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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Character Study > Existentialism > Family > Time > Friends > Knight Of Cups (2015/Broadgreen Blu-ray)

Knight Of Cups (2015/Broadgreen Blu-ray)



Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C- Film: B+



It goes without saying that Terrence Malick's new film Knight of Cups (2015) is a gorgeous cinematic achievement. Using some big Hollywood heavyweights in such a surreal film like this is a treat and also challenges them as performers more than their usual green screen fare. I'm referring to such major, key actors you may have heard of before: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Isabel Lucas, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, Antonio Banderas, and loads more cameos all of which inhabit this familiar, yet at the same time dangerous world that Malick crafts cleverly using voice over to describe the character's inner monologue, as well as many scenes where characters spit out little dialogue and express their emotions more through body language. We learn in the special features that the actors were presented loose dialogue to improv along with some ideas and not given much to go off of before they arrived to set.


While the plot is kind of lucid and hard to summarize as simply as most, Knight of Cups presents Rick (Bale), whom is sort of drifting through his life in Los Angeles and Vegas, sleeping with some of the most beautiful women the planet has to offer, making tons of cash, and spending time on the ocean. He isn't without his faire share of drama and misfortune however and the film takes us through his short lived romantic relationships and personal drama as he copes with his aging and angry Father (Dennehy), loser Brother (Bentley), and a life that he can't seem to get a handle on.


Despite his beautiful and fortunate surroundings, his character is just dead inside and Malick does a good job of presenting this to the audience. No matter how great of a life this guy seemingly lives, you also kind of feel sympathetic towards him due to his emptiness. Not to say that there aren't moments of the film where we see Rick enjoying his freedoms but Knight of Cups is a film that you may or may not enjoy. Most of it is completely up to interpretation and many of its themes are shown visually more than told through dialogue. This is sure to be a film (and should be) that is shown to film students as an example of high end filmmaking.


The cinematography by top notch DP Emmanuel Lubezki is some of the most interesting that I've seen in a film in a while. Mixing a wide range of different formats, there are scenes shot on film, scenes shot on digital, aerials, GoPro, handheld, underwater photography, and of course some very cinematic shots as well, all of which compliment the state of mind of our character. The editing is also extremely impressive and flows beautifully throughout the film and is specifically a highlight in a surreal scene in a Vegas party where Rick is intoxicated, that is accompanied by quick cutting and moments of slow motion and low shutter speeds that really pull off the effect well.


Presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track that presented the film in very high quality on Blu-ray disc. The film has a beautiful color palette that is really well represented on Blu-ray and even shots of national landmarks in Los Angeles and Vegas and familiar areas such as the LACMA Museum, really stand out in stunning detail here. No Digital Copy of Blu-ray with this edition, however.


The disc is also light on extras - the only one one being The Making of Knight of Cups featurette that accompany several other releases from Broadgreen Pictures.


If you're a fan of fine cinema - then you will want to see this immediately.



- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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