2. Terrence Frederick
Malick is an American
film director,
screenwriter and
producer.
In a career spanning
over four decades,
Malick had directed
six feature films until
the release of TheTree
of Life.
3. Malick studied philosophy under at Harvard University,
graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1965.
He went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
After a disagreement with his tutor, Gilbert Ryle, over his thesis on
the concept of world in Kierkegaard, Heidegger, andWittgenstein,
Malick left Oxford without a doctorate.
In 1969, Northwestern University Press published Malick's
translation of Heidegger's VomWesen des Grundes as The
Essence of Reasons.
Returning to the United States, Malick taught philosophy at the
Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology while freelancing as a
journalist. He wrote articles for Newsweek, The NewYorker, and
Life.
4. Filmography as director:
Badlands (1973) Director, writer, producer, actor.
Days of Heaven (1978) Director, writer, actor.
Awarded the Best Director Award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival.
TheThin Red Line (1998) Director, writer.
Awarded the Golden Bear at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival
The NewWorld (2005) Director, writer.
TheTree of Life (2011) Director, writer.
Awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2011Cannes Film Festival
Awarded the FIPRESCIAward (International Federation of FilmCritics) for the Best Film of theYear
To theWonder (2012) Director, writer.
Awarded the SIGNISAward at the 2012Venice Film Festival
Knight of Cups (2015) Director, writer.
Voyage ofTime (2016) Director, writer.
Song to Song (2017) Director, writer.
Radegund (2018) Director, writer.
5. Award Year Project Category Result
Golden Globe Awards 1978 Days of Heaven Best Director Nominated
César Awards 1999 TheThin Red Line Best Foreign Film Nominated
Chicago Film Critics
Association
1998 TheThin Red Line Best Director Won
Chicago Film Critics
Association
2011 TheTree of Life Best Director Won
Chicago Film Critics
Association
2011 TheTree of Life Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Cannes Film Festival 1978 Days of Heaven Best DirectorAward Won
Cannes Film Festival 1978 Days of Heaven Palme d'Or Nominated
Cannes Film Festival 2011 TheTree of Life Palme d'Or Won
Berlin International Film
Festival
1999 TheThin Red Line Golden Bear Won
Academy Awards 1998 TheThin Red Line Best Director Nominated
Academy Awards 1998 TheThin Red Line Best AdaptedScreenplay Nominated
Academy Awards 2011 TheTree of Life Best Director Nominated
7. The concept of a Tree of life has been used in
mythology, religion, philosophy and science
A tree of life is a common motif in various world
theologies, mythologies, and a symbol used in some
philosophies.
It alludes to the interconnection of all life on our
planet and serves as a metaphor for common
descent in the evolutionary sense.
In religious contexts, the term tree of life may also be
used as a synonym for sacred tree.
8. The tree of knowledge, connecting to
heaven and the underworld, and the tree of
life, connecting all forms of creation, are
both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree,
according to the Encyclopædia Britannica,
and are portrayed in various religions and
philosophies as the same tree.
9. Christianity
TheTree of Life represents the
immaculate state of humanity
free from corruption and Original
Sin before the Fall. Pope Benedict
XVI has said that "the Cross is the
true tree of life." Saint
Bonaventure taught that the
medicinal fruit of theTree of Life
is Christ himself. Saint Albert the
Great taught that the Eucharist,
the Body and Blood of Christ, is
the Fruit of theTree of Life.
In Eastern Christianity the tree of
life is the love of God.
TheTree of Life at St Paul’s Cathedral
10. Christianity
TheTree of Life represents the
immaculate state of humanity
free from corruption and
Original Sin before the Fall.
Pope Benedict XVI has said
that "the Cross is the true tree
of life." Saint Bonaventure
taught that the medicinal fruit
of theTree of Life is Christ
himself. Saint Albert the Great
taught that the Eucharist, the
Body and Blood of Christ, is
the Fruit of theTree of Life.
In Eastern Christianity the tree
of life is the love of God.
Mosaic in the apse of the 12th
century Basilica of St. Clement in
Rome. It depicts the Cross of Jesus
Christ as the Tree of Life from which
flows vines, animals, fruit,
shepherds, etc.
11. Mosaic in the apse of the 12th century Basilica of St. Clement in Rome.
12. Islam
The Tree of Immortality (Arabic:
شجرةالخلود ) is the tree of life motif as it
appears in the Quran. It is also
alluded to in hadiths and tafsir.
Unlike the biblical account, the
Quran mentions only one tree in
Eden, also called the tree of
immortality, whichAllah specifically
forbade to Adam and Eve.
Satan, disguised as a serpent,
repeatedly told Adam to eat from the
tree, and eventually both Adam and
Eve did so, thus disobeyingAllah.
The hadiths also speak about other
trees in heaven.
13. Hinduism
During the cyclic destruction of
creation when the whole earth
was enveloped by waters, akshaya
vata (the eternal Banyan tree)
remained unaffected. As the form
of a baby, Lord Krishna rested on
its leaves. It’s even said that
Buddha meditates eternally at this
spot, and that the Bodi tree at
Gaya is a physical manifestation of
its energy.The tree represents
that part of ourselves that stays
pure and despite difficult
situations — as long as we’re
rooted in spirituality.
14. In addition to the Hebrew Bible verses, the tree of life
is symbolically described in the Book of Revelation as
having healing properties: "the angel showed me the
river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the
middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the
river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)
15. Ancient Mesopotamia and Urartu
The Assyrian Tree of Life was represented by a series of nodes
and criss-crossing lines. It was apparently an important
religious symbol, often attended to in Assyrian palace
reliefs by human or eagle-headed winged genies, or the King,
and blessed or fertilized with bucket and
cone. Assyriologists have not reached consensus as to the
meaning of this symbol.The name "Tree of Life" has been
attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the
Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the
symbol is known to exist.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality.
In Mesopotamian mythology, Etana searches for a 'plant of
birth' to provide him with a son.This has a solid provenance of
antiquity, being found in cylinder seals from Akkad (2390–
2249 BCE).
The Urartian Tree of Life
In ancient Urartu, theTree of Life was a religious symbol and
was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of
warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the
right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one
leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on
each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are
taking care of the tree.
Assyrian tree of life, from Nimrud panels.
16. The Urartian Tree of Life
In ancient Urartu, theTree of Life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of
warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one
leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are
taking care of the tree.
25. In Norse mythology, the WorldTree
calledYggdrasill runs like a pole
through this world and the realms
above and below it.Yggdrasill is a
great ash tree that connects all living
things and all phases of existence.
26. An 1847 depiction of the
NorseYggdrasil (TheTree of
Life) as described in
the Icelandic Prose
Edda by Oluf Olufsen Bagge
28. Malick had two younger brothers: Chris and
Larry.
Larry Malick was a guitarist who went to study in
Spain with Andrés Segovia in the late 1960s.
In 1968, Larry intentionally broke his own hands
due to pressure over his musical studies.
Emil (Malick’s father) went to Spain to help
Larry, but Larry died shortly after, apparently
committing suicide.
