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

Cinematographer Néstor Almendros was going blind during production. Before each shot, he would have his assistant take a picture with a Polaroid camera and then would view it under a high-powered magnifying glass.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie, Bill fires three shots from a double-barreled shotgun without reloading.

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Quotes

Linda: There were people sufferin' in pain and hunger. Some people their tongues were hangin' out of their mouths.

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Connections

Referenced in Dungeon Girl (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Swamp Dance"
Words and Music by Doug Kershaw
Performed by Doug Kershaw
Used by permission of Tree Publishing Co., Inc. B.M.I. Copyright 1974

User Reviews

A seminar on cinematography

A single amazing shot demonstrates what makes "Days of Heaven" so great: for ten seconds the camera focuses on wheat rolling in the wind like the surface of the ocean before a storm. Trouble is coming, and no amount of narration or expository dialogue could sum the situation up better. Brooke Adams, Sam Sheppard and Richard Gere are all excellent, but the real stars of this movie are Director Terrence Malick and Cinematographer Nestor Almendros. After reading the plot summary on imdb, you could watch this movie with the sound off and enjoy it just as much.