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	“The New World”
	Reviewer:	Wayne A. Klein	Studio:	New Line
	Genre:	Drama	Release:	5/9/06
	Special Features:	A ten part documentary on the making of “The New World”, theatrical trailer
Review:	It’s a miracle when Terence Malick finishes a film.His work appears so rarely that it’s almost like an act of God when a finished film finally premieres by the press shy writer/director. “The New World” offered the perfect canvas for what Malick does best but fails to live up to expectations. At over two and a half hours “The New World” is lost at sea without a rudder, map or a clue as to which direction to turn. Malick tackles the story of John Smith and Pocahontas has already been tackled and the fact that this rich fairytale has defied the ability of Hollywood to make it a moving, powerful epic love story says as much about the inadequacies of Hollywood at modern day storytelling as it does about the difficulty of telling the tale. With over 1 million feet of film shot for this epic love story/adventure Malick seems to lose the narrative thread that could have made for a compelling powerful story. Perhaps it was Malick’s decision to cut the film to James Horner score that undermined the film either way it’s clear that the director lost his way in the process of making his film. I would have thought that Malick would have been one of the few people that could have done this story well. Unfortunately, his screenplay (which is nearly twenty years old) hasn’t aged well. The dialogue is hamfisted and sounds overwrought. Whatever updates he made to his original script haven’t translated well to the screen either. Because this is a film by Malick you know it’ll be visually breathtaking and “The New World” captures the rich color, detail and power of the tale visually it’s just the narrative that fails to live up to its potential. Image & Sound: An exceptional transfer for “The New World” highlights this release. Shot on 65mm film the stunning visual compositions and cinematography burst off the screen with a depth and clarity that reminds us how good the DVD format can be when the source is as rich as this and the transfer as meticulous. The audio sounds as grand as the impressive visuals with a rich, detailed 5.1 transfer that spreads effects around well creating an aural environment that envelopes the viewer. ---
Special Features:	Without an audio commentary it’s hard to figure out if Malick realized where his film went wrong. Much like “The Thin Red Line” Malick’s film has a narrative that hasn’t been fully digested and, as a result, the raw dialogue and story structure undermines the integrity of this fine looking film. The documentary on the film misses the central character of this film—the director. Malick avoids cameras like the plague but here some explanation would have been helpful to understand how he shaped the vision for this film. While the documentary does provide us with plenty of detail about the behind-the-scenes pre through post production process we’re missing the most important element of the story. It’s like making a movie without the central character. Running about an hour the documentary is decent but lacking the depth I would have expected. We also get the original theatrical trailer as well as trailers for other New Line releases. ---
Final Words:	Malick’s first film in seven years misses the boat. The dialogue is corny, the performances frequently stilted and the man who created this film is MIA in the extras. Much like “Days of Heaven” “The New World” is flawed but at least that film ran a tolerable 95 minutes. Malick's unique visual sense remains in tact but the film could have used some serious pruning. In spite of these flaws "The New World" is a visual masterpiece with some solid performances that just misses the mark because of the screenplay. Malick’s visual sense never deserts him but his ability as a writer disappears in this flawed but fine looking film.