The New World (Blu-ray)

This singular vision of early seventeenth-century America from Terrence Malick is a work of astounding elemental beauty, a poetic meditation on nature, violence, love, and civilization.

It reimagines the apocryphal story of the meeting of British explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Powhatan native Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher, in a revelatory performance) as a romantic idyll between spiritual equals, then follows Pocahontas through her marriage to John Rolfe (Christian Bale) and her life in England.

With art director Jack Fisk’s raw recreation of the Jamestown colony, Emmanuel Lubezki’s marvelous, naturally lit cinematography, and James Horner’s soaring musical score, The New World is a film of uncommon power and technical splendor, one that shows Malick at the height of his visual and philosophical powers.

• New 4K digital restoration of the 172-minute extended cut of the film, supervised by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and director Terrence Malick and featuring material not released in theatres, with both theatrical and near-field 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
• High-definition digital transfers of the 150-minute first cut and the 135- minute theatrical cut of the film, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
• New interviews with actors Colin Farrell and Q’orianka Kilcher
• New programme about the making of the film, featuring interviews with producer Sarah Green, production designer Jack Fisk, and costume designer Jacqueline West
• Making “The New World,” a documentary shot during the production of the film in 2004, directed and edited by Austin Jack Lynch
• New program about the process of cutting The New World and its various versions, featuring interviews with editors Hank Corwin, Saar Klein, and Mark Yoshikawa
• Trailers
• PLUS: A book featuring an essay by film scholar Tom Gunning, a 2006 interview with Lubezki from American Cinematographer, and a selection of materials that inspired the production