Director: Terrence Malick

[Sn2.ru]

Give it up for cinema's very own riddle wrapped inside an enigma, shrouded in poetry, deep fried and covered in the gray matter of a MIT philosophy professor. The antithesis of prolific, Malick has made only four full-length films in his 35+ years of filmmaking, yet he remains one of the most revered American directors/screenwriters and a respected figure in post-classical Hollywood.

I think Malick is the only American director to rival Kubrick in his legendarily scrupulous editing process. Malick is known to shoot millions of feet of film, only to spend up to three years slicing and scrapping most of it (sometimes leaving entire characters out of the final cut). The rhythm of his editing is remarkable, and the imagery is some of the most breathtaking I've ever seen.

I was pretty disappointed by his 2005 film, The New World, starring Colin Farrell (blech). The film is well shot and full of Malick's typically brilliant voice-overs and dialectic of sound and image, but I feel I had much trouble finding meaning in the story. The film rambles even more than its predecessor (The Thin Red Line) and, as a story, I think it's just rather weak. Recently, I heard a rumor that a new Malick project examining the life of Che is now in pre-production.

Ranked:

1. Badlands A+
2. Days of Heaven A+
3. The Thin Red Line B+/A-
4. The New World C+

Anyway, share yer thoughts on Terrence Malick.

 

[posner]

His movies are certainly some of the most beautiful of any living director. I would probably bump the thin red line up to an A- or maybe an A. I haven't seen the new world yet. Badlands is an amazing movie. I liked days of heaven a little less, but it's still great.

 

[Banquo]

Thin Red Line is fantastic. Badlands is on the to-see list.

 

[L2R]

^+1
The Thin Red Line > Saving Private Ryan

I've been meaning to see Badlands for some time.

 

[121]

I think Malick is the only American director to rival Kubrick in his legendarily scrupulous editing process. Malick is known to shoot millions of feet of film, only to spend up to three years slicing and scrapping most of it (sometimes leaving entire characters out of the final cut). The rhythm of his editing is remarkable, and the imagery is some of the most breathtaking I've ever seen.

I was pretty disappointed by his 2005 film, The New World, starring Colin Farrell (blech). The film is well shot and full of Malick's typically brilliant voice-overs and dialectic of sound and image, but I feel I had much trouble finding meaning in the story. The film rambles even more than its predecessor (The Thin Red Line) and, as a story, I think it's just rather weak. Recently, I heard a rumor that a new Malick project examining the life of Che is now in pre-production.


Anyway, share yer thoughts on Terrence Malick.

I love Terrence Malick. I remember there not being much press for The Thin Red Line, especially since Saving Private Ryan came out around the same time. The Thin Red Line was a much more difficult film than Saving Private Ryan so many people i knew that saw it did not recommend it to me. Upon seeing it I thought it was one of the most beautiful powerful and unique war films ever created. I've never seen a war film that dealt with war, death, and conflict on such a poetic level, or that told its story in such a choppy creative way, and that had such incredible gorgeous cinematography. And that was the first Malick film I saw. Badlands and Days of Heaven came next and those were even better. I love how the story in all of his films is second to what he is trying to express through cinematography. Days of Heaven might as well have not had a plot at all, and I would have loved it just as much.

I didn't see his new film though. I will probably check it out on dvd. But I havn't heard many good things about it. I don't really hold it against him that he used Colin Ferrell as his lead, considering he used Richard Gere in Days of Heaven and several A list hollywood actors i don't like for five minute segments in Thin Red Line.

This is the first i've heard of him doing a Che film. I'd love to see that.