Friday, March 29, 2024

Reclusive Director Terrence Malick Makes Rare Appearance But His New Film is As Self-Indulgent as Ever

Share

This morning reclusive director Terrence Malick is part of a public panel at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Malick was once a legend for directing the most beautiful film of the 70s, “Days of Heaven,” and for “Badlands.” Malick hasn’t been seen in public or interviewed in YEARS. Decades, really. So this is a big deal down in his hometown of Austin.

Today he’s promoting his new film, “Song to Song.” It’s the latest of his self indulgent films og the 2000s that has big Hollywood stars doing nothing and speaking little dialogue. I’m sure it looks great. But the reviews overnight were tepid, to say the best of them. Twitter reaction to the two and a half hour vanity project: boring and awful.

He said at the panel this morning that the first cut of “Song to Song” was eight hours. That says everything.

As I’ve said before I hope Del Shannon’s family really got paid well for use of “Runaway.” It makes the whole trailer. I doubt the movie has that kind of energy.

Erik Davis from Fandango is posting a lot from the panel. He obviously likes the movie on some level. The adrenaline from seeing Malick in public must be overwhelming. No one has seen him in years. But the reality of the film will be like “To the Wonder,” “Knight of Cups,” “Tree of Life,” and “Voyage.”

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
spot_img

Read more

In Other News