I saw Terence Malick’s The New World a few days ago. He’s really known for his cinematography, [You must see Days of Heaven if you’ve not already] but what struck me most about The New World was the montage. Not the spinning newspaper stuff that is most prevalent, but honest to God rhythmic montage. The film has a distinctly small amount of dialogue and just slightly more narration. It would work as a silent and the editing is inspired in its hybridization of Soviet montage and Godard-legacy jump cuts. I’d love to sit with the editors and pick their brains.
The story didn’t do so much for me though.