Movies - The New World

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	Movies - The New World

The New World is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated film directed by Terrence Malick and starring Colin Farrell. It is a historical adventure set during the founding of the Jamestown, Virginia settlement and inspired by the historical figures Captain John Smith (Farrell) and Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher). The film is considered to be a more realistic depiction of the events than that of the Disney film Pocahontas
.

The New World is Malick's fourth feature film, and was written by him. The cast also includes Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, David Thewlis and Yorick van Wageningen. The production team includes director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki (Y tu mamá también
, Sleepy Hollow
), production designer Jack Fisk (Mulholland Drive, The Thin Red Line), costume designer Jacqueline West (Quills
, Rising Sun) and film editor Richard Chew (Star Wars, Shanghai Noon
). The film had an estimated budget of $30,000,000, and was produced by Sarah Green.

Behind the scenes

The film was shot on location at the Chickahominy River, a tributary of the James River not far from the site of the real events, and other nearby locations. Reconstructions of the Jamestown settlement and of the Powhatan village were created, based on archaeological evidence. The England scenes were filmed at Hampton Court Palace and Hatfield House, near London.

The New World is the first studio feature in nine years to be at least partially shot on 65 mm film (for non-visual effect shots). The previous one was Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet
(1996), which was filmed entirely in 65 mm.

The movie was originally set to be released by New Line Cinema, a Time Warner company, in November 2005 but the date was pushed back to a limited release of a 155 minute version in December and a wide release of a slightly shortened version in January, 2006. The delay was due to Malick still editing the massive amount of footage he filmed; the director is notorious for editing his films until the last minute, often trimming his films and leaving entire characters out of the final print, as is the case with The Thin Red Line
.

Blair Rudes, professor of linguistics at UNC-Charlotte, re-created the extinct language of Virginian Algonquian for the film.

Responses

The film was received with mixed reviews. Most critics agreed that the film has beautiful cinematography. However, some found it romanticized and historically inaccurate, noting that Malick changes history to enhance the romance between Smith and Pocahontas, and the lack of realistic dialogue.

Historical accuracy

Malick's film selectively blends recorded history with popular lore. It broadly follows the known life of Pocahontas, from her youth in the Powhatan village, to a period spent with the English settlers in Jamestown, her marriage to John Rolfe, her journey to London and early death from pneumonia. However, Malick diverges from available evidence in favor of the literary tradition that Pocahontas fell in love with John Smith. Furthermore, most of the dialogue and character motivations are invented. For instance, Malick's Pocahontas has a generally positive response to her marriage and her journey to London, but the thoughts and feelings of the historical Pocahontas cannot be known as she left no writing of her own.

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Movies - The New World

Behind the scenes

Responses

Historical accuracy

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