FeaturesWidescreen, Closed Caption, Theatrical Trailer, With Subtitles
GenreDrama, General
Additional Product Features
Number of Discs1
CertificatePG
Hearing ImpairedEnglish
ComposerDoug Kershaw, Ennio Morricone, Leo Kottke
Executive ProducerJacob Brackman
Additional InformationTerrence Malick's follow-up to BADLANDS is an exquisitely photographed story of a group of early-20th-century itinerant workers who find themselves entangled in a deadly love triangle. Bill (Richard Gere) and Abby (Brooke Adams) are lovers who are forced to flee Chicago after Bill accidentally murders his foreman. Together, with Bill's little sister, Linda (Linda Manz), they settle on the land of a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard) and spend their days working in the wheat fields. Bill discovers that the farmer is terminally ill and convinces Abby to marry him so they can inherit his fortune. As the days progress, it becomes apparent that the farmer isn't getting any sicker, and when he discovers that Abby and Bill had initially set out to con him, their carefree existence comes to a deadly end.<BR>Notorious for its on-set difficulties and extended postproduction, DAYS OF HEAVEN remains a beautifully composed work of art. Malick uses dialogue minimally, sometimes choosing not to fade in the sound of a scene until the actors have finished speaking. To combat this, he applies Linda's innocent voice-over--as he did with Sissy Spacek's in BADLANDS--to add a poetic dimension. Combined with Nestor Almendros's Oscar-winning cinematography and Ennio Morricone's mellifluent score, DAYS OF HEAVEN is a timeless motion picture that confirms Malick's directorial prowess.
ReviewsVariety - ...DAYS OF HEAVEN is a dramatically moving and technically breathtaking American art film, one of the great cinematic achievements of the last decade..., New York Times - Included in the New York Times's "10 BEST FILMS OF 1978" -- "...[Malick is] extraordinarily gifted....Excellent performers..."
ScreenwriterTerrence Malick
Art DirectorJack Fisk
Costume DesignerPatricia Norris, Jerry R. Allen
Dubbing LanguagesGerman
Sound sourceDolby Digital 5.1\Mono
EditorBilly Weber
Movie/TV TitleDays Of Heaven
Director of PhotographyNestor Almendros, Haskell Wexler
Described by one critic as 'intolerably artsy' this is arguably Mallick's best film. It's slow and episodic. We, the viewers, drop in to see part of the story of the four main characters, and drop out at the end, as the two surviving characters drift away to uncertain (and unspecified) futures. In this sense the film feels more like a product of French cinema (enhanced by the voice-over dialogue) than of Hollywood with its definite sad/happy endings. I am not a fan of Richard Gere, who always seems to hold back from the characters he plays. His motivation, thinking and scheming in this film are all delivered through the fixed, impenetrable Gere 'mask'. The filming is excellent, with a locust plague and a major fire frighteningly portrayed. Definitely one to re-visit for the sheer artistry of the story-telling, and the way harsh lives are beautifully captured on film.