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The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

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Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#21

Post by rdtsc »

hondo77 wrote: post #19
rdtsc wrote: post #5

Like the first line says, he is probably the least known famous director. That is, he is not an activist and not flashy, doesn't make a lot of movies, and the general public simply doesn't know about him. But all the other movie directors and famous actors know him and kind of idolize him. When Thin Red Line came out in 1998 he hadn't done a movie since 1978 (Days of Heaven) and yet he snagged all the famous actors t…

They were falling over themselves to make *a* movie with him. Not so much *another* movie with him. I just happened to watch a video about that this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqoQoN-Pb5I

> They were falling over themselves to make a movie with him. Not so much another movie with him. I just happened to watch a video about that this morning

I think one of the main points of the movie is there is no "lead actor". In that regard it's realistic as far as wars go -- there is no "Tom Hanks" character going to rescue a "Private Ryan" with magic plot armor surrounding him. As an aside, that movie was released the same year, so it makes for a great contrast.

Jim Caviezel's character (Witt) sort of became like a main character in the end but he still dies, surrounded and shot. Granted he sacrificed himself, which is notable, as well.

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#22

Post by badc0ffee »

CharlesW wrote: post #11
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh I remember that movie, very relaxing, put me right to sleep zzz

Ask your doctor if TikTok™ is right for you.

There's a wide range of attention spans between a 2-hour experimental film and TikTok.

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#23

Post by UncleOxidant »

rdtsc wrote: post #5

Like the first line says, he is probably the least known famous director. That is, he is not an activist and not flashy, doesn't make a lot of movies, and the general public simply doesn't know about him. But all the other movie directors and famous actors know him and kind of idolize him. When Thin Red Line came out in 1998 he hadn't done a movie since 1978 (Days of Heaven) and yet he snagged all the famous actors t…

His movies may be "artsy" but he had a big influence on cinema. I watched Badlands for the first time a couple of years ago and I kept having to remind myself that it was made in 1973, not 1993 or 2003. It just seems like a film that's out of place in time, but that seems to be because it influenced later films.

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#24

Post by UncleOxidant »

haunter wrote: post #9

>There is a new film in the works, The Way of the Wind, about the life of Christ. Géza Röhrig plays Jesus, Mark Rylance is Satan. It was shot in 2019. The word is that it will open at Cannes in May. But I’m not sure they said which year. Sadly not this year either :( Probably my most anticipated film of the decade, I loved all the Terrence Malick films I've seen so far.

I hope he's able to finish it.

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#25

Post by _m_p »

This book is particularly great about discussing the process of filmmaking, which in Malick's case often seems to involve a ton of experimentation through editing in order to shape a film after photography had finished.

(Some of this editing work notably led to major actors having their roles cut from films. Adrien Brody, for example, apparently believed that he was going to have the lead role in _The Thin Red Line_ but ended up entirely cut.)

For those interested, Richard Brody's book about Godard and Carrie Rickey's book about Agnes Varda are similarly detailed about the specifics of their filmmaking work!

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#27

Post by _m_p »

_m_p wrote: post #25

This book is particularly great about discussing the process of filmmaking, which in Malick's case often seems to involve a ton of experimentation through editing in order to shape a film after photography had finished. (Some of this editing work notably led to major actors having their roles cut from films. Adrien Brody, for example, apparently believed that he was going to have the lead role in _The Thin Red Line_…

Those interested may also really like this article about the cinematography of _Days of Heaven_: https://theasc.com/articles/photographing-days-of-heaven

> My work became "de-illuminating," that is, removing the false and conventional light.

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#28

Post by julianpye »

I watched Tree of Life in the cinema. I was spellbound. It spoke directly to me, no mental processing of a story, I was tuned to this film. I didn't feel its time. As the film ended a girl behind me said to her friends 'this was the biggest piece of shit I have ever seen'. I understood her and it was a perfectly fine opinion. She didn't 'get it', but it didn't have to do with taste or intelligence or anything like this. She was just not able to receive it - as if it was a signal sent she could not process.

Our wedding rings have these words from the film engraved: 'unless you love, your life will flash by'. We married late - our kids were already almost at school. The love in the words is about the love of your family, just like in the film.

And why the Thin Red Line is perfect - just view the "Swing Scene" as a work of religious art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s40YpEsVkxk The inner monologue of Ben Chaplin's private Bell about what the role of love is when you encounter war, asking 'Who lit this flame in us' is a visual prayer.

(And yes, this is Miranda Otto, aka Eowyn)

Re: The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick

#30

Post by BizarroLand »

julianpye wrote: post #28

I watched Tree of Life in the cinema. I was spellbound. It spoke directly to me, no mental processing of a story, I was tuned to this film. I didn't feel its time. As the film ended a girl behind me said to her friends 'this was the biggest piece of shit I have ever seen'. I understood her and it was a perfectly fine opinion. She didn't 'get it', but it didn't have to do with taste or intelligence or anything like th…

I know what you mean, I had the same effect from the David Lynch Dune movie. I went in blind, had no idea what I was about to see other than that it was scifi.

Put it on and didn't even make it to a chair before I was spellbound. I stood for the whole movie, feeling as if ages had passed while I was rooted to the ground like a mountain watching seasons pass in stop motion.

I've watched it maybe 6 times since, nothing has quite recaptured that perfect first watch.

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