A Critical Companion to Terrence Malick

Edited by Joshua Sikora - Contributions by Matthew Aughtry; Timothy E.G. Bartel; Vernon W. Cisney; Adam Daniel; David J. Gilbert; David LaRocca; Reno Lauro; Anthony Parisi; Kip Redick; Joshua Russell; Joshua Sikora; Naaman Wood and Dean Yamada

From the dust of the Montana plains to the farthest reaches of the cosmos, Terrence Malick’s films have enchanted audiences with transcendent images of nature, humanity, and grace for nearly fifty years. The contributors in this volume explore the profound implications of Malick’s stories, images, processes, and convictions as they offer comprehensive studies of the ten completed films of Terrence Malick. Each chapter takes a reflective and retrospective approach, considering new interpretations and frameworks for understanding Malick's unique creative choices. Drawing from a range of diverse academic disciplines, the collection analyzes the groundbreaking qualities of his cinematic style and the philosophical underpinnings that permeate his work. Rigorously researched and unique, the arguments presented within this volume shed new light on Malick and the cinematic medium.

Lexington Books

Pages: 288 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-7936-0862-8 • Hardback • October 2020 • $140.00 • (£108.00)

978-1-7936-0863-5 • eBook • October 2020 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Performing Arts / Film / Direction & Production

A Critical Companion to Terrence Malick

Hardback

eBook

Summary

From the dust of the Montana plains to the farthest reaches of the cosmos, Terrence Malick’s films have enchanted audiences with transcendent images of nature, humanity, and grace for nearly fifty years. The contributors in this volume explore the profound implications of Malick’s stories, images, processes, and convictions as they offer comprehensive studies of the ten completed films of Terrence Malick. Each chapter takes a reflective and retrospective approach, considering new interpretations and frameworks for understanding Malick's unique creative choices. Drawing from a range of diverse academic disciplines, the collection analyzes the groundbreaking qualities of his cinematic style and the philosophical underpinnings that permeate his work. Rigorously researched and unique, the arguments presented within this volume shed new light on Malick and the cinematic medium.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 288 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-7936-0862-8 • Hardback • October 2020 • $140.00 • (£108.00)

978-1-7936-0863-5 • eBook • October 2020 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Performing Arts / Film / Direction & Production

Author

Joshua Sikora (MFA) is the founder and director of the Cinema & New Media Arts program at Houston Baptist University.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Thinking of Film: What is Cavellian about Malick’s Movies?

David LaRocca

Chapter Two: Here and There: Malick’s Cinema and McGilchrist’s “Divided Brain”

Adam Daniel

Chapter Three: The Beautiful Light: The Supernaturalist Argument of The Thin Red Line

David J. Gilbert

Chapter Four: Saturated Meaning, Poetic Portrayal: Phenomenology in the Films of Terrence Malick

Kip Redick

Chapter Five: How Can a Film be Poetic? The Case of The Thin Red Line

Timothy E.G. Bartel

Chapter Six: Fractal Reader-Response Structure: A New Narrative Theory in the Work of Terrence Malick

Joshua Russell

Chapter Seven: Auteurs and Movie Brats: Placing Malick’s Extraordinary Career in Context

Dean Yamada

Chapter Eight: The Search for Time: Terrence Malick and Andrei Tarkovsky in Dialogue

Anthony Parisi

Chapter Nine: The Journey Home: A Unity of Memory and Cosmology in Cinema

Joshua Sikora

Chapter Ten: Disputing Henri de Lubac’s Nature and Grace and Job’s Ending: The Tree of Life as Theological Discourse

Naaman Wood

Chapter Eleven: The Gifts of Death: Visions of Sacrifice in the Worlds of Terrence Malick

Vernon W. Cisney

Chapter Twelve: A Universal Priesthood: The Vocation of Being Human in Days of Heaven and To the Wonder

Matthew Aughtry

Chapter Thirteen: The Smile of Life: Recollections on Malick and the Work of Cinema

Reno Lauro