Days of Heaven (1978)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Terrence Malick

Writer:

Terrence Malick (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Your eyes... Your ears... Your senses... will be overwhelmed.

Plot:

A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Love | Farm | Harvest | Jealousy

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Bill
Brooke Adams	...	Abby
Sam Shepard	...	The Farmer
Linda Manz	...	Linda
Robert J. Wilke	...	The Farm Foreman (as Robert Wilke)
Jackie Shultis	...	Linda's Friend
Stuart Margolin	...	Mill Foreman
Timothy Scott	...	Harvest Hand (as Tim Scott)
Gene Bell	...	Dancer
Doug Kershaw	...	Fiddler
Richard Libertini	...	Vaudeville Leader
Frenchie Lemond	...	Vaudeville Wrestler
Sahbra Markus	...	Vaudeville Dancer
Bob Wilson	...	Accountant
Muriel Jolliffe	...	Headmistress

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG (certificate #25199) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Raymond, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The music behind the titles is "Aquarium," from Camille Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The Texas flag is displayed upside down.

Quotes:

Linda: You know how people are. You tell them something, they start talking.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dungeon Girl (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Swamp Dance

In A Class By Itself

This is truly a unique movie: in a class by itself. I had that opinion the first time I saw it on VHS and still feel the same way years later. It's been at the top of my list of favorite movies since I began compiling a list over a decade ago.

It's very dream-like, surreal, a film I never get tired of watching and I've watched this film more than any other in my large collection. If I had to pin it down to two reasons why, it would be the video and the audio.

The cinematography alone makes this movie worth watching repeatedly. Now that we all have access to a widescreen DVD version of this, the scenes are even more breathtaking. (I never had the pleasure of seeing this in a movie theater.)

The same superlatives can be used when discussing the soundtrack, a haunting music score that gets better and better each time one views this film. In fact, lately it's the music more than anything else I miss when I go periods without viewing this film.

The story is a simple one and is explained by others here. No need to repeat it. I find the narration to be unique, an unusual insight into the characters of the film and the thoughts of the little girl (Linda Manz), who does the narrating. The characters that continually fascinate me are Brooke Adams, as the lead female, and Robert J. Wilke, as the farm foreman. I guess it's their faces that intrigue me. Adams' down-turned mouth and sad look and Wilke's wrinklies catch my attention every time.

The story is interesting, generally low-key but with a few quick violent scenes that are quite memorable. More than that, one gets an incredible feel for the land and for the migrant workers of that time period. Another nice aspect of this film is the very small amount of profanity. Kids probably would be bored with this film but at least I wouldn't be afraid to show it to them.

But as many pluses as the story boasts, that haunting music and those incredible visuals are what drive me back for more. Great, great stuff.