post #17 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin View Post
Putting aside talk of pretentiousness or what have you, did you guys look at some of that cinematography? Holy hell, there are some outstandingly beautiful shots in there. It's a Malick movie, so of course it's pretty but it looks to be even beyond his past work in terms of visuals.
Emmanuel Lubezki is a terrific cinematographer. One of my issues with The New World, though, and indeed some of Malick's other projects, was that I thought too much of the beautiful photography was simply for the sake of beautiful photography, and so I found a disconnect between the shots and the material, as if many of the scenes were simply being dramatically exploited for the opportunity to have a "hey, isn't that wonderful?" moment without much regard for context. It's not necessarily a bad thing when the movie is being knowingly indulgent, but when a film as a whole has serious dramatic pretentions, it's a very noticeable issue.
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post #18 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:35pm
With the title and the cosmic imagery, the trailer was inevitably going to remind me of The Fountain, but this



could be a screenshot from the viral site for that movie. Eerie.

The rest of the trailer looks beautiful. Even if the movie should fail to entertain narratively or thematically, it'll look glorious while it does. I'll take this kind of eye candy over your Tron Legacies any day of the week.
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post #19 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:35pm
The kids playing in the DDT fog was disturbing and striking at once.
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post #20 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:42pm
Bless you!

Looks amazing. Time to watch THIN RED LINE again, I think.

(And yes, I also had a FOUNTAIN vibe from some of the visuals.)
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post #21 of 85
12/15/10 at 4:54pm
Does anyone else get a feeling that the sfx stuff in the trailer could be for the companion IMAX movie?

I seem to think this movie will be all character driven story, and the companion piece about the birth and death of the universe will be similar yet instead of Sean Penn you have the universe.

Anyone? Or am I just crazy
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post #22 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
Is this the first time Malick has shot a film in 1.85:1? Or is that simply how the trailer is framed?
Both Badlands and Days of Heaven were shot 1.85:1. So half of his movies have been in that format. IMDB lists this in 1.85:1, and I don't have any reason to believe it wasn't shot that way.

Is the IMAX movie still on the cards? Haven't heard anything about that in ages.
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post #23 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:05pm
No kidding? I haven't seen Badlands in ages, but I could've sword that film felt like it was 2.35:1 on my tiny TV back then. My perception of Malick's technical tastes was all wrong. My mistake!
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post #24 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:11pm
That. Is. Jawdropping.

And I'm saying this as someone who's not the hugest fan of Malick - if the film lives up to the trailer it'll be something incredible.
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post #25 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:14pm
Just looks amazing. For anyone wondering the music which plays towards the start of the trailer is called Vltava and is by the horribly underappreciated Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. The film looks incredible enough, but the use of Smetana had my inner classical music geek beaming with joy.
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post #26 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:21pm
I disliked Thin Red Line but loved, love The New World, and it all hinged on the dialogue in the heads of the actors. In TRL, the language was far more poetic than I could image grunt troops using and thus it took me out of the movie many times. In NW, I found that same dynamic worked. I am a bit nervous about seeing the kid of age 7 wax poetic about his "mom and dad wresting for me" line.

Other than that, I am psyched for this. Cinematography looks amazing! I can't believe I have to wait 7+ months to see this. Sheesh!!
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post #27 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:30pm
Malick is one of those directors I really, really wish I felt in my gut and heart the way so many people do.

Many people I respect go apeshit for all his films. Intellectually I can apprehend the appeal. I don't go around saying "Man, fuck all those faggot Malick fanboys" or anything. I know Malick is the higher math and I "get" what he's doing, and I can even respect what he's doing; in a universe where there's a fucking Yogi Bear movie, you better thank the cinema gods there are still directors like Malick even if you just aren't feelin' him. But there's me, and there's him, and the two just don't intersect on that cellular level that creates passion for a filmmaker's work.

It's not him, it's me. I know this; no need to point it out. There are people who just can't get into Kubrick, who to me is beyond compare. When something like this trailer drops and everyone goes nuts over it, my feeling is a sad outside-looking-in feeling. Wish I were at the I-love-Malick party. Can't do it.
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post #28 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:31pm
I never took the narration by the characters in The Thin Red Line (or any of his movies, really) to be their literal thoughts, but more a representation of their essence. And I think that disconnect was absolutely intentional, as was the way the voices of the grunts sort of blended into one.
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post #29 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:33pm
Martin: as with all things great or horrid, YMMV. If it helps, I don't care for Woody Allen.

I prefer TRL to TNW, and find the narration works for the exact reason cited above: I believe the war pulled out the poetic in those men. And I didn't buy it for some of NTW, because I just didn't believe it's how the characters thought.
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post #30 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:48pm
Malick could make paint drying the cinematic can't miss experience of the year. This looks fucking awesome.
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post #31 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:49pm
Confession: Still never seen a single one of the guy's films.

Basically, vibe I get from this is The Fountain, but focused on life rather than death. Which is a-ok by me.

And yes, the visuals, even in suburbia, are astounding.
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post #32 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
The kids playing in the DDT fog was disturbing and striking at once.
Was wondering what that was. That's fucked up.

This looks incredible.
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post #33 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Confession: Still never seen a single one of the guy's films.
Do yourself a huge favor.
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post #34 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin View Post
Putting aside talk of pretentiousness or what have you, did you guys look at some of that cinematography? Holy hell, there are some outstandingly beautiful shots in there. It's a Malick movie, so of course it's pretty but it looks to be even beyond his past work in terms of visuals.
I've been thinking the same thing. It seems to marry the intimacy of his earlier films with the wide scope of beauty of his last two.

I think The New World was a chance for Luzbeki to learn Malick's film language. This really seems to have stepped it up.
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post #35 of 85
12/15/10 at 5:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambler View Post
Do yourself a huge favor.
Last I checked, Thin Red Line's still in Netflix Instant. I'm getting there.
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post #36 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Confession: Still never seen a single one of the guy's films.
I've only seen THE NEW WORLD and THIN RED LINE. I'd suggest starting with NEW WORLD. TRL is pretty great, but you definitely have to be in the right mood/frame of mind to see it.
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post #37 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:16pm
Stunning! Subtle! Luminous! I didn't Nordling, but that's one of the best trailers I've seen in a long time.

Badlands is probably my favorite movie, so the trailer could've been two minutes of a pooping ass and I'd still be there on opening night. Malick might not be prolific, but his films make almost everything else seem judgmental by comparison.
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post #38 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelM View Post
I've only seen THE NEW WORLD and THIN RED LINE. I'd suggest starting with NEW WORLD. TRL is pretty great, but you definitely have to be in the right mood/frame of mind to see it.
Badlands is his most accessible, and a much better starting point.

This trailer kicked my ass in front of Black Swan. Luckily this isn't the kind of movie that gets a thousand trailers, teasers, and screenshots, because I want to go into this one as virgin as possible.
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post #39 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll View Post
Luckily this isn't the kind of movie that gets a thousand trailers, teasers, and screenshots, because I want to go into this one as virgin as possible.
Same. I've seen enough. Just give it to me.
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post #40 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin View Post
Putting aside talk of pretentiousness or what have you, did you guys look at some of that cinematography? Holy hell, there are some outstandingly beautiful shots in there. It's a Malick movie, so of course it's pretty but it looks to be even beyond his past work in terms of visuals.
Seriously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
And yes, the visuals, even in suburbia, are astounding.
SERIOUSLY.

I don't know if I'll like the movie, but I love the trailer's sound & images. Breath-taking. Looks like an IMAX worthy film for sure.
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post #41 of 85
12/15/10 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Last I checked, Thin Red Line's still in Netflix Instant. I'm getting there.
Having the benefit of starting fresh, I'd recommend going in order, but it's not that a big a deal.
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post #42 of 85
12/15/10 at 7:02pm
You know how everyone was going on and on about Olivia Wilde after the TRON trailer dropped? That's how I feel about Jessica Chastain after this trailer. She looks positively luminous in some shots.

This also looks like it'll actually be a good movie, so, y'know, that helped too.

FUN FACTOTUM: I was a stand-by scuba diver while this was shooting in Austin a few years ago. They never ended up using me, but still, it was a fun few days.
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post #43 of 85
12/15/10 at 7:04pm
Chastain looks like a slightly older Bryce Dallas Howard in a lot of these shots. This film is going to be magic-hour/ethereal-glow cinematography porn!
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post #44 of 85
12/15/10 at 7:43pm
I think this looks fantastic. Absolutely stunning looking (no surprise). Telling the story of a human life in the context of its cosmic history has always appealed to me creatively, so this film looks to hit my sweet spot.

While we're talking about Malick films for Malick virgins, let's not forget Days of Heaven. That's pretty accessible, and his best looking film for my money.
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post #45 of 85
12/15/10 at 8:04pm
No matter where they fall on the scale of coherence, there is always a depth of feeling in all of Malick's work, and this one looks to be no exception. And that score . . . damn.
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post #46 of 85
12/15/10 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by damimegood View Post
And that score . . . damn.
OMG, agreed. Gives me chills just from the trailer. I really hope this movie is as good as it looks.
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post #47 of 85
12/15/10 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JuddL View Post
OMG, agreed. Gives me chills just from the trailer. I really hope this movie is as good as it looks.
Like I said earlier, that ain't the score. That's a piece of music from 1875 by Bedrich Smetana called Vltava. Listen here.

If you like it, you should listen to the MA VLAST suite it comes from.
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post #48 of 85
12/15/10 at 9:12pm
After seeing my first Malick film on Sunday (The Thin Red Line on Criterion Blu-ray!) I'm eager to see this new film. It looks marvelous.
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post #49 of 85
12/15/10 at 9:23pm
If the film touches me emotionally and gets under my skin like that trailer just did, I feel I'm in for a very personal, moving, beautiful cinematic experience.
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post #50 of 85
12/15/10 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeglosIstarion View Post
With the title and the cosmic imagery, the trailer was inevitably going to remind me of The Fountain, but this



could be a screenshot from the viral site for that movie. Eerie.
Yeah, I definitely got the same vibe as you did. Also reminds me of certain shots from Sunshine.
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