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Days of Heaven

Play trailer Poster for Days of Heaven PG Released Jan 1, 1978 1h 35m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 65 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A screen poem about life in America at the turn of the century. A story of love and murder told through the voice of a child and expressive images of nature in 1916. A steelworker flees Chicago after a fight with his boss; he takes his little sister and girlfriend with him.
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Days of Heaven

Days of Heaven

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Critics Consensus

Illuminated by magic hour glow and wistful performances, Days of Heaven is a visual masterpiece that finds eloquent poetry in its spare scenario.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher Times (UK) The plague of locusts scene, achieved by dumping thousands of peanut shells from a helicopter and playing the eventual footage backwards, is a knockout. Rated: 5/5 Feb 2, 2024 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Terrence Malick’s ethereal, windswept ballad of love, lust, and nature’s wrath remains an otherworldly triumph. Rated: 4/4 Oct 19, 2023 Full Review David Sexton London Evening Standard Simply one of the most ravishing films ever made, luminous in a way that no other movie has been. Rated: 5/5 Sep 2, 2011 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins It ends as vaguely as it begins, yet with a distinct sense of satisfaction and unexplainable resoluteness (perhaps these characters’ stories are entirely resolved), as if something profound has unfolded amid the odd plainness of it all. Rated: 7/10 Nov 8, 2024 Full Review Ray Pride Newcity Malick’s haunting, painterly variation on Biblical stories in the wheat fields of the Texas panhandle just before the First World War is a voluptuous masterpiece, an equation of ironies. Drawn with myth’s simplicity. Rated: 10/10 Jul 4, 2024 Full Review Bianca Garner The Film Bee Even though the film’s length is a slick 94 minutes, it feels so much longer (in a good way). It’s the type of film that leaves you craving more; but Malick deliberately leaves certain scenes and plot points ambiguous. May 16, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Julian Rex M Perhaps ill-served by Billy Weber's choppy editing, Days of Heaven nonetheless proves to be a beautifully photographed and aptly acted exploration of love, manipulation, death, and what comes after against an arresting backdrop of the post-Leone west. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/30/25 Full Review Evan B Every Malick film I've seen is more or less visually breathtaking: poetic, evocative, wondrous. Days of Heaven, Malick's second film is no different, showcasing the rugged beauty of the Texas Panhandle during and after WWI. The locust/wildfire sequence is particularly incredible, a visual and auditory cacophony of masterful practical execution. However, the story flounders, as besides his trademark cinematography, Malick doesn't seem to know what he wants to focus on. The three main characters of the love triangle rarely rise to any compelling drama or emotion, and the result are vaguely drawn characters. Sam Shepard's performance was good, but that seemed to me mainly achieved through facial expression rather than the bloodless script. The girl's voiceover was simply bad: charmless, dull, and spoken with a head scratching attempt at a Chicago accent (maybe the patois has changed significantly over the past century, but as a native Chicagolander, I've never heard anyone speak like she did). When Malick hits, like in The Tree of Life and A Hidden Life, it can be a transcendent experience showcasing the communicative power of film. This one flopped for me, though a Malick flop is still better than almost all the stuff out there. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/19/25 Full Review Jason G Saw this on Criterion channel and didn't like it at all. The script is inert and Malick can't handle actors (how many times a day does the Richard Gere character shave?). The massive editing (cutting) prevents the rhythms of nature from coming through, and the clumsy close-ups of the characters look like insets, along with the nature creatures. The music is great (it must be borrowed by Harry Potter) and the cinematography/lighting is well-respected. I suppose it looks better on a big screen, and the blend of noise and silence might be artistic (the locust noises are cool) but I'm glad Malick doesn't make many movies. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/12/24 Full Review Luca D One of the most beautiful films you'll see. The fire in the fields scene was amazing. Definitely holds up well, considering it's age. The only part I wasn't to happy about was the lackluster ending. Kind of ended on a weird note. Other than that the sets, costumes, music, and acting were all 10/10. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/08/24 Full Review Hao Ian L While the premise of the love triangle story is rather simple, the poetic and meditative approach is what sets it apart. <i>Days of Heaven</i> is not a film driven by plot, it avoids traditional narrative structures and opts instead for a dreamlike quality that invites viewers to immerse themselves in the world on screen with visual poetry that is unparalleled. Malick captures the vastness and beauty of the Texas Panhandle with breathtaking imagery, the golden fields of wheat, fiery sunsets, and imposing thunderstorms create a visual symphony that complements the film's emotional depth, it's an experience much more magical than a synopsis would ever allow. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review David C I saw it last night at Music Box theater. It is a beautiful film to look at with a solid cast but the story is just lacking and the ending was so bad that I heard people laugh out loud. Good but not best ever film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Days of Heaven

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Movie Info

Synopsis A screen poem about life in America at the turn of the century. A story of love and murder told through the voice of a child and expressive images of nature in 1916. A steelworker flees Chicago after a fight with his boss; he takes his little sister and girlfriend with him.
Director
Terrence Malick
Producer
Bert Schneider, Harold Schneider
Screenwriter
Terrence Malick
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1978, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 22, 2016
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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