Days of Heaven (1978)

Strong and Moving!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Yes, very beautiful but holy hell was this boring. I think the director forgot about a decent story and just threw a jumpy plot together to fill the spaces between each gorgeous shot. Zero character development, bad fight scenes, no love scenes and about an hour dedicated to the harvester, harvesting wheat, bugs on the wheat, hands running through the wheat, sunset on the wheat or playing in the wheat. The story (as it were) follows a young Richard Gere as a migrant farm worker on a Texas farm in 1916. Posing as brother and sister he travels with his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) from Chicago to Texas where they land a job on a rich mans what farm. Life is hard, the hours gruelling but (Sam Shepard) the boss has taken a liking to his sister/girlfriend. When Gere overhears the doctor telling the boss man that he may only have a year to live he convinces his girlfriend/sister to marry the boss so they can claim his fortune. The whole movie is narrated by a young boy... or girl, not sure who this is meant to be actually but it's so the viewer can understand what the hell is going on between each frame of cinemagraphic beauty

Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. This movie is all about visual impact and this gorgeous, haunting piece of art will leave you in awe and you will wonder how on earth did this film come out in 1978. Terrence Malick, perhaps the most elusive human being on this planet, is known as a visual director and he proves it here with his second film. The story is very simple, but the story is not supposed to be at the forefront. Apparently after several days of shooting, Malick threw away the script and told the actors to wing it. Through a long and arduous editing process, Malick was able to come up with a coherent story.Let's talk about these visuals for a second. They are completely mesmerizing and it took people by surprise upon its release. I loved the use of natural lighting on set, which gave the film its unique colors. Malick wouldn't allow the use of artificial light much to the dismay of many people who were not used to working this style. Much of the film was created during the hour just after sunset and just before it became dark. That is really impressive. Now many of the scenes are outdoors at a Texas prairie. Some of the best shots were just seeing the wheat swaying in the wind as night was falling. Two of cinema's most impressive cinematographers worked on the movie: Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler. There was some controversy because Almendros had to leave the film after a long while due to prior commitments, but he was given the credit of the work despite Wexler being able to prove he shot more than half of the film. These visuals are complimented beautifully by the haunting score of Ennio Morricone, one of the greatest composers of all time. This combination of visuals and music created a unique form of art and something wondrous to behold.The story is simple and relatively straightforward. The story did not become clear until the two years Malick spent in the editing room putting the film together. The film takes place right before the First World War. Bill (Richard Gere) and Abby (Brooke Adams) are a couple from Chicago. After Bill kills a man at his workplace, he and Abby pose as siblings as they escape down south to find a new life. Along with Billy's little sister Linda (Linda Manz), they find employment on a Texas farm working the harvest. As they do the work, the farmer (Sam Shepard) has fallen in love with Abby. But Billy discovers the farmer is terminally ill and may only have one year left to live. Billy persuades Abby to marry the farmer so they can take advantage of the wealth after the farmer dies. But all may not go according to the plan.Despite emphasis being placed on the visuals, I think the acting was fantastic. The actors here were mostly new to the business, but they would go on to have long careers. (Especially Richard Gere and Sam Shepard). Gere, Shepard, and Adams have fantastic chemistry with each other which is needed when there is a love triangle. I thought Linda Manz did a really fine job. The film is told from her point-of-view and she provides a haunting narration over the course of the movie. She is only a teenager, but she goes through experiences which causes her to be far more mature than her age.Overall, Days of Heaven is a breath-taking masterpiece that allows the visuals to do its talking. This film was extremely rare for the time period it was created. With all the trouble that happened during production, it amazes me that this film is actually good. Malick had such a hard time with this film. In fact, he didn't make another film until twenty years later. That is sad because he is a talented director, and he was able to push himself over the edge to create this film. I compare this film to nature. Nature is beautiful and there is gorgeous scenery in every location of this globe. Nature can be breath-taking and that is how I feel about this film.My Grade: A

The quintessential American film. Filmmakers should make a pilgrimage to this film as a rite of passage. It is energized, beautiful, gripping, and bold and gives an honest and insightful portrayal of the Industrial Age's American Dream.The film involves two lovers who set out to the west for a better life. They work on the farm of a wealthy landowner along with hundreds of other immigrants and laborers looking to make a life for themselves.The proprietor of the farm asks Abby, the woman, for her hand in marriage. He is ill and dying, which ultimately pushes her decision to accept the proposal. All is not well with Bill, however, her husband. Jealousy, a front and center theme, rears its ugly head and things fall apart.Richard Gere gives an outstanding performance in this piece. The acting is great and deep, the actors connect with each other and the environment around them. The music is haunting, and visually, like many of Malick's works, the film is unparalleled in its beauty, many of the shots involving natural light just before the sun sets.I give this film a perfect score and would recommend it to literally anyone. It should be in a museum, and lauded for years for its quality.

Yes, it looks good. Yes, setting and premise make you think you are a in for a great story. No, there is no great story and it actually ends up being the same old story.Terrance Malick might be good at a lot of things but writing is not one of them.I love the look and feel of this movie, The New World and The Tree of Life but they all leave me disappointed. I don't believe them. The pictures pull you in and the writing pulls me out.Character development is so weak in this film you really don't care what happens to any of these people. What they are doing working in the fields is anybodies guess but it looks like Malick told them to pick up a rake and act like you're doing something. No attention to detail.