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Days Of Heaven
1979
Terrence 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, .. Read more
| Starring | Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, Brooke Adams, Linda Manz |
|---|---|
| Director | Terrence Malick |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
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Days Of Heaven
Terrence 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.
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.
| Starring | Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, Brooke Adams, Linda Manz, Stuart Margolin, Timothy Scott, Jackie Shultis, Bob Wilke, Robert J. Wilke, Gene Bell, Doug Kershaw, Bob Wilson |
|---|---|
| Director | Terrence Malick |
| Studio | PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 29 mins Watch now: 1 hr 33 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
| Language | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Dubbed | German |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 02 Jul 2001 Watch now: 08 Apr 2009 Production year: 1979 |
| Watch now | £2.49 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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This truly extraordinary visual treat from director Terrence Malick and Oscar-winning cinematographer Nestor Almendros was not a great commercial success, but has inspired film and particularly commercial directors for over a decade. Malick, who has only made two other films (Badlands and The Thin Red Line), takes a couple of disenfranchised labourers, Richard Gere and Brooke Adams, and Gere's little sister Linda Manz, and sets them down in the golden vastness of the Texas wheatfields. A tragedy-strewn love triangle develops between Gere, Adams and their employer, Sam Shepard, though Malick steps back from the narrative to give us a curiously disembodied elegy on poverty and freedom. One to luxuriate in as an accomplished cinematic exercise, rather than engage with as an involving tale.
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Visually a superb slice of period life, it has an emotional force that emerges slowly from the conjunction of the vast landscape and its reticent intruders, who have fled from the dark of the city to find no peace in the country.
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Most helpful member's review
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10 out of 12 people found this review helpful
A masterpiece
Here we have a movie as enigmatic as it’s creator. Terrence Malick with only 3 films to his name constructed a film of such staggering beauty it is hard to sum up in mere words. The plot which will sound vaguely familiar concerns a love triangle between Bill(Gere), his girlfriend masquerading as his sister Abby(Adams) and a dying farmer(Sheppard). Emotions are restrained and muted and you will find yourself not caring much for these 3 characters.
The point here is to fully appreciate the film you have to realise the events being told by the girl(Manz) are from her point of view and memories. She is far too young to completely fathom the situations going on around her and many times instead of concentrating on the seemingly “important” affair between Bill and Abby she tells us of a circus troop that landed on the farm or her sightings of poor people in the streets “ their tongues hangin’ out of their mouths".
This is what makes this film a highly original and extremely moving experience. We are being shown the heart of a young girl who never really understood what was happening to her.
Incredible natural light photography from Nestor Almendros and one of Morricone’s very best scores make this an overwhelming experience for the eyes and ears. Certainly one of the greatest American films of the 1970’s and perhaps all time. -
Most recent members' review
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Think of it as a moving painting and watch it for the photography
Look, Malick is his own man OK. He doesn't do Hollywood schmaltz. So if you're watching this thinking that Richard Gere's presence means this is another Pretty Woman or An Officer and a Gentleman, then forget it. The real star of this movie is the endless landscape of the mid-west. But if you just forget about watching a movie the way Hollywood has trained us all to and sit back and give it some space - this is some of the most incredible cinematography you are ever going to see.
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Terrence 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 ... -