The Tree of Life - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Tree of Life or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Tree of Life

[kristen]

Although multiple classical/orchestral pieces of music by Brahms, Mahler, Gorecki, Smetana, Holst, and other well-known composers are heard very prominently throughout the movie (sometimes even in their entirety, which is unusual for a film score), the soundtrack album released for this movie contains only the parts of the score written for the movie by Alexandre Desplat.

[sandra]

Brad Pitt appeared in two movies that were both nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award (Oscar) in 2012. Pitt starred and produced both this movie and Moneyball (2011). Jessica Chastain also appeared in two movies that were both nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award (Oscar) in 2012. Chastain starred in both this movie and The Help (2011).

[beth]

The book Mrs. O'Brien reads to the boys at bedtime is 1908 Macmillan edition of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

[kylie]

One of several pieces of classical/orchestral music appearing in this movie is "Vltava" (also known by its German name, Die Moldau/The Moldau River), one of a set of six symphonic poems collectively titled "Má vlast" and written by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. This piece also appeared in the trailer for this movie. It may be most familiar to some as the melodic basis for the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikva."

[ava]

In August 2011, Sean Penn gave an interview to the French publication "Le Figaro" in which he was very critical of the movie and Terrence Malick's direction. Penn said "I didn't at all find on the screen the emotion of the script, which is the most magnificent one that I've ever read. A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the film without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact. Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context. What's more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly."

[dustin]

As with The New World (2005), Terrence Malick and Emmanuel Lubezki laid down a series of parameters (a dogma) to be used throughout the film: Shoot in available natural light.Do not underexpose the negative. Keep true blacks.Preserve the latitude of the image.Seek maximum resolution and fine grain.Seek depth with deep focus and stop: "Compose in depth."Shoot in backlight for continuity and depth.Use negative fill to avoid light sandwiches (even sources on both sides)Shoot in crosslight only after dawn or before dusk; never front light.Avoid lens flares.Avoid white and primary colors in frame.Shoot with short focal length, hard lenses.No filters, except Polarizer.In the eye of the hurricane, shoot with steady handheld or Steadicam.Z-axis moves instead of pans and tilts.No zooming.Do some static tripod shots "in midst of our haste"Accept the exception to the dogma (a.k.a Article E) - Article E however does not apply underexposure of the negative.

[elmer]

Jack O'Brien's initials are J-O-B. In the Bible, Job was a man tested by Satan after his wager that Job only serves God because of His blessing. After losing his wealth, family and health, Job would rather curse himself than God. A passage from the Book of Job - "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation... while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" - is used to open The Tree of Life.

[kenzi]

Terrence Malick wrote a letter of instruction to every projectionist showing The Tree of Life. His requests were: 1. Project the film in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.2. Set the fader on Dolby and DTS systems to 7.5 or 7.7 (higher than the standard setting of 7).3. With no opening credits, he asks that the "lights down cue is well before the opening frame of reel 1.4. Projection lamps should be at "Proper standard (5400 Kelvin)" and that the "foot Lambert level is at Standard 14."

[lonnie]

Much of the film parallels writer/director Terrence Malick's own life. Like Jack, he grew up with two brothers in rural Texas; their father, Emil, was an aspiring musician who went to work as a geologist for an oil company, and found an outlet for his artistic talent by playing the organ at his family's church. Malick outlived both of his brothers: Lawrence R. Malick committed suicide in Europe at age 19 while studying to be a musician; and Chris Malick died in 2008 at age 60, several years after being severely burned in a car crash in Mexico that killed his wife (the telegram that Mrs. O'Brien receives indicates that R.L. died in a car crash). Both of Malick's parents were still alive in 2011 when the film was released. His mother, Irene Malick, even attended the premiere, though Malick himself did not.

[jesus]

Some American theaters set up signs - warning moviegoers about the enigmatic and non-linear narrative of the movie - following some confused walkouts and refund demands in the opening weeks.

[veronica]

Shipped to theaters under the code name "Oak".

[richard]

VFX supervisor Mike Fink described this film and Voyage of Time: Life's Journey (2016) as being "not narratively connected, but thematically complementary pieces."

[frances]

According to Emmanuel Lubezki, a whole movie focusing on Sean Penn's character could be made from cut footage.

[scarlett]

With a running time of 188 minutes (3 hours and 8 minutes) the Extended Cut of the film is Terrence Malick's longest film as of 2018.

[alyssa]

The scene with the bats flying in the evening skies was not computer generated animation. Shot in Austin, the bats under Congress bridge is a well-known phenomenon as one of the largest known bats population in the world, and they all live under a bridge. During spring and fall, the bats can be seen flying out in the evening to begin their daily hunt for food.

[victoria]

Terrence Malick wanted the interior spaces to be unlighted, so 3 houses were used in the main story, depending on the time of day and the position of the sun. The sun is always visible shining through the windows.

[jessica]

The origin of this film goes back to the late 1970s, when after Days of Heaven (1978) director Terrence Malick was working on a project named "Q", that would explore the origins of life on earth. He abandoned the project, but this film contains elements from it.