Terrence Malick

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life

Four decades into an already legendary career, Terrence Malick realized his most rapturous vision to date, tracing a story of childhood, wonder, and grief to the outer limits of time and space. Reaching back to the dawn of creation, Malick sets a story of boyhood memories on a universal scale, charting the coming of age of an awestruck child (newcomer Hunter McCracken) in Texas in the 1950s, as he learns to navigate the extremes of nature and grace represented by his bitter, often tyrannical father (Brad Pitt) and his ethereal, nurturing mother (Jessica Chastain, in her breakout role). Achieved with the aid of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and production designer Jack Fisk, the Palme d’Or–winning The Tree of Life marks the intimately personal, cosmically ambitious culmination of Malick’s singular approach to filmmaking.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 2011
  • 139 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #942

Director-Approved Two-Blu-ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New extended version of the film featuring an additional fifty minutes of footage
  • Exploring “The Tree of Life,” a 2011 documentary featuring collaborators and admirers of Malick’s, including filmmakers David Fincher and Christopher Nolan
  • New interviews with actor Jessica Chastain and senior visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass
  • New video essay by critic Benjamin B about the film’s cinematography and style, featuring audio interviews with Lubezki, production designer Jack Fisk, and other crew members
  • New interview with critic Alex Ross about Malick’s use of classical music
  • Video essay from 2011 by critic Matt Zoller Seitz and editor Serena Bramble
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and a 2011 piece on the film by critic Roger Ebert

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

Director-Approved Two-Blu-ray Special Edition Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New extended version of the film featuring an additional fifty minutes of footage
  • Exploring “The Tree of Life,” a 2011 documentary featuring collaborators and admirers of Malick’s, including filmmakers David Fincher and Christopher Nolan
  • New interviews with actor Jessica Chastain and senior visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass
  • New video essay by critic Benjamin B about the film’s cinematography and style, featuring audio interviews with Lubezki, production designer Jack Fisk, and other crew members
  • New interview with critic Alex Ross about Malick’s use of classical music
  • Video essay from 2011 by critic Matt Zoller Seitz and editor Serena Bramble
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and a 2011 piece on the film by critic Roger Ebert

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

The Tree of Life
Cast
Brad Pitt
Mr. O’Brien
Sean Penn
Jack
Jessica Chastain
Mrs. O’Brien
Hunter McCracken
Young Jack
Laramie Eppler
R. L.
Tye Sheridan
Steve
Fiona Shaw
Grandmother
Jessica Fuselier
Guide
Nicolas Gonda
Mr. Reynolds
Will Wallace
Architect
Kelly Koonce
Father Haynes
Bryce Boudoin
Robert
Jimmy Donaldson
Jimmy
Kameron Vaughn
Cayler
Cole Cockburn
Harry Bates
Dustin Allen
George Walsh
Brayden Whisenhunt
Jo Bates
Joanna Going
Jack’s wife
Irene Bedard
Messenger
Finnegan Williams
Jack, age two
Michael Koeth
Jack, age five
John Howell
R. L., age two
Samantha Martinez
Samantha
Savannah Welch
Mrs. Kimball
Tamara Jolaine
Mrs. Stone
Julia M. Smith
Beth
Anne Nabors
Rue
Christopher Ryan
Prisoner
Tyler Thomas
Tyler Stone
Michael Showers
Mr. Brown
Kim Whalen
Ms. Brown
Margaret Ann Hoard
Jane
Wally Welch
Clergyman
Hudson Long
Mr. Bagley
Michael Dixon
Dusty Walsh
William Hardy
Jack’s work colleague
Tommy Hollis
Tommy
Cooper Franklin Sutherland
Robert no. 2
John Cyrier
Biplane pilot
Erma Lee Alexander
Erma
Nicholas Yedinak
Nicholas Swimmer
Credits
Director
Terrence Malick
Writer
Terrence Malick
Producer
Dede Gardner
Producer
Sarah Green
Producer
Grant Hill
Producer
Brad Pitt
Producer
Bill Pohlad
Producer (natural history)
Nigel Ashcroft
Producer (natural history)
Gregory Eliason
Coproducer
Nicolas Gonda
Executive producer
Donald Rosenfeld
Co–executive producer
Paula Mae Schwartz
Co–executive producer
Steve Schwartz
Associate producer
Ivan Bess
Associate producer
Sandhya Shardanand
Line producer
Carlo Hintermann
Line producer
Susan Kirr
Music by
Alexandre Desplat
Director of photography
Emmanuel Lubezki
Editor
Hank Corwin
Editor
Jay Rabinowitz
Editor
Daniel Rezende
Editor
Billy Weber
Editor
Mark Yoshikawa
Casting
Vicky Boone
Casting
Francine Maisler
Production designer
Jack Fisk
Art director
David Crank
Set decorator
Jeanette Scott
Costume designer
Jacqueline West
Visual effects supervisor
Dan Glass

Current

Traveling Across the Eons in The Tree of Life
Traveling Across the Eons in The Tree of Life

Visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass offers a glimpse into the complex process of creating the film’s majestic vision of the cosmos.

The Tree of Life: Let the Wind Speak
The Tree of Life: Let the Wind Speak

The imitation of nature becomes a devotional act in Terrence Malick’s cinema, which reaches sublime heights in this exploration of childhood, memory, and grief.

By Kent Jones

Getting to the Root of the New Tree of Life
Getting to the Root of the New Tree of Life

A look inside the process of collaborating with Terrence Malick on the new cut of his 2011 masterpiece.

By Benjamin Mercer