Monday, April 2, 2012

Days Of Heaven - Terrence Malick - 1978




Days Of Heaven is a film that is a testament to taking ones time when making a film. Terrence Malick shot some of the film, then took a year off to let the actors find their characters while rewriting the script. He then shot most of the film during magic hour (which is essentially either dawn or dusk) which meant that the crew would spend all day setting up for less than an hour of actual shooting.

Malick then edited the film, then spent two years re-editing the film in which he cut the length in half and got rid of most of the dialogue. Which pissed Richard Gere off because he believed what was cut out was some of his best work.

With all this being said, Days Of Heaven is a beautiful film that was well worth the effort. It is a simple film that simply put is about movement. It is a film that prominently features all of the elements as well as biblical references a plenty.

There are many reasons why you should see the film, the performances, the editing, and the cinematography which is what it is best know for. It is one of the best looking films out there today, quite the feat considering that the film was shot only using light that was available in the era that the film took place.

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