‘Knight of Cups': New Terrence Malick movie features a ton of classical music

On Sunday Terrence Malick's new film Knight of Cups premiered at the 2015 Berlinale International Film Festival. The much-anticipated feature from the revered director was met with typical fanfare, with lots of buzz about the film's big-name stars—including Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, and Cate Blanchett—and how the film was actually shot without a completed script. (Malick himself was, as expected, absent.) Portman was quoted in a tweet by Berlinale: "I admired Terrence Malick as an artist. Now I got to know him as a human and that made me admire him even more."

Malick is well-known for his frequent use of classical music, and his new movie has an enormous amount of music in it. In addition to music by Vaughan Williams, Grieg, Beethoven, Debussy, Pärt, and other composers, the film includes an original score that continues Malick's collaborative relationship with composer Hanan Townshend—a relationship that now spans at least three films. The movie also includes music by indie rock bands like Explosions in the Sky and Thee Oh Sees. A complete list of music in the film appears at The Playlist.

Knight of Cups, which stars Bale as a discontented Hollywood screenwriter, has received wildly varying reviews: the London Times says it's Malick "at the top of his game," while the BBC says it's the worst film ever by the director known for Badlands (1973), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The Tree of Life (2011). It's expected to be released in the U.S. this year, though no date has yet been announced.