History Creator / TerrenceMalick

Unlike many members of the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood generation, Malick did not choose cinema as his vocation. In Harvard, [[TheSmartGuy he studied philosophy]], writing on Martin Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard and other [[UsefulNotes/{{Existentialism}} existentialist]] thinkers. He later worked as a journalist for Life and New Yorker magazine, and had contributed obituaries to Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. He eventually did become interested in cinema, inspired by arthouse film-makers but also by silent film-masters such as Creator/FWMurnau. He studied film at AFI in the late-sixties (Creator/DavidLynch and Creator/PaulSchrader were in the same class) and he found work as a screenwriter, before making his debut in 1973 with ''Film/{{Badlands}}''. This was his BreakthroughHit, riffing on the (then) popular OutlawCouple theme, by making a film about teenagers on a cross-country killing spree. Malick however differed with his incredibly distinct visual style, his poetic approach to narrative, use of landscape and groundbreaking cinematography and production design. In Malick's films, the style matters far more than the stories. Malick followed that up in 1978 with ''Film/DaysOfHeaven'', an evocative, dream-like portrait of a wheat farm in the early 20th century America. The film became iconic for its use of "magic hour" cinematography and natural lighting, i.e. using the actual sunlight and dim natural settings rather than studio lights.[[note]]Extremely difficult to achieve at the time on film cameras owing to (then) film stock's limited capacities at recording light, with Malick and cinematographer Nestor Almendros more or less showing people that the stock could do stuff they didn't know was possible[[/note]]

** In ''Film/ToTheWonder'', Creator/RachelWeisz, Creator/JessicaChastain, Creator/MichaelSheen, Creator/MichaelShannon, Amanda Peet, and Creator/BarryPepper all had scenes that were cut out of the final product.

* SceneryPorn: ''Film/DaysOfHeaven'', ''Film/TheThinRedLine'', and ''Film/{{The New World|2005}}'' were all nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography for a reason. ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'' took this UpToEleven, earning wild praise even from people who otherwise vehemently hated the film and Malick's signature filming style (i.e. Creator/BradJones).

Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker known for his privacy, the lengthy hiatus between his projects as well as his idiosyncratic approach to filmmaking and film production.

For a while it looked as if Malick might be going back into hibernation, but he returned in 2005 with ''Film/{{The New World|2005}}'', a portrait of John Smith and UsefulNotes/{{Pocahontas}}. Like ''The Thin Red Line'' before it, ''The New World'' baffled audiences and critics when it was initially released, but has since been [[VindicatedByHistory acclaimed by critics as one of the best films of the 2000s]]. Six years later, Malick released his fifth film, ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'', a film about three boys growing up in 1950s Texas, which featured a much-discussed sequence involving the creation of the universe. It was met with critical acclaim on its release, and won the UsefulNotes/PalmeDOr at the Cannes Film Festival. ''The Tree of Life'' is the turning point in Malick's career in that it marked the start of his current and most prolific phase. Between 1970-2009, he had made four features. Between 2010-2017 he put out five films, outmatching his former output in less than a decade. Of course given the uncertain nature of independent film-making and Malick's history of dropping off the radar, no one can be sure how long this will last. He has also become a more public figure, appearing at film festivals and giving interviews, when before he had a reputation for being more aloof than Creator/StanleyKubrick.

He then took a twenty-year break from the film industry, spending a great deal of time in Paris and traveling. During that time he was rumored to have projects in the works, but nothing materialized until the late 1990s when he went into production on ''Film/TheThinRedLine'', an adaptation of James Jones's novel about the battle of Guadalcanal. This twenty-year absence is the true source of Malick's reputation as a reclusive artist, although friends note that it's because the film-maker is genuinely shy and not comfortable being a celebrity. [[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/hollywood-bigfoot-terrence-malick-and-the-20-year-hiatus-that-wasnt/ Malick always maintained good relations with studios and producers]], and being independently wealthy, he did not really need to direct for a living and his hiatus was self-imposed rather than any opposition to studios. Critics and audiences didn't know quite what to make of it when it was released (it didn't help that it was released the same time as the more mainstream ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''), but it was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including two for Malick, as Best Director and for his screenplay.

Unlike many members of the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood generation, Malick did not choose cinema as his vocation. In Harvard, [[TheSmartGuy he studied philosophy]], writing on Martin Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard and other [[UsefulNotes/{{Existentialism}} existentialist]] thinkers. He later worked as a journalist for Life and New Yorker magazine, and had contributed obituaries to Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. He eventually did become interested in cinema, inspired by arthouse film-makers but also by silent film-masters such as Creator/FWMurnau. He studied film at AFI in the late-sixties (Creator/DavidLynch and Creator/PaulSchrader were in the same class) and he found work as a screenwriter, before making his debut in 1973 with ''Film/{{Badlands}}''. This was his BreakthroughHit, riffing on the (then) popular OutlawCouple theme, by making a film about teenagers on a cross-country killing spree. Malick however differed with his incredibly distinct visual style, his poetic approach to narrative, use of landscape and groundbreaking cinematography and production design. In Malick's films, the style matters far more than the stories. Malick followed that up in 1978 with ''Film/DaysOfHeaven'', an evocative, dream-like portrait of a wheat farm in the early 20th century America. The film became iconic for its use of "magic hour" cinematography and natural lighting, i.e. using the actual sunlight and dim natural settings rather than studio lights[[note]]Extremely difficult to achieve at the time on film cameras owing to (then) film stock's limited capacities at recording light, with Malick and cinematographer Nestor Almendros more or less showing people that the stock could do stuff they didn't know was possible[[/note]].

* SceneryPorn: ''Film/DaysOfHeaven'', ''Film/TheThinRedLine'', and ''Film/{{The New World|2005}}'' were all nominated for Cinematography Oscars for a reason. ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'' took this UpToEleven, earning wild praise even from people who otherwise [[Creator/BradJones vehemently hated]] the film.

* ''The New World'' (2005)

* ''Knight of Cups '' (2015)
* ''Voyage of Time'' (2016)
* ''Song to Song'' (2017)

For a while it looked as if Malick might be going back into hibernation, but he returned in 2005 with ''Film/TheNewWorld'', a portrait of John Smith and UsefulNotes/{{Pocahontas}}. Like ''The Thin Red Line'' before it, ''The New World'' baffled audiences and critics when it was initially released, but has since been [[VindicatedByHistory acclaimed by critics as one of the best films of the 2000s]]. Six years later, Malick released his fifth film, ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'', a film about three boys growing up in 1950s Texas, which featured a much-discussed sequence involving the creation of the universe. It was met with critical acclaim on its release, and won the UsefulNotes/PalmeDOr at the Cannes Film Festival. ''The Tree of Life'' is the turning point in Malick's career in that it marked the start of his current and most prolific phase. Between 1970-2009, he had made four features. Between 2010-2017 he put out five films, outmatching his former output in less than a decade. Of course given the uncertain nature of independent film-making and Malick's history of dropping off the radar, no one can be sure how long this will last. He has also become a more public figure, appearing at film festivals and giving interviews, when before he had a reputation for being more aloof than Creator/StanleyKubrick.

* SceneryPorn: ''Film/DaysOfHeaven'', ''Film/TheThinRedLine'', and ''Film/TheNewWorld'' were all nominated for Cinematography Oscars for a reason. ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'' took this UpToEleven, earning wild praise even from people who otherwise [[Creator/BradJones vehemently hated]] the film.

* TroubledProduction: [[invoked]] Again, a result of his style of filmmaking. - shooting miles and miles of footage, then figuring it out in the editing room (which often leads to the above mentioned BillingDisplacement, where actors who once appeared in whole subplots end up getting reduced to a cameo):

* ''A Hidden Life'' (2019)

Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker known for his privacy, the lengthy hiatus between his projects, his idiosyncratic approach to film-making and film production.