Fox Searchlight has confirmed that Terrence Malick's ambitious 2011 drama The Tree of Life will see a Blu-ray release on October 11th.
The Tree of Life centers on a married couple and their three boys living in 1950's Texas. The sprawling film, which contains a loose narrative and both naturalistic and surrealistic imagery, stars Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn. The project ended a six year absence for Malick and has been one of the most talked about films of the year due to its unconventional structure and ambiguous themes. It was honored with the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
The film will be released in Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy combo pack with a SRP of $39.99. Interestingly, Fox also revealed that no stand-alone DVD version will be made available for The Tree of Life. DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 will be featured on the Blu-ray disc.
While a full listing of special features has yet to be detailed, the release will feature a 30 minute making-of documentary, entitled, Exploring the Tree of Life that will focus primarily on Malick.
Easily one of my top films of this year (as Terrence Malick's films tend to be) and possibly one of my all-time favorites (only time will tell), I have already preordered The Tree of Life. I'm looking forward to seeing the documentary on the director mentioned in this article plus all the other extras and, of course, I can't wait to rewatch the feature itself in glorious hi-def. I'm sure Fox will do a first-rate job with the technical quality.
As a side note, I wouldn't be surprised if the Criterion Collection at some point releases its own edition of this film on blu, as it has already done with two other Malick films (Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line).
I will probably buy this because Malick's visualizations are amazing. I saw this in the theater on opening day and I had mixed feelings about it. In a sense, the sum of the parts was greater than the whole.
There were basically three different movies sliced together. One was a nature documentary -- fairly beautiful. Another was a coming of age story set in the 50s -- which was an absolutely amazing piece of filmmaking (Brad Pitt was really good -- as where the young actors -- the mom, less so). And the third was much shorter and was a confusing modern day story of a man coming to terms with his past.
DAY ONE. I saw this 3 times in theaters. Just can't get it out of my head. Can't wait for the 6 hour cut I heard they are making :P. Screw it, I'd watch it! Different tastes I guess. I also heard about that imax movie they made from the creation scenes. That should be epic!
The press release from Fox states that they are maximizing the bit rate on this encode to deliver the best picture quality possible. It is also a 7.1 DTS-HD MA mix. No word on if it is the longer cut, but I don't expect it to be if they didn't specify that it was a director's cut.
I've never been so emotionally drained after watching a film. Absolutely one of the most beautiful pieces of cinema ever made and will be a day 1 purchase!
The Blu-ray Disc presentation utilizes maximum bit rate encoding and 7.1 audio and a 2.0 stereo mix to bring Malick’s visually stunning masterpiece to life providing consumers with a premium cinematic viewing experience for the home. An exclusive 30-minute documentary on the making of the film, Exploring The Tree of Life, allows fans to dig even deeper into Malick’s visionary work and his cinematic legacy through interviews with his collaborators and cast members as well as with directors Christopher Nolan and David Fincher who share an appreciation for his work.
What a great, and underappreciated (audience-wise) film! Definitely not for mainstream, or even some art-film, audiences. Nevertheless, it's a must-have for any Malick afficionado, which I like to think of myself as one...! Pre-ordering it...!
"no stand-alone DVD version will be made available" That's exactly the right direction studios need to be going in. Blu is the future and that's really all there is too it.
Pure magic! Day one! Great that no separate DVD release will be made available. Excellent decision. Way to go FOX! Can't wait to revisit this masterpiece!
"Fox also revealed that no stand-alone DVD version will be made available"
While encouraging that the industry might actually be embracing HD (BD) as the new television standard it is supposed to be, rather than a niche format, I somehow doubt that statement is completely on the level. Unless BD sells are so high one isn't warranted, I suspect a standard dvd will be released at a later date. There's no way any studio is going to ignore what is still the format that achieves the majority sales. Nice of Fox to test the theory though.
Just a heads up, the trailer posted on here is from the Yahoo encode which is missing the dialogue (they forgot to include the center channel when doing the 2.0 downmix)...
I am super excited for this release. I didn't get a chance to see it in theatres, but it sounds like they went all out for the quality on this release.
Also, the $39.99 is a SUGGESTED retail price. If you pay close to that, you're not a smart shopper. My guess is that you'll be able to get it for $19.99 - 22.99 on the release date.
Wonderful Malick film - a beautiful, artistic expression on eternity, grace and nature. Saw it twice in the theater this summer, and just last evening I spent 90 minutes long distance on the phone discussing this film with a friend who saw it for her first time several days ago at a repertory cinema in Toronto.
@nathanp - Will this become a Criterion title? Definitely a strong contender so I'll keep this film on my wishlist for the remainder of the year, if not longer...
If the news that there will be no stand alone DVD version is true that is awesome! I'd be surprised though, unfortunately DVD is till the dominate format. I suspect we'll see a later DVD release date like they're doing with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. A rental for me.
awesome. this film should look outstanding on my projector. it never came to my area in theaters so this is the closest i can to the theatrical experience
