Let’s dig into Days of Heaven.
Before establishing himself as one of the most poetic filmmakers of the American New Wave and beyond, Terrence Malick got his start as a screenwriter, making uncredited contributions to Dirty Harry and Drive, He Said (both 1971) and writing the script for the Paul Newman buddy comedy Pocket Money (1972). When Paramount Pictures deemed Deadhead Miles – a film that he scripted – unreleasable, Malick made the leap to the director’s chair to direct his own scripts, starting with Badlands (1973). In an ironic twist, Paramount would end up taking the mantle for Malick’s sophomore feature, Days of Heaven. Criterion has returned to the film for the third time – following a DVD and Blu-ray release – for its UHD Blu-ray debut.
The Production: 5/5
In 1916, Chicago steel millworker Bill (Richard Gere) gets into an argument with his foreman and accidentally kills him in a brief fight. Along with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and younger sister Linda (Linda Manz), Bill flees to the Texas Panhandle, where all three find work on an expansive farm owned by an enigmatic farmer (Sam Shepard) who is diagnosed with a seemingly terminal illness. When the farmer falls in love with Abby, Bill hopes to cash in when the farmer succumbs, but there’s some unexpected twists when the farmer does start to recover from the brink of death…
One of the most beautiful films ever shot, Days of Heaven cemented Terrence Malick as one of cinema’s greatest visual poets. While Malick’s story is set in Texas, the film was shot in southwestern section of the Canadian province Alberta, with much of the film shot during the “magic hour” when the daylight matched what was needed for the story. However, issues during production and post-production meant that the film took two years from the start of filming to the movie reaching theaters; cinematographer Nestor Almendros had to be replaced with Haskell Wexler when he had to leave to start working on François Truffaut’s The Man Who Loved Women (1977) and problems with finding a narrative flow during the editing stage led to a breakthrough with Linda Manz recording voiceovers for her character, solving that problem. As for the story itself, whatever flaws it might have with its slight structure is overlooked due to the immersive atmosphere provided by Almendros (who truly deserved his Oscar win here for Best Cinematography), art director Jack Fisk, costume designer Patricia Norris (who earned an Oscar nod here), sound engineers John “Doc” Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass Jr., John Reitz and Barry Thomas (the quartet also earned Oscar nominations as well) as well as one of Ennio Morricone’s most beautiful music scores (which earned the legend his first Oscar nomination here); as for the performances, the aforementioned Manz, in addition to Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard, form the film’s heart and soul. In the end, Days of Heaven is not only one of the best films of the 1970’s, but also one of the best films of the 20th Century and a crown jewel in Malick’s career; however, it came at a price: it would be another 20 years before his next film – The Thin Red Line (1998) – due to the exhaustion (both physical and spiritual) and the toll it took on him.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
For this release, the film is presented in the preferred aspect ratio of 1:85:1 on the UHD Blu-ray disc (which presents the film in Dolby Vision HDR), while the accompanying Blu-ray disc presents the film in a 1:78:1 aspect ratio in high-definition SDR; this release has a brand new 4K transfer created from the original 35mm camera negative, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick, camera operator John Bailey and editor Billy Weber. Film grain, color palette and fine details are all rendered faithfully with minimal cases of scratches, tears, dirt or warping present. This release is by far the best the movie will ever look on home video and bests the previous Criterion Blu-ray release.
Audio: 5/5
The film’s soundtrack is presented on a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio track for this release, remastered from the original 4.1 magnetic track. Dialogue, sound mix and Ennio Morricone’s Oscar-nominated music score are all presented faithfully with minimal cases of distortion like crackling, popping and hissing present. This release is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video.
Special Features: 4/5
Commentary by casting director Dianne Crittenden, film editor Billy Weber, art director Jack Fisk & costume designer Patricia Norris –Â Originally recorded for Criterion’s DVD release in 2007, Crittenden, Weber, Fisk and Norris share their memories and challenges they had during production.
Audio interview from 2007 with actor Richard Gere (21:52) –Â Set against stills from production and the movie, Gere reflects on working with Terrence Malick and the movie in this archival interview.
2002 interview with actor Sam Shepard (12:32) –Â This archival video interview has Shepard reflecting on his time on the movie.
2007 interview with camera operator John Bailey (20:26) –Â Bailey recounts on working with cinematographer Nestor Almendros in this archival interview.
2007 interview with cinematographer Haskell Wexler (11:34) –Â Wexler recalls having to take over from Almendros when he had to leave production to work on another film in this archival interview.
Booklet feat. an essay by film critic Adrian Martin and a chapter from Nestor Almendros’ 1980 autobiography A Man with a Camera
Overall: 4.5/5
Despite not making much of an impact at the box office, Days of Heaven has become regarded as one of the most beautiful movies ever shot and one of the best American movies in the latter half of the 20th Century. Criterion has bested their previous Blu-ray here with a stellar HDR transfer while carrying over all of the special features from their previous DVD and Blu-ray editions. Very highly recommended.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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