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The New World | 
 enlarge | Director: Terrence Malick
Actors: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg
Studio: Warner Bros.
Category: Movie
Buy New: $9.99
Rating:  305 reviews
Sales Rank: 25343
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 136 Minutes
ASIN: B001JDPRUK
Theatrical Release Date: January 20, 2006
Release Date: October 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
Amid the clash of European and Native American cultures following the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, the legendary romance of an English explorer, Captain John Smith, and a beautiful Indian princess, Pocahontas, is transformed into a sweeping exploration of love, loss and discovery, both a celebration and an elegy for the America that was . . . and the America that was yet to come. The forbidden love of the passionate, noble young native and the ambitious soldier of fortune puts the pair at odds with their undeniable obligations to their own people and the inescapable demands of the human heart in the historical adventure epic The New World. Starring Colin Farrell ("Alexander," "Daredevil"), Christian Bale ("Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight"), Q'orianka Kilcher ("How the Grinch Stole Christmas") and Golden Globe- nominee and Emmy Award-winner Christopher Plummer ("Alexander," TV's "Madeline," "American Tragedy"). Written and Directed by Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominee Terrence Malick ("The Thin Red Line," "Days of Heaven"). |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 300 more reviews...
 Extended version still a great film December 31, 2008
Fred L. Houpt
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is something that deeply grips me about this movie. I really had very little historical knowledge about the Pocahontas story. I eagerly sought out this film when it first came out because I was so moved by Malick's "The Thin Red Line". When I saw The New World" I was transformed; I simply had to know more about the drama. I read 4 books on the subject until I was satiated. I have watched my copy of the original cut many times and just a few days ago I bought the extended version and have seen it once.
As I was watching the longer version I kept thinking whether I liked it or not, comparing and contemplating the effect of all the added material. I am quite divided about the outcome. From one point of view Malick's extended version has skewed the film even more towards the romance between Captain John Smith and the young and nubile Pocahontas. The impact this has is to deepen the sense of loss and suffering that Pocahontas endures when she (thinks) she has lost Smith. The extended version also shows in much more detail how much Smith bonded with and enjoyed his time with the Powhatten natives. There are other colors that are brought out. The relationship between Smith and some of the other leaders of the colonists is strongly enhanced and to good effect. The touching conversation Pocahontas has with Opachancanough, her uncle, at the end of the film, highlights her sense of alientation, confusion but a strong sense of identity with her fellow Powhatten.
What I learned while reading those books is that the movie enhances a great deal of myth. While achieving a high degree of the look and feel of the historical realities of the time period, including re-building an accurate Jamestown replica, the use of clothing and armaments of the era, the movie weaves facts and fiction into a seamless web. One only has to repeat this mantra and all will be well: this is a Hollywood movie, not a documentary.
From another point of view the added material was by and large not needed as the imagination could have filled in some of the details. They are in some ways two different movies; the first version was tightly edited and cut and was stripped bare of excess dialogue and the emphasis then gravitated towards many scenes in which actors said nothing or just emoted with their faces. The second cut is much more wordy with much more voice overs. I actually found the voice overs badly cut as they often were right on top of other people speaking and one could not follow what people were saying; it was distracting and did not add to clarity. Again I found Colin Farrell's voice-overs spoken a bit too softly and it was hard to make out what he was saying.
If I had to choose one version, at this point, I would opt for the original even though the added material is just as lush and beautiful to look at. Sometimes the less said the better. The story, although not historically accurate in so many ways, is very sad. Seen from the perspective of the entire North American natives, this is the beginning of the end of their civilization.
Nothing like the whole truth December 16, 2008
Red Wedge
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Amzon's review suggests that Malicks' New World is the 'true' version of Disney's Pocahontas story. However even basic research will reveal that this retelling is as fictional and fallible as Disney's more famous counterpart. For example Smith's relationship with Rebecca/Pocahontas has never been proven to be romantic in nature, which is a central tenet of both Disney's and Malick's.
The film, it must be said, is however beautiful. This is an example of poetic cinema at its best. While not as morally stimulating as 'The Thin Red Line', the film is nethertheless an interesting meditation on love - both for an individual and for idealistic concepts such as nation and belonging.
Where it fails is in a contradiction between a desire to elevate the primitive (shared with 'The Thin Red Line') and a Westernised misinterpretation of Native American concepts. Smith comments that the 'natives' have no concept of ownership, and yet minutes later they deliver lines to the effect of 'the white people are stealing our land'. This appears to be a classic example of a western-centric viewpoint imposed on native values which is at odds, it feels, with Malicks' intentions.
However if you can get past this contradiction, the film is a stimulating example of 'great' American cinema. The latter quarter is perhaps less gripping, but as a whole it is an achievement, even if it is not a masterpiece.
Great for 4th grade Virginia SOL December 14, 2008
O. Are (Arlington, VA)
As a fourth grade teacher I was pleased with the way this movie was made..as a Collin Farrel AND Christain Bale fan I was through the roof! Although the focus is on the "love story", a lot of it correlates with the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment. This was a great movie and I'm happy to add it to my collection.
Greatest Movie of All Time December 9, 2008
Peter P. (New York, NY)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
So this extended cut is the third version I've seen of this film. The first was released on Christmas Day a couple of years ago and pulled two weeks later to be recut by Malick. I saw the "Christmas" version three times in those two weeks and it really was the best film I had ever seen. Then, I saw the cut version, and as a result of the original version being burnt in my mind, I found it to be unwatchable. So now the extended version comes out on dvd and this version has even more footage than the Christmas version that I had loved so much. Once again, it is the greatest movie of all time. I could do without the title cards in this version compared to the Christmas version but now, you have the true beauty and scope of the movie to appreciate. This film is emotionally intense, beautifully shot and edited with amazing performances from the entire cast with special mentions for Colin Farrell (easily his best performance), Christian Bale and the astonishing, amazing, young actress who plays Pocahontas. I couldn't possibly recommend this version of this movie enough.
65 mm Malick December 4, 2008
A. Nakprasert (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Just to be clear, the movie was great, I enjoyed the story aspect more watching it at home, and the visual in the theaters, but movie theater sound just does not cater to poetic and somber dialog like this. Sidenote: only certain scenes were shot in 65mm format. It is incorrectly stated above that the entire movie was shot in 65mm, and in the end it does not matter since no venues really project 70mm anymore, it was resize down to 35mm for theater projection; because 70mm projection aspect ratio is typically, 2.00:1 or 2.10:1 not 2.35:1 which The New World clearly displays. But don't let this small technicality take away from your enjoyment of a beautifully filmed and directed movie.
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