With Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Linda Manz and Sam Shephard

Criterion Collection #409

“Days of Heaven” has a simple plot (which one could argue that all of Malick’s films) but his visionary images sets his films apart as being very unique and richly organic. Bill (Richard Gere) accidentally kills his foreman at the factory he works at in Chicago. Bill flees with his little sister Linda (Linda Manz) and his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) along the railroads of the Midwest until they reach Texas where an ill landowner (Sam Shephard who’s character is not given a name) hire the trio as seasonal help for the upcoming harvest.

    Where the plot thickens is Bill and Abby pretend to be brother and sister (hey, it takes place in 1917) and Bill hatches a plan for Abby to marry the ill landowner. She does marry him, but then he’s not as sick as he seems. Naturally Abby and the Farmer develop feelings for one another as Bill watches from the grain fields.

    I firmly believe that this film is where Malick discovered how he could fuse a narrative in with the beauty and awe of nature. As Richard Gere says in the Supplements, the final film was something completely different than the film he shot. Most of the scenes of dialogue were removed, and what was inserted were shots of the wind blowing the field, turkeys running through grass and close ups of locust. It’s truly extraordinary.

    The cast of the film is rather odd in its own right. Richard Gere, who was fresh off the theater circuit and had not made many feature films, brings an aggressive filled conman who’s edge is softened by his urbanely polished clothing and his looks. Gere gives one of the best performances of his career and shows that he can be a very powerful and effective dramatic actor.

    Sam Shephard, who was known as a playwright prior to his acting, was convinced by Terrence Malick to step in front of the camera. Even on repeat viewings, the character of the Farmer is incredibly sympathetic and victimized by Gere’s plan. But there is an excellent interview in the disc’s Supplements with Shepard where he gives his take on the Farmer, and how he views him as a man who’s filled with jealousy from the first moment he sees Brooke Adams, and how he’s a very rich man who knows nothing but loneliness and solitude and is very desperate to fill the void in his life.

    Speak the truth Pulitzer Prize winning Sam Shepard.

    The acting in this film is terrific, but what makes this film great and a must see is the imagery that Malick puts in front of you. When I watch a Malick film, I feel very rooted, and it’s as if I’m watching a painter paint. It’s very methodical and moving.

    The house, which sits alone on a small incline where Farmer lives, is such a powerful asset of the film. It’s as important as the Bate’s house in “Psycho”. It’s incredibly haunting and its presence on screen is demanding of your attention. It’s the one image that I think of when this film comes across my mind.

    The blu-ray disc that Criterion put out of this film is fantastic, though the Supplements may be slightly thin. There is a commentary track of four members of the original crew that is incredibly insightful and gives you many stories behind the scenes of the film. There are two video interviews with camera operator John Bailey and cinematographer Haskell Wexler (who replaced the original DP who had other obligations).

The highlight of the extras are an audio interview by Gere that’s queued up to footage of the film. Gere is very straightforward about his working relationship with Malick, and how he felt about his methods and the final product of the film. It’s very honest and very fascinating.

    Sam Shephard gives a video interview where he goes into the mythology of Malick’s film, and how he preserves the film, and his thoughts behind much of the imagery and the characters. Sam Shepard is nobody’s fool.

    The Criterion Collection gives “Days of Heaven” an incredible film transfer. Mind you, it won’t pop out like “TRON Legacy” or “The Social Network”, but don’t forget, this film is from 1978 and wasn’t shot digitally. This film was a part of an epic movement in film, and it may not be Malick’s best film, or my favorite of his, but it sure is spectacular.

Rating: 10/10