| The New World | 
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| Director: Terrence Malick Actors: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg Studio: New Line Home Video Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98 Buy Used: $2.77 You Save: $12.21 (82%)
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Avg. Customer Rating: 293 reviews Sales Rank: 2339
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 150 minutes Number Of Items: 1 Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: N10253 UPC: 794043102530 EAN: 0794043102530 ASIN: B000ESSUL4
Theatrical Release Date: January 20, 2006 Release Date: May 9, 2006 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: 100% Satisfaction guaranteed! Item ships from CA. Please allow 4-14 business days for orders to arrive.
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| Customer Reviews:
Paradise Lost July 23, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is understandable why so many underrated this great movie. It is because there are so many people in modern American society who are dead on the inside, mere spiritual space-occupying shells, unable to feel the personality of the very real Pocahontas the movie accurately captures, let alone even remotely understand the dichotomy between the more worldly English and the less materially focused natives they encountered.
Historical accounts dimly capture the persona of a vibrant, intelligent, precocious, empathetic, beautiful, as well as courageous real-life Indian Princess known to the English as "Pocahontas". Her love of life and her effect on those around her is stunningly captured by this spectacular take on the John Smith/Pocahontas real life Romeo and Juliet tragedy. John Smith's near fatal injury (his gunpowder pouch exploded against his upper thigh) is the initial reason that Smith leaves America (and Pocahontas), as accurately portrayed in the movie, but why he never returns to her is unknown (I believe that he may have been impotent after the injury), but Malik intelligently speculates that Smith tragically chose fame and fortune over the love of a magnificent woman. Their final meeting is, once again, accurately portrayed.
The stunning cinematography, a Malik mainstay, greatly contributes to this great story...a visual masterpiece welded to one of history's greatest lessons.
Many people dislike the film... July 18, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
because we are seeing a quick cut half telling of the 171 minute film- this New Edition coming should either bore us to death or be a monumental epic of poetic filmmaking. This is NOT a Hollywood film. But isnt Bergman either. Jonh Smith and his haggard pouting did get to be a nuisance...
Q'Orianka Kilcher is like the sun and the moon and the stars
Another Malick "love it or hate it" film. June 17, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's clear to me now that most anyone who watches a Terrence Malick film cannot remain bipartisan in their final assessment of his work. Simply put, people either love his films or they loathe them. For those of us who love symbolism, deeply meditative sequences of sound and imagery, or poetic cinematography, the New World will again act as an ample supply to fulfill your lust for films less ordinary.
PLOT: This is the story of Pocahontas and John Smith portrayed in a style you've never seen before. Smith arrives in 17th century Jamestown upon a ship and is sentenced to die, but his sentence is revoked when Smith's importance to the survival of the new colony is acknowledged. He isn't safe from the surrounding "naturals", however, and soon finds himself on the verge of death again until young Pocahontas saves his life. The two quickly develop a platonic friendship in which they innocently teach one another words from each other's native tongue, and roam the landscape in type of otherworldly, cherubic flight of tranquility. Smith, feeding his constant wanderlust, eventually leaves Pocahontas, who at this point has been abandoned by her tribe for placing Smith above her people. She remains at the Anglo settlement and begins adopting their customs and culture. It is here that Pocahontas meets John Rolfe and eventually marries him, adopting the Anglo name of Rebecca. But the memory, and presence, of Smith are not completely evaporated and a final reunion seems imminent.
The New World is just as much about the spiritual bond of family as it is the ideal relationship between Smith and Pocahontas. The young native woman at times questions where her dead mother has gone, and in the last hauntingly beautiful segment of the film, finally realizes that all of us live on in our children.
There are a number of breathtaking scenes in which Malick intertwines natural beauty and a series of pensively symbolic imagery. Outside a battle scene towards the middle of the film, The New World is remarkably clean and lacks any type of romantic sensuality between Smith and Pocahontas. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has interest in the story or to anyone who enjoys well-crafted films.
This movie is in itself a different world May 8, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not surprised this movie only averages (at current) 3 stars. It is a very different kind of movie and you have to be prepared for a different experience. Clearly many reviewers here were not, so I wanted to review it just to make some points about this film. (I should add that it is one of my 2 or 3 favorite films of all time.)
There are really two different stories at work here. One is about culture and the other is about romantic love. The pace of the movie, which is slow, is necessary for both stories. From the cultural aspect, the pacing is deliberate, and is the perfect means of showing a world that doesn't operate by clocks or schedules. There is no rush in the way they live their lives. There is also a deep appreciation of the natural world, where things are quiet, where wind blows, thunder crackles, the sun moves across the sky, the water laps on the shore, etc.
This pace is also necessary for when Pocahontas goes to *his* world, to England. There is a distinct contrast here in the number, volume level, and types of sounds; in the costumes; in the grandeur of the sights. There is a real shift here that emphasizes the difference between the two worlds.
From the romantic aspect, one of the most charming aspects of this movie is that the characters do not share a common language. This presents a unique storytelling challenge: How do you tell a love story without dialogue? Malick does it through natural sound, a touch, a look, the inner thoughts of the characters, music, and through an editing style that gives us a sense of being in the moment. They come to enjoy each other's company without language (at least at first). The actors pull this off wonderfully, with a look or a touch. The effect is dreamlike, which is often what love can feel like. I really appreciate how Malick shoots and edits simple moments that feel disjointed, almost like memory. To me, this is one of the most powerful love stories ever committed to film and it's amazing how little the characters say to one another.
My suggestion for anyone wanting to see this movie is to try and give yourself over to it. This is indeed a new world in terms of a movie experience. Rather than bringing your own concepts of "entertainment" to it, let yourself be affected by something that's unfamiliar, where time slows down and life is completely different.
poetic April 7, 2008 if you like Terrence Malick, this will suit you. deeply romantic, long and poetic
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