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Ryan is in the middle of a Terrence Malick season on Directors Chair Network, and this one is *The Tree of Life*. Last time out he sat with Craig on *The New World*. This time Doug is in the chair. They have been doing shows together for years and still have not met in person. Both are fathers of sons, which is why this film landed where it did.
Doug had never seen a Malick movie. *The Thin Red Line* had scared him off years ago because he wanted *Full Metal Jacket* and heard this was the opposite. So he walked into the most Malick film Malick has made with no warning. Book of Job on the opening card. A short look at Jessica Chastain. Then about twenty minutes of the universe being built, including dinosaurs. He hated Ryan for the first half hour. Then he could not stop thinking about it.
They get into why. Natural light in Waco, no generators, handheld cameras, a creation sequence built with Douglas Trumbull instead of CGI. Brad Pitt as nature, Jessica Chastain as grace, Sean Penn as the grown son remembering a 1950s Texas childhood that felt a lot like their own 1980s. Elbows off the table. A father trying to raise boys who can survive. A middle son who dies at 19, and the film never tells you how. A beach at the end where people are walking toward the water and, for the first time, Jack is smiling.
Also in the mix: Palme d’Or, an Oscar nomination, theaters that posted warning signs, a cinema in Italy that ran the reels backwards and nobody noticed, and the son’s initials spelling Job. Chastain says she still cannot watch it. Pitt compares Malick to a diver who follows the turtle until he cannot see the boat.
If this is your first Malick, Doug is you. If you already love him, Ryan bought the Blu-ray in 2011 and had not put it back on until this week. Next up is *To the Wonder*. Doug will be back on the channel. Comments are open if you walked out at the dinosaurs.
Doug had never seen a Malick movie. *The Thin Red Line* had scared him off years ago because he wanted *Full Metal Jacket* and heard this was the opposite. So he walked into the most Malick film Malick has made with no warning. Book of Job on the opening card. A short look at Jessica Chastain. Then about twenty minutes of the universe being built, including dinosaurs. He hated Ryan for the first half hour. Then he could not stop thinking about it.
They get into why. Natural light in Waco, no generators, handheld cameras, a creation sequence built with Douglas Trumbull instead of CGI. Brad Pitt as nature, Jessica Chastain as grace, Sean Penn as the grown son remembering a 1950s Texas childhood that felt a lot like their own 1980s. Elbows off the table. A father trying to raise boys who can survive. A middle son who dies at 19, and the film never tells you how. A beach at the end where people are walking toward the water and, for the first time, Jack is smiling.
Also in the mix: Palme d’Or, an Oscar nomination, theaters that posted warning signs, a cinema in Italy that ran the reels backwards and nobody noticed, and the son’s initials spelling Job. Chastain says she still cannot watch it. Pitt compares Malick to a diver who follows the turtle until he cannot see the boat.
If this is your first Malick, Doug is you. If you already love him, Ryan bought the Blu-ray in 2011 and had not put it back on until this week. Next up is *To the Wonder*. Doug will be back on the channel. Comments are open if you walked out at the dinosaurs.
Creators and Guests
What is The Director's Chair Network?
Join Ryan and many featured guests and other hosts as they break down and review a variety of directors and their films!
So far, this podcast has featured films from Edward Zwick, John Hughes, Brian De Palma, and Michael Mann.
Soon, we will feature Edgar Wright, Sam Peckinpah, Paul Verhoeven, and David Fincher!