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Extra 50 minutes of footage added to The Tree of Life Criterion (coming August 28th, 2018)

posted 7 years ago by AtomicReturns (1252)
3 replies | jump to latest

https://www.criterion.com/films/28576-the-tree-of-life

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

- New extended version of the film featuring an additional fifty minutes of footage

I think this is good news for fans of the film as this is possibly the version Malick wanted to release originally. I have no idea what's in those extra 50 minutes, but it might even convert a few people who felt distanced by the film (gaps are filled and side stories more fleshed out perhaps).

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 7 years ago

Okay, I just found out what the 50 minutes shows:

http://collider.com/tree-of-life-extended-cut-criterion/

“it restores material that Malick was exploring for the version that was shown in Cannes, including specific events and characters that were referenced only elliptically in the original film. Audiences will get specific insights into Mr. O’Brien’s painful upbringing, meet members of Mrs. O’Brien’s extended family, and witness a major natural catastrophe that serves as a kind of centerpiece for what [Peter] Becker has been calling ‘the new version.'”

Also, more importantly, this shouldn't be seen as the Director's Cut. It's just a different version:

"“Terry doesn’t see this as a director’s cut,” explained Criterion president Peter Becker, “It’s a fresh view of the film that has a different rhythm and a different balance.” He continued, “There’s a kind of cloud of myth that surrounds ‘The Tree of Life,’ that somewhere there’s a long-lost five-hour cut that was never released. That’s not the case… The film that he presented in Cannes is the film that he wanted to make.”

[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

>> Extra 50 minutes of footage added to The Tree of Life

How to make a terrible movie even worse!

[–] 123Guy (7838) 3 years ago

exactly. maybe if they would take the extra footage, and re-edit everything down to an actual flowing story, it would be worth watching. as is, just another "oooh pretty, look at this natural lens flare that we did not use CGI to create and good quality use of the colors red, green, blue, and yellow, and our cinematographer could win an award, if only from women journalists and a bunch of random, tiny festivals, and a bunch of critics no one cares about" yeah, that makes a great movie.