Malick

[Davey the Fat Boy]

Four films. Endless debate.

Let's get to it.

[Sneelock]

I think he's a bona fide genius.
seriously.

[Sneelock]

I think I'll rate "Days of Heaven" highest but admit to not really being able to sit down with 'the new world' yet. I watch most of my movies at home and maybe I don't SHOOSH people as much as I should.

I like 'Badlands' every bit as much but just think "Heaven" is a triumph of style - he really hit his thing on that one. I like 'thin red line' very much but will bitch and moan about it if need be. the verdict is still out on the last.

[Sneelock]

'bitch and moan' is a little strong. I love 'thin red line' I'm just aware of certain things that bother people and might admit some of them bother me but just a bit. I think it's pretty remarkable, really.

[The Modernist]

I think he's a bona fide genius.
seriously.

Agreed. Sadly I have to go to bed..up early marking, oh ironies of ironies, film papers. Probably won't get a chance to compose a long post until the weekend.
Let's just say for now he's one of the few directors to have really defined his own distinctive ouevre. He makes films like no other.

[toomanyhatz]

Voted "love him" only because "like him a lot, with reservations" wasn't an option. Badlands is great, Days of Heaven near-great, found The Thin Red Line dull (though I'm prepared to give it another viewing based on positive reviews here, among other places), haven't seen The New World. Purely visually, he's certainly one of the best ever. Not sure whether he dispenses with narrative entirely or is not good at it.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I think he's a bona fide genius.
seriously.

Haha. I agree.

Before we get to the unavoidable debate about The Thin Red Line and The New World, let's start with Badlands. Ever since I saw it first as a kid I've been entranced by this film. It practically defined my whole understanding of cinema. So much of it seems to take place in between the narrative.

A few points for discussion:

Before burning down the house, Sheen's character records a confession on a 45. Why didn't he write a note?

Also - when he is captured he stops for a moment and marks the spot on the ground where the capture will soon take place. It's an amazingly inexplicable, yet completely human thing to do. We all romanticize our own lives to some degree. Has any film ever broached that subject with more subtlety?

[marios]

Voted "love him" only because "like him a lot, with reservations" wasn't an option. Badlands is great, Days of Heaven near-great, found The Thin Red Line dull (though I'm prepared to give it another viewing based on positive reviews here, among other places), haven't seen The New World. Purely visually, he's certainly one of the best ever. Not sure whether he dispenses with narrative entirely or is not good at it.

I think i entirely agree with this post.

[Sneelock]

well, I think he has "literary pretensions" and I don't think that's entirely a bad thing. surely, you run the risk of being called pretentious and that's certainly a fair call. I think his movies are rich in a way most movies aren't and that his narrative technique is much of the reason.

still, there's something to be said for variety. maybe that's why I like 'Days of Heaven' best. you don't confuse the little girl with anybody else. her voice is strong. I think that's a big help.

[The Modernist]

I think he's a bona fide genius.
seriously.

Haha. I agree.

Before we get to the unavoidable debate about The Thin Red Line and The New World, let's start with Badlands. Ever since I saw it first as a kid I've been entranced by this film. It practically defined my whole understanding of cinema. So much of it seems to take place in between the narrative.

A few points for discussion:

Before burning down the house, Sheen's character records a confession on a 45. Why didn't he write a note?

He could be illiterate or at least only semi-literate, this is perhaps hinted at near the beginning during the interview at the welfare office. Certainly all the jobs he gets are unskilled manual ones.
Perhaps more importantly he, like Holly, is child of the new pop age of the 50's (his James Dean obsession etc.). Something like recording on a 45 holds an allure for him (new technology!) that writing wouldn't.

Also - when he is captured he stops for a moment and marks the spot on the ground where the capture will soon take place. It's an amazingly inexplicable, yet completely human thing to do. We all romanticize our own lives to some degree. Has any film ever broached that subject with more subtlety?

It's beautifully subtle. He is obsessed throughout the film with leaving his mark, as well as the aforementioned recording of the 45, he also leaves a message at the rich man's house. Of course he is a man with nothing to say who has never been listened to, this is as close as Malick lets us get in discovering a psychological motive for the killings. Really Sheen's whole performance is a portrait of self-absorbtion: the preening posing on the horizon, the constant checking of himself in the car mirror. Kit lives in a solipsistic world of self-obsession which is why he's so desperate to be recognised.

[Mr Maps]

I love him and actually prefer Days of Heaven to Badlands.
Thin Red Line is great but New World made me antsy, impatient.

Let me think a bit.

[Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe]

I love Badlands. Haven't seen Days Of Heaven.
The Thin Red Line confused me (I couldn't hear most of the dialogue as far as I can recall)
The New World was decent but it didn't help that some eejit with a Dublin accent was in it most of the time.

Let me ask this pertinent question - if Terence Malick only ever made 4 movies (and two in the last 10 years), how did he ever pay his rent?

Seriously, how did this guy make money? Was he a screenwriter, or anonymous director for hire? Maybe he did Police Academy 6 under a pseudonym?

[Sneelock]

well, I seriously doubt that he does anything on spec. I'll bet he gets paid. I suspect he's a guy like Robert Towne who doesn't always get his name on the screen and I doubt the guy is poor. if you get paid to develop something and nothing ever comes from it, you might manage to put some money in the bank anyway. you will if you're smart, anyway and I have a hunch tht he is.

[Jimbly]

I love Badlands. Haven't seen Days Of Heaven.
The Thin Red Line confused me (I couldn't hear most of the dialogue as far as I can recall)
The New World was decent but it didn't help that some eejit with a Dublin accent was in it most of the time.

Let me ask this pertinent question - if Terence Malick only ever made 4 movies (and two in the last 10 years), how did he ever pay his rent?

Seriously, how did this guy make money? Was he a screenwriter, or anonymous director for hire? Maybe he did Police Academy 6 under a pseudonym?

From IMDB

He taught in France from 1979-1994.

He grew up on a farm and worked as a farmhand before studying philosophy at Harvard. After graduating he went to Magdalen College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar but left before finishing his thesis (on Martin Heidegger) after a disagreement with his advisor. He moved back to the United States and taught philosophy at MIT while freelancing as a journalist.

Turned down an offer to direct The Elephant Man (1980).

Wrote an unused draft of Great Balls Of Fire!

[toomanyhatz]

I love Badlands. Haven't seen Days Of Heaven.
The Thin Red Line confused me (I couldn't hear most of the dialogue as far as I can recall)
The New World was decent but it didn't help that some eejit with a Dublin accent was in it most of the time.

Let me ask this pertinent question - if Terence Malick only ever made 4 movies (and two in the last 10 years), how did he ever pay his rent?

Seriously, how did this guy make money? Was he a screenwriter, or anonymous director for hire? Maybe he did Police Academy 6 under a pseudonym?

And though none of those movies were huge hits, they all made some money. Even if his earnings for the four is a couple of million combined (which would be pretty low-level pay for a known director), I'm sure he can live relatively comfortably on that.

[Maxwell's Golden Pickaxe]

I love Badlands. Haven't seen Days Of Heaven.
The Thin Red Line confused me (I couldn't hear most of the dialogue as far as I can recall)
The New World was decent but it didn't help that some eejit with a Dublin accent was in it most of the time.

Let me ask this pertinent question - if Terence Malick only ever made 4 movies (and two in the last 10 years), how did he ever pay his rent?

Seriously, how did this guy make money? Was he a screenwriter, or anonymous director for hire? Maybe he did Police Academy 6 under a pseudonym?

And though none of those movies were huge hits, they all made some money. Even if his earnings for the four is a couple of million combined (which would be pretty low-level pay for a known director), I'm sure he can live relatively comfortably on that.

Yeah, true....

Man, that seems like a nice life! Knock out a classic ever other decade. Nice.

[Grollope]

But is it Art?

[James R]

I can't believe I'm the only person to have voted "hate" so far.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I can't believe I'm the only person to have voted "hate" so far.

Can you elaborate on your vote? Have you seen all four of his films?