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#151 Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
This could certainly find a spot in the 100 proper, but as I mentioned before these added films at the end are all worthy, and I actually recommend many of these over some of my earlier ones. The point is that I recommend them all. I've been saying since I joined here that this has my fave cinematography and musical score of any film, so I suppose it's surprising that I haven't listed it earlier. The thing that Days of Heaven and all of Malick's films are light on thus far are plot, but this one is easily my favorite and the most-organic of his films. One thing you need to realize about Malick is that his films are visual tone poems and that they're all narrated by someone who doesn't necessarily understand the situations which they are in. In Days of Heaven, the narrator is Linda (Linda Manz), the sister of Bill (Richard Gere). Linda and Bill are traveling with Abby (Brooke Adams) who's Bill's lover but also poses as his sister. After Bill kills a man, the three of them take a train to Texas and go to work at a wheat farm owned by Sam Shepard. When they learn that the Farmer doesn't have much time to live, Bill convinces Abby to snuggle up to the Farmer in the hopes that he'll marry her and they'll inherit a fortune. Of course, things don't go as planned.
&NR=1
Although mostly set in Texas, Malick shot Days of Heaven in Alberta, Canada, so that he could show all four seasons on the farm. Ennio Morricon'es beautiful score is augmented by Leo Kottke's acoustic guitar, Doug Kershaw's fiddle, and "Carnival of the Animals - The Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saëns. The film could be called leisurely paced for the first hour, but it's so magnificent a visual and aural experience that it seems to fly by within its own heightened-sense of ultra-naturalism. The final half-hour definitely picks up the pace and intensity of the action as a locust attack and fire threatens to destroy the farm, passions reach a boiling point and violence rears its head once again.
I really thought that Days of Heaven was going to hit it big at the Oscars, especially since I found it superior to much of its competition, including The Deer Hunter, Coming Home and An Unmarried Woman, but alas, it only got four Oscar nominations and won Best Cinematography for Nestor Almendros. Apparently, it's still well-ahead of its own time and our time as well. However, anyone who wants to take a vacation back in time and enjoys availing themselves to some rustic beauty for about an hour and a half would do well to watch the visionary Days of Heaven. Even in the Malick canon, I find it a one-of-a-kind experience. Anyone who wants to discuss this or any of my other films in more detail, this here is the place.
This could certainly find a spot in the 100 proper, but as I mentioned before these added films at the end are all worthy, and I actually recommend many of these over some of my earlier ones. The point is that I recommend them all. I've been saying since I joined here that this has my fave cinematography and musical score of any film, so I suppose it's surprising that I haven't listed it earlier. The thing that Days of Heaven and all of Malick's films are light on thus far are plot, but this one is easily my favorite and the most-organic of his films. One thing you need to realize about Malick is that his films are visual tone poems and that they're all narrated by someone who doesn't necessarily understand the situations which they are in. In Days of Heaven, the narrator is Linda (Linda Manz), the sister of Bill (Richard Gere). Linda and Bill are traveling with Abby (Brooke Adams) who's Bill's lover but also poses as his sister. After Bill kills a man, the three of them take a train to Texas and go to work at a wheat farm owned by Sam Shepard. When they learn that the Farmer doesn't have much time to live, Bill convinces Abby to snuggle up to the Farmer in the hopes that he'll marry her and they'll inherit a fortune. Of course, things don't go as planned.
&NR=1
Although mostly set in Texas, Malick shot Days of Heaven in Alberta, Canada, so that he could show all four seasons on the farm. Ennio Morricon'es beautiful score is augmented by Leo Kottke's acoustic guitar, Doug Kershaw's fiddle, and "Carnival of the Animals - The Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saëns. The film could be called leisurely paced for the first hour, but it's so magnificent a visual and aural experience that it seems to fly by within its own heightened-sense of ultra-naturalism. The final half-hour definitely picks up the pace and intensity of the action as a locust attack and fire threatens to destroy the farm, passions reach a boiling point and violence rears its head once again.
I really thought that Days of Heaven was going to hit it big at the Oscars, especially since I found it superior to much of its competition, including The Deer Hunter, Coming Home and An Unmarried Woman, but alas, it only got four Oscar nominations and won Best Cinematography for Nestor Almendros. Apparently, it's still well-ahead of its own time and our time as well. However, anyone who wants to take a vacation back in time and enjoys availing themselves to some rustic beauty for about an hour and a half would do well to watch the visionary Days of Heaven. Even in the Malick canon, I find it a one-of-a-kind experience. Anyone who wants to discuss this or any of my other films in more detail, this here is the place.