The Tree of Life (2011)

[DeeEmEcks]

Dag I have not seen this yet, but I really want to. I am all for longer cuts, but 6 hours sounds a bit extreme. Maybe when I've seen the theatrical I'll want a lot more also though!

Looking forward to the blu ray release indeed.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

The same article that mentions the "new" six hour cut also said that the movie was originally an 8 hour cut. We heard the same crap with "THin Red line" but it never materialized, so i'm not holding my breath. Film was amazing. If it doesn't win best Cinematography then i don't know what reason i have for giving a crap about the Oscars from that point onward. I can't wait to see whatever version on Bluray.

except that Malick is working on the cut now... confirmed by his cinematographer.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

Why would Warner license it to Criterion instead of keeping all of the profits for themselves? On the other hand, smaller, more obscure, and arthouse films have a better chance with Criterion.

Exactly! I don't know why people think that Criterion can somehow magically put out whatever it wants as if all movie titles were in the public domain. But having said that, I'm surprised that Criterion wound up with "The Strange Case of Benjamin Button", which was a major studio release.

Giving titles to Criterion made sense for the larger studios when Blu-ray was a much smaller market (just as the major record labels don't do vinyl versions themselves, they license them out), but now that it's getting larger, it makes no sense for a major studio to give any titles that have any chance of success to Criterion, except for titles that need restoration.

[eiknarf]

Just saw it.

I could tell the audience didn’t love it.
What I found strange was, with the exception of my wife and I, the entire audience was old people.

It's like watching a screen saver.

[Banger]

I really enjoyed this film, however, there's just no way I could sit through a 6 hour film unless some heavy drugs were involved. I'm glad I saw the original cut in the theater.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by The Blufather

haha, I was just reading the widipedia on Uwe Boll:

Uwe Boll (German pronunciation: [ˈuːvə ˈbɔl]; born June 22, 1965) is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company.[1] He is also considered one of the worst directors of all time.[1][2][3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwe_Boll

Damn, he gets eaten up alive in the criticism. Don't think I've ever seen an Uwe Boll movie, look pretty much like garbage.

A few years ago, Uwe Boll challenged film critics to a boxing match as a promotional stunt and a couple of them accepted. What they didn't know is that Boll was an amateur boxer. You'll have to YouTube or Google to find the video, but it's pretty funny

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by The Blufather

haha, I was just reading the widipedia on Uwe Boll:

Uwe Boll (German pronunciation: [ˈuːvə ˈbɔl]; born June 22, 1965) is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company.[1] He is also considered one of the worst directors of all time.[1][2][3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwe_Boll

Damn, he gets eaten up alive in the criticism. Don't think I've ever seen an Uwe Boll movie, look pretty much like garbage.

I loved the HOUSE OF THE DEAD video game back in the early 2000’s… but Uwe Boll’s HOUSE OF THE DEAD movie adaptation was border-lining on embarrassing =( I cringed when I watched it.

[Banger]

I'll def. buy this when it comes out.
I'm sure it will look beautiful on blu.

[EVOLVIST]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

I wished he'd sent the same letter overseas. I was surprised by how soft and just generally unimpressive the film looked. Also, there were a surprising amount of dust and specks on the print, for a relatively new print. I'd love to watch it again on the big screen, but that experience has made me decide to wait for the Blu-ray.

Same here. There were vertical lines, scratches, dirt, specks and all sort of anomalies. Morever, the sound was totally naff.

The one good part about that, however, is that my focus was more forced to look for all the detail I could. I could tell it would look beyond beautiful on BD. The sound, on the other hand, I don't know what to expect from my sole theatre viewing.

I won't see it again until the BD release.

[Snicket]

Still waiting impatiently for this. I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters, I don't know why the distribution was so crappy, it seemed to do fairly well $$$ wise, and got high marks from critics.

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Exactly! I don't know why people think that Criterion can somehow magically put out whatever it wants as if all movie titles were in the public domain. But having said that, I'm surprised that Criterion wound up with "The Strange Case of Benjamin Button", which was a major studio release.

Giving titles to Criterion made sense for the larger studios when Blu-ray was a much smaller market (just as the major record labels don't do vinyl versions themselves, they license them out), but now that it's getting larger, it makes no sense for a major studio to give any titles that have any chance of success to Criterion, except for titles that need restoration.

Sometimes it's funny to see and hear what people think about the way distributing rights work.

It's not, however, completely unreasonable to hope that Criterion will gain the rights to distribute this title sometime in the near future. I can almost guarantee you that they will try to acquire the rights from Fox at some point. They have quite a few directors on their list whose films they make every attempt to gain rights to, no matter what studio owns said rights, and Malick is one of them.

The reason The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was allowed an exclusive BD release under the Criterion label by Paramount is because:

1.) Criterion likes Fincher. Look for The Game (Universal Studios) to be coming soon from CC.
2.) It was a part of an agreement back in 2008 to allow Paramount to distribute one new title and several catalog titles through Criterion. Days of Heaven, although a Criterion DVD before the agreement, was included in that.

It's funny to me that some people think that Criterion is a competitor to the major studios, which I assure you Janus Films doesn't hold a candle to any of them. Some people say, "why would [insert studio name] want to give their film away to Criterion?" One thing is clear: nobody is "giving" away their film for distribution, and Criterion isn't the only one making money when they distribute another studio's films. A lot of studios will distribute a film on their own for the first few months/year, then allow Criterion to distribute it, and restore/remaster, or work with the prints for a new digital master, case and point: Fear and Loathing. While it is ridiculous for people to want Criterion to distribute all their favorite films (who wouldn't), and Criterion certainly doesn't use sorcery to acquire the rights for their films (however, some would disagree), it's not near absurdity to think Criterion could gain the rights to The Tree of Life. After all, Criterion has made agreements with Fox before, i.e. Bigger Than Life.

[shesha]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Still waiting impatiently for this. I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters, I don't know why the distribution was so crappy, it seemed to do fairly well $$$ wise, and got high marks from critics.

You missed a life altering experience. I sat silently in my car with my GF for 5 min. after the movie, kind of pondering life. The imagery is so powerful, that I believe Terrence could film me pooping for 3 hours, and make it the most beautiful thing in modern cinematic history.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by shesha

You missed a life altering experience. I sat silently in my car with my GF for 5 min. after the movie, kind of pondering life. The imagery is so powerful, that I believe Terrence could film me pooping for 3 hours, and make it the most beautiful thing in modern cinematic history.

Umm...Thanks for the beautiful imagery there.

[MTRodaba2468]

Originally Posted by jwerk

lol @ Uwe Boll calling Tree of Life a "Piece of ****". Yep, Uwe Boll

Source

Would love a Criterion release of this. Especially if it is a 6 or 8 hour edition!

That's hilarious.

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Exactly! I don't know why people think that Criterion can somehow magically put out whatever it wants as if all movie titles were in the public domain. But having said that, I'm surprised that Criterion wound up with "The Strange Case of Benjamin Button", which was a major studio release.

Giving titles to Criterion made sense for the larger studios when Blu-ray was a much smaller market (just as the major record labels don't do vinyl versions themselves, they license them out), but now that it's getting larger, it makes no sense for a major studio to give any titles that have any chance of success to Criterion, except for titles that need restoration.

As stated before, Criterion had a deal with Paramount beforehand. Even then, they weren't the ones that did the release; Fincher's team (headed by David Prior) produced the supplements, Criterion just gave it a spine number and a "wacky-C" on the cover.

Anyway, is it possible that Criterion will eventually release it? Sure. They've worked with Fox before on newer releases (see The Darjeeling Limited), and they're certainly Malick fans. But it's not a guaranteed release either.

[iam1bearcat]

Originally Posted by shesha

You missed a life altering experience. I sat silently in my car with my GF for 5 min. after the movie, kind of pondering life. The imagery is so powerful, that I believe Terrence could film me pooping for 3 hours, and make it the most beautiful thing in modern cinematic history.

Is it weird that I find the "sitting in the car in silence with my gf" portion of this comment a million times more unsettling than the "Terrence Malick could film me pooping" portion of it?

[double_l4488]

I did not like the ending of this at all, but it was a very intresting movie. The shots in space especially with that amazing classical music should look and sound incredible on blu-ray.

[keldons]

so any confirmation or official announcement from Fox yet?

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by keldons

so any confirmation or official announcement from Fox yet?

October 11 sounds about right

[Carl Elvis]

Horrible horrible movie, I can't stress it enough. Complete waste of time, there is no real story or plot, just a mesh of pretty and strange imagery. If you like going to museums and trying to figure out meaning in abstract paintings then this is the movie for you.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Carl Elvis

Horrible horrible movie, I can't stress it enough. Complete waste of time, there is no real story or plot, just a mesh of pretty and strange imagery. If you like going to museums and trying to figure out meaning in abstract paintings then this is the movie for you.

Malick's films are not for everyone that's for sure. But its certified fresh at RT with 85%, so calling it "horrable" is a bit out of line, but that's your opinion and your welcome to it.