Highly Overrated But Still Good

Boring

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Visually stunning minimalist story about love and deception in the Texas panhandle in 1916/17. Terence Malick's film combines the gorgeous cinematography of Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler and a terrific film score to tell a sketchy story that, despite a lot of dialog and backstory, is quite moving.Billy (Richard Gere) and his common-law wife Abby (Brooke Adams), who poses as his sister, leave Chicago and head west with Billy's real sister, Linda (Linda Manz). They travel the great plains and come to a ranch where migrant workers are needed to harvest the thousands of acres of wheat. The farm is owned by a lonely and dying man (Sam Shepard).Although the farmer has an eye for Abby, the foreman (Robert Wilke) thinks there's something suspicious bout Abby's relationship with Billy. With the crop in and a huge fortune made by the farmer, he invites Abby to "stay over" through the winter. She agrees if Billy and Linda can stay as well. The group spends an idyllic six months, although after the farmer marries Abby, Billy starts to get more and more jealous.Of course they know the farmer is dying, but Billy's plan to marry off Abby and eventually get the farmer's money, seems to hurt no one. But the farmer doesn't seem to be dying. Their Eden is eventually fouled by the rising jealousy each man feels for the other.Brilliant character study has minimal dialog. It's not needed. What we have then is a stunning assemblage of visuals that look painterly in their composition and use of color. The music and sound effects (those gigantic tractors!) punctuate the story and the total silence of the landscape.This is pure cinema. It harkens back to the silent era by not relying on dialog to tell the story. There is a running commentary by Manz who tells her side of the story from a child's point of view. Camille Saint-Saëns' "Aquarium" is the theme played over the opening credits.Excellent performances by the four stars. This one is best seen on a big screen. Not to be missed.

Yes, very beautiful but holy hell was this boring. I think the director forgot about a decent story and just threw a jumpy plot together to fill the spaces between each gorgeous shot. Zero character development, bad fight scenes, no love scenes and about an hour dedicated to the harvester, harvesting wheat, bugs on the wheat, hands running through the wheat, sunset on the wheat or playing in the wheat. The story (as it were) follows a young Richard Gere as a migrant farm worker on a Texas farm in 1916. Posing as brother and sister he travels with his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) from Chicago to Texas where they land a job on a rich mans what farm. Life is hard, the hours gruelling but (Sam Shepard) the boss has taken a liking to his sister/girlfriend. When Gere overhears the doctor telling the boss man that he may only have a year to live he convinces his girlfriend/sister to marry the boss so they can claim his fortune. The whole movie is narrated by a young boy... or girl, not sure who this is meant to be actually but it's so the viewer can understand what the hell is going on between each frame of cinemagraphic beauty

Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. This movie is all about visual impact and this gorgeous, haunting piece of art will leave you in awe and you will wonder how on earth did this film come out in 1978. Terrence Malick, perhaps the most elusive human being on this planet, is known as a visual director and he proves it here with his second film. The story is very simple, but the story is not supposed to be at the forefront. Apparently after several days of shooting, Malick threw away the script and told the actors to wing it. Through a long and arduous editing process, Malick was able to come up with a coherent story.Let's talk about these visuals for a second. They are completely mesmerizing and it took people by surprise upon its release. I loved the use of natural lighting on set, which gave the film its unique colors. Malick wouldn't allow the use of artificial light much to the dismay of many people who were not used to working this style. Much of the film was created during the hour just after sunset and just before it became dark. That is really impressive. Now many of the scenes are outdoors at a Texas prairie. Some of the best shots were just seeing the wheat swaying in the wind as night was falling. Two of cinema's most impressive cinematographers worked on the movie: Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler. There was some controversy because Almendros had to leave the film after a long while due to prior commitments, but he was given the credit of the work despite Wexler being able to prove he shot more than half of the film. These visuals are complimented beautifully by the haunting score of Ennio Morricone, one of the greatest composers of all time. This combination of visuals and music created a unique form of art and something wondrous to behold.The story is simple and relatively straightforward. The story did not become clear until the two years Malick spent in the editing room putting the film together. The film takes place right before the First World War. Bill (Richard Gere) and Abby (Brooke Adams) are a couple from Chicago. After Bill kills a man at his workplace, he and Abby pose as siblings as they escape down south to find a new life. Along with Billy's little sister Linda (Linda Manz), they find employment on a Texas farm working the harvest. As they do the work, the farmer (Sam Shepard) has fallen in love with Abby. But Billy discovers the farmer is terminally ill and may only have one year left to live. Billy persuades Abby to marry the farmer so they can take advantage of the wealth after the farmer dies. But all may not go according to the plan.Despite emphasis being placed on the visuals, I think the acting was fantastic. The actors here were mostly new to the business, but they would go on to have long careers. (Especially Richard Gere and Sam Shepard). Gere, Shepard, and Adams have fantastic chemistry with each other which is needed when there is a love triangle. I thought Linda Manz did a really fine job. The film is told from her point-of-view and she provides a haunting narration over the course of the movie. She is only a teenager, but she goes through experiences which causes her to be far more mature than her age.Overall, Days of Heaven is a breath-taking masterpiece that allows the visuals to do its talking. This film was extremely rare for the time period it was created. With all the trouble that happened during production, it amazes me that this film is actually good. Malick had such a hard time with this film. In fact, he didn't make another film until twenty years later. That is sad because he is a talented director, and he was able to push himself over the edge to create this film. I compare this film to nature. Nature is beautiful and there is gorgeous scenery in every location of this globe. Nature can be breath-taking and that is how I feel about this film.My Grade: A

Yes, it looks good. Yes, setting and premise make you think you are a in for a great story. No, there is no great story and it actually ends up being the same old story.Terrance Malick might be good at a lot of things but writing is not one of them.I love the look and feel of this movie, The New World and The Tree of Life but they all leave me disappointed. I don't believe them. The pictures pull you in and the writing pulls me out.Character development is so weak in this film you really don't care what happens to any of these people. What they are doing working in the fields is anybodies guess but it looks like Malick told them to pick up a rake and act like you're doing something. No attention to detail.