One-of-a-kind filmmaker-philosopher Terrence Malick has created some of the most visually arresting films of the twentieth century, and his glorious period tragedy Days of Heaven, featuring Oscar-winning cinematography by Nestor Almendros, stands out among them. In 1916, a Chicago steelworker accidentally kills his supervisor, and he, his girlfriend, and his little sister flee to the Texas panhandle, where they find work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer. A love triangle, a swarm of locusts, a hellish fire—Malick captures it all with dreamlike authenticity, creating a timeless American idyll that is also a gritty evocation of turn-of-the-century labor.
“Perhaps the most typical example of a ’70s American art film — daring, romantic, rebellious but also filled with longing for the beauty of the past.” – Chicago Tribune
Starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz.
Note: Some accounts say the film is set in 1910, but a 1916 newspaper and a scene of soldiers headed to war are evident in the film.
Rated PG