The Tree of Life (2011)

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Okay!!... The movie will be released this December (at least that's what the producers want) for it to get under Academy's attention.

Word is, Malick has not finished cutting the movie down from three to two and a half hours. (Back at the University of Texas at Austin, he lets film students take a crack at editing various scenes.) The film was submitted to the MPAA and received a PG-13 rating.

Another person with an investment in the movie is Pitt, who according to someone who has seen it, gives an awards-worthy performance, along with Jessica Chastain as his wife (Penn stars in the film’s book-ends, apparently). The movie is technically gorgeous (shot by Emmanuel Lubezki), an experimental, non-conventional narrative, says the source:

“It’s a mystical exploration of the meaning of life, a journey in which a microcosm of a family mirrors the world; the differences between man and woman, husband and wife, are mirrored against nature and grace. It will change the language of movies. It’s a real event. People will say, ‘what the fuck is this?’”

Jack Fisk designed the film, while Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey) supervised the practical visual effects, and composer Alexandre Desplat assembled a classical score.

I wonder if Malick is stalling the inevitable: getting reviewed. This may be one reason why he’s already prepping an October start for his next movie, a romantic drama set in Oklahoma with Ben Affleck and Rachel Weisz attached; Pohlad will produce, and Glen Basner’s Film Nation is handling overseas pre-sales. Could this be a sign of a crack in the hitherto airtight relationship between Pohlad and Summit’s Patrick Wachsberger, who raised overseas advances for The Tree of Life (which cost somewhat more than its original $32-million budget)? These territories are still waiting for their movie. Will they be happy when it comes? Summit plans to release Pohlad’s Fair Game this November. Some sources predict that Summit will eventually release The Tree of Life too. Neither Summit nor River Road would comment.

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This is one movie movie that I am eagerly waiting for. I hope they give it a December release, but if it's not done and Terrence Mallick thinks that he is not done with his film then so be it as I don't want him to rush things and release it this year. I rather see a perfectly edited and directed film next year.

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Moderators and Adminisrators please change the heading of this topic to OCTOBER from DECEMBER. The movie is more likely to release October. According to this article the film is going to open October only as Limited Releases. This is going to be the biggest film of the year.

Article:

A member of the Home Theater Forum was treated to an early screening of Terrence Malick’s long-awaited Tree of Life last night “at work.” I’d love to have his job. You can check out his impressions below a long with possible release news.

Saw TREE OF LIFE the other night at work and it really is amazing. Hypnotic, more like. I won’t give anything about it away here, but yes it is long and there has already been talk in the news about Malick releasing it, then re-cutting it, then re-releasing it, etc.

The main bulk of the film is about his childhood growing up in Texas (reels 3-7 out of 9!). The “creation” footage is outstanding, absolutely jawdropping, and does indeed feel like 2001 – a lot of the effects are practical and your eyes can see that, which makes it really fascinating to watch. I don’t have a problem with the creation footage being connected to his boyhood, after all, most boys love dinosaurs, so that’s how I looked at it.

The story is framed around the death of his middle brother (in Korea?? We never know) and is a reflection on the circle of life, the evolution of life out of the mess of the Big Bang, but also about life itself (the strained relationship with his severe father, a stunning performance by Brad Pitt, just stunning), and the end of the Universe. I still haven’t given anything away that hasn’t already been said in the press. The film just has to be seen to be believed! One feels like a child again, seeing the world through young wide eyes.


On possible release and runtime:

Yes, it is finished! I believe it releases in October but it may be a limited release. And yes again it’s about 3 hours! There is talk of a cut down version, which Malick did for New World as well, but nothing confirmed.

There you have it. Take it with a grain of salt, since it is just a forum post, but it is better than nothing for what is my most anticipated film of the year. If they do actually plan to release in October, I’m surprised we haven’t heard anything. Stay tuned to TFS for more Tree of Life details as they come.

What do you think of the early impressions?

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I'll be at the earliest screening of this film no matter what. Although I doubt it'll happen in October.

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discoveringuy wrote:I'll be at the earliest screening of this film no matter what. Although I doubt it'll happen in October.
This is going to be epic and sounds like OSCAR is going to Brad Pitt this year.

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i'm very intrigued by all the applaud for brad pitt's performance...quite curious to see what he did to make people speak so highly of him

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talli wrote:i'm very intrigued by all the applaud for brad pitt's performance...quite curious to see what he did to make people speak so highly of him
Same here. I was thinking about the same. I cannot wait.

P.S. - Moderators, I just found out that there is a thread created already long time ago about this film. Can anyone fix it?

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I can wait to see this movie, it will be a major Oscar contender.

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When I first read that Malick was gonna make this movie I said... this movie will get the best picture at the oscars... when I found out Brad Pitt will be in the main role.. I said Brad Pitt finally got his hands on the statue... I stay confident that The Tree Of Life will be a mind-blowing movie. 8-)

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I want a bloody teaser.

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