Days of Heaven (1978)

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.

Director:

Terrence Malick

Writer:

Terrence Malick

Stars:

Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard

Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Bill and Abby, a young couple who to the outside world pretend to be brother and sister are living and working in Chicago at the beginning of the century. They want to escape the poverty and hard labour of the city and travel south. Together with the girl Linda (who acts as the narrator in the movie) they find employment on a farm in the Panhandle, Texas. When the harvest is over the young, rich and handsome farmer invites them to stay because he has fallen in love with Abby. When Bill and Abby discover that the farmer is seriously ill and has only got a year left to live they decide that Abby will accept his wedding proposal in order to make some benefit out of the situation. When the expected death fails to come, jealousy and impatience are slowly setting in and accidents become eventually inevitable.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | love | farmer | wedding | dying | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

13 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Días de gloria

Filming Locations:

Raymond, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First use of the Panaglide, an early form of Steadicam.

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Goofs

The biplane in the "Flying Circus" is a De Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth, an aircraft first produced in 1931.

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Quotes

Linda: This farmer, he had a big spread, and a lot of money. Whoever was sitting in a chair when he'd come around, why they'd stand up and give it to him.
Linda: Wasn't no harm in him. You'd give him a flower, he'd keep it forever.

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Connections

Referenced in Dungeon Girl (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Enderlin"
Written and Performed by Leo Kottke
Used by permission of Overdrive Musc A.S.C.A.P. Copyright 1978

User Reviews

Up there with Casablanca & Citizen Kane

I can understand why Malick didn't make another movie after he made Days of Heaven. The film was panned by the majority of the critics who could only find the cinematography worthy of praise. However, Malick was hugely misunderstood by these dumb critics.

They complain that the film is ponderously slow. This was the intention. Malick used pause to convey that the characters think. Too many actors rattle off their lines without letting their characters think of them. It also conveys the slow pace of their lives.

Critics complain that the characters are too remote - one feels removed from them and can't get involved. Hello! It is narrated by a 13 yr old and is essentially her view of the events that transpired. Naturally she does not grasp most of the more adult moments between them and thus is herself removed from being fully involved in Bill and Abby's relationship and that is what has to come across.

Then Malick, in a moment of genius, allied the four main characters to the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire & Water. Bill is Fire - he is seen at first in front of the furnaces of a foundry where he works. We can see his temper is volatile. Abby is water - in the very first shot she is scavenging(?) by a stream and she is seen against the backdrop of the river. Linda is Earth - In her narration she says that she is close to the "Oith". The Farmer is Air - constantly tinkering with his weather vane, and his fields of wheat are often seen waving in the wind.

All in all a severely mies-judged film and the critics owe Malick a huge apology. The work is pure genius!