While Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life didn't completely work for me, it was beautifully shot from beginning to end and as a must-own Blu-ray for the visuals alone. Fox Searchlight apparently agrees with me because they'll be releasing on only Blu-ray Combo Pack. The combo pack includes the Blu-ray, the DVD, and a Digital Copy, but that the only way you can get the DVD and the digital copy. There will be no other releases at this time. It's a bold decision for a film that already had a limited appeal to a wide audience. If I had to guess their line of thinking, it's that the film appeals most to cinephiles, cinephiles tend to own Blu-ray players, so why incur the cost of producing a DVD that will be mostly ignored by mainstream audiences?
The Blu-ray also includes a 30-minute documentary exploring Malick's legacy and featuring interviews with David Fincher and Christopher Nolan. The Tree of Life hits Blu-ray on October 11th. Hit the jump for the full press release.
Here's the press release:
Los Angeles, CA (August 30, 2011) – Bring home acclaimed writer/director Terrence Malick’s (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World) thought provoking film experience THE TREE OF LIFE, available exclusively on Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack October 11 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Through stunning cinematography and raw emotional power Malick’s hymn to life excavates answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope of the intimate and the cosmic, from the raw emotions of a family in a small Texas town to the wildest, infinite edges of space and time, from a boy’s loss of innocence to a man’s transforming encounters with awe, wonder and transcendence.
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.
Under Malick’s careful direction THE TREE OF LIFE showcases complicated and haunting powerhouse performances by Academy-Award® nominee Brad Pitt (Fight Club), Academy Award® winner Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) and newcomer Jessica Chastain (The Help).
An impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's, the film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).
THE TREE OF LIFE Blu-ray Combo Pack includes a bonus DVD and Digital Copy version of the film. Pre-book date is September 14.
Fox Searchlight Pictures and River Road Entertainment present THE TREE OF LIFE, written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain. The producers are Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill.