New World

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 12 25 (USA - Limited) / 2006 01 13 (USA)

UPC: 794043102530

Studio: New Line Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence]

Summary: Terrence Malick, the universally acclaimed American filmmaker responsible for the key 1970s features Badlands and Days of Heaven, returns for a rare directorial outing with the sweeping period piece The New World -- an epic dramatization of Pocahontas' relationships with John Smith and John Rolfe. Malick's story opens at the dawn of the 17th century, just prior to the colonization of the United States -- when the North American population consisted of an interconnected series of native tribes. In April 1607, three maritime vessels approach the unfamiliar continent, with 103 sailors on board. As members of the Virginia Company, these adventurers carry a royal charter to mount a society on the edge of the new continent. John Smith (Colin Farrell) sits chained below one of the decks. He is a 27-year-old loose cannon, who, for his persistently rebellious acts, has been sentenced to death by hanging as soon as the ships dock. Nevertheless, Captain Christopher Newport (Christopher Plummer) acknowledges Smith's ability to aid with exploration and consents to pardon him as a result. Upon landing, Smith seeks assistance from local Native American tribes with colonization, but runs into the unexpected -- he falls desperately in love with Pocahontas, or "Playful One" (Q'orianka Kilcher), the daughter of the omnipotent Chief Powhatan (August Schellenberg). Needless to say, this does not sit well with Powhatan or the rest of the tribe. Moreover, the oft-bellicose Smith enters a head-to-head conflict with his fellow Britons when he finds his tempestuousness calmed by the tranquility of the new landscape, as the anger and violence of his shipmates concurrently build in the face of the Native Americans. Later, Smith temporarily returns to England; believing that Smith is dead, Pocahontas accepts the hand of plantation owner John Rolfe in marriage (with her father's blessing) and follows Rolfe back to the old country. When Smith returns to America, his intended is nowhere to be seen, and the entire community teeters on the brink of a British-Indian war. Malick shot the production on location in Virginia; it co-stars Jonathan Pryce, John Savage, and David Thewlis. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Category: Romance

Awards: Best Young Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Score – Broadcast Film Critics Association Breakthrough Performance by an Actress – National Board of Review Best Cinematography – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Performer – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – Online Film Critics Association Best Score – Online Film Critics Association Breakthrough Performer – Online Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccMaking The New World: a comprehensive, ten-art documentary capturing the unique challenges of creating this historical epic

New World

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/09/2006

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS2.0 Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels

Runtime: 135 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- The New World
1. Main Titles [3:22]
2. Virginia 1607 [4:38]
3. Establishing Colony [4:41]
4. First Contact [1:25]
5. Going Up River [8:46]
6. Captured [4:39]
7. Gentle People [6:25]
8. "He Is Not One of Us" [7:56]
9. Captain Smith Returns [10:16]
10. A Gift of Food [3:42]
11. Reunited [6:53]
12. The Attack [7:11]
13. Mutiny [3:54]
14. Kidnapped [4:06]
15. The Ships Return [4:57]
16. "I Belong to You" [4:15]
17. "Smith Is Dead" [6:05]
18. "Are You Kind?" [11:15]
19. Husband and Wife [7:56]
20. England [6:05]
21. Was It a Dream? [10:41]
22. At Last [2:43]
23. End Titles [3:20]

Michael Buening

Terrence Malick aims for a kind of psychological realism through poetics in this stupendous reexamination of the Pocahontas myth. From the opening, when a group of frolicking Powhatan natives spy the approaching ships of Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer) from the future Virginia's verdant shores, it's clear that Malick is less interested in historical accuracy than in a ground-level positing of how colonization was emotionally experienced when Jacobean England discovered a "new world." As in most tellings of the story, Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher) and Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell), through their romance, function as agents promoting change and peaceful integration of their respective cultures. But their good intentions are easily complicated; the probing voice-overs reveal them struggling to understand and never coming to terms with their desires. (A real-life romance most likely did not occur.) Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography employs the usual painterly imagery and break-away nature shots of Malick's other films, but in this film these techniques are perhaps best integrated into thematic structure, referencing the idea of "virgin land" and the role physical environment plays in cultural identity. The actors are universally strong, particularly Christian Bale's final-act appearance as the pious John Rolfe. Kilcher, 14 at the time of shooting, gives a mind-bogglingly complex revelatory performance that nearly overwhelms at the unexpected rush of the closing moments. In Malick's notoriously miniscule oeuvre, The New World easily stands as one of his best films. ~ Michael Buening, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Sarah Green  Producer 
James Horner  Composer (Music Score) 
Terrence Malick  Director 
Terrence Malick  Screenwriter 
Rolf Mittweg  Executive Producer 
Trish Hofmann  Executive Producer 
Mark Ordesky  Executive Producer 
Toby Emmerich  Executive Producer 
Bill Mechanic  Executive Producer 
Colin Farrell  Actor 
Q'orianka Kilcher  Actor 
Christopher Plummer  Actor 
Christian Bale  Actor 
August Schellenberg  Actor 
Wes Studi  Actor 
David Thewlis  Actor 
Yorick Van Wageningen  Actor 
Ben Mendelsohn  Actor 
Raoul Trujillo  Actor 
Brian F. O'Byrne  Actor 
Irene Bedard  Actor 
John Savage  Actor 
Jamie Harris  Actor 
Alex Rice  Actor 
Michael Greyeyes  Actor 
Kalani Queypo  Actor 
Noah Taylor  Actor 
Jonathan Pryce  Actor 
Alexandra Malick  Actor 

Country: USA