Days of Heaven (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
by Terrence Malick
![Days of Heaven (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](/images/Days-of-Heaven-The-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B003152YXC-L.jpg)
List Price:
Our Price: $25.43
You Save: $14.52 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Brooke Adams, Linda Manz, Richard Gere, Robert J. Wilke, Sam ShepardDirector: Terrence Malick
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Néstor Almendros
Writer: Terrence Malick
Editor: Billy Weber
Producer: Bert Schneider
Producer: Harold Schneider
Producer: Jacob Brackman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-03-23
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Days of Heaven (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
DVD Review: Heavenly...
Summary: 5 Stars
If any film proves the fact that familiarities don't have to feel like clichés, it is Terrence Malick's `Days of Heaven'.
The basic plot behind this film is brief and familiar. It's nothing more than a love story (or love triangle) set in Texas during the turn of the century. Bill, who suffers from a hot temper, accidentally kills a man and has to flee for his life. He takes along his lover and his sister and begins working in the Texas wheat fields. Posing as siblings, they decide to con a sickly farmer out of his fortunes, but things get rather complicated when Abby, Bill's girlfriend (who happens to marry the farmer in order to get ties to his money), falls in love with the farmer.
Like I said, there is nothing remotely special about the plot, but this film proves that the WAY you tell a story can totally elevate the story itself.
I am not a follower of Terrence Malick. In fact, I have only seen two of his films. The other film I've seen is `The New World', and I have mixed feelings about it. While watching `Days of Heaven' I can see similarities in the storytelling (the camera work and tonal shifts) and so I'm urged by inward desires to watch `The New World' again and reevaluate my initial feelings. Malick has a distinct style, and it oozes all over his work. His directorial influences, deciding to drastically cut down dialog and allow the visuals to speak for themselves, add layers of depth and creativity to the film. I was reminded of P.T. Anderson's modern masterpiece `There Will Be Blood' while watching this film, for they both share a similar love of cinematographic storytelling.
For a film that could have dwelled within clichés, Malick creates something that is fresh, new and definitive.
What is so great about the way this film is made is that it excites our senses with the vivid imagery, allowing us to focus on the internal instead of the external. By muting conversations and allowing gazes to burn, we sink into the character's emotional conversations, not their verbal ones. This challenges us to contemplate what they are thinking and thus brings us to another place entirely, where instinct takes over and rationality disappears.
The acting is spot on here (one of the only times I'll ever say that about Richard Gere). Gere has a solemn quality that just doesn't work for me most of the time. In fact, it shocks me that his finest performance is also his worst (his acting in `Chicago' is brilliant, but his singing is dreadful). Here though, Gere uses his melodramatic qualities to find the inner yearning within Bill's soul. He wants a good life, he just doesn't know how to achieve it. Sam Shepard is broken and bewildered and it reads so magically on screen. You want o root for him. Linda Manz (who sounds so much like a boy on narration) floats from scene to scene thanks to some dynamic editing. The standout is, without question, Brooke Adams. Her performance is just brilliant. She envelopes all of our senses in this woman's plight against her own spirit. It's stunning to watch.
But, the star of the show is Malick. His skill behind the camera is astonishing. You will find yourself captivated by every frame (this film rightfully won that cinematography Oscar) and just in awe of all that you are feeling. Malick's creation stirs up many emotions.
I just wish more filmmakers strived to make something unique out of something familiar.
Description of Days of Heaven (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
One-of-a-kind filmmaker-philosopher Terrence Malick has made some of the most visually arresting movies in history, and his glorious period tragedy Days of Heaven, featuring Oscar-winning cinematography by Nestor Almendros, stands out among them. A Chicago steelworker (Richard Gere) accidentally kills his supervisor, and he, his girlfriend (Brooke Adams), and his little sister (Linda Mans) flee to the Texas Panhandle, where they find work harvesting in the wheat fields of a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard). A love triangle, a swarm of locusts, a hellish fire?Malick captures it all with dreamlike authenticity, creating at once a timeless American idyll and a gritty evocation of turn-of-the-century labor.Stills from Days of Heaven
 |  |  |
Richard Gere works in a Chicago steel mill at the turn of the century, but must flee the city after accidentally killing a man. Heading for the wheat fields of Texas, he packs up his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) and his younger sister (Linda Manz). Instead of a better life, they head straight into tragedy when a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard) falls for Adams. Believing him to be dying and expecting to inherit a fortune, she agrees to marry him. Their plans change when Shepard fails to die and Gere takes matters into his own hands. Aesthetically flawless, this film about a romantic love triangle is diminished by the small scope of video. Originally shown in 70mm, it is an eye-catching period piece that won its cinematographer, Néstor Almendros, a 1978 Oscar. Texture and color are the unbilled characters in this tragic tale, and are just as important as the players. The story, sadly, fades somewhat when compared to the glory of the visuals. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The 400 Blows (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-05-09; DVD
Best price: $16.00
Price in other shops:
The Night of the HunterRelease date: 2000-01-25; DVD
Best price: $10.48
Price in other shops:
The Seventh Seal (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-06-16; DVD
Best price: $20.96
Price in other shops:
Wings of Desire (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $27.33
Price in other shops:
8 1/ 2 (The Criterion Collection)HVC; Release date: 2001-12-04; DVD
Best price: $19.49
Price in other shops:
The KillingHAYDEN,STERLING; Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $7.17
Price in other shops:
Solaris (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2002-11-26; DVD
Best price: $32.13
Price in other shops:
BadlandsWHV; Release date: 2011-09-06; DVD
Best price: $5.81
Price in other shops:
The New World: The Extended CutNEW Line Home Video; Release date: 2008-10-14; DVD
Best price: $3.08
Price in other shops:
The Tree Of LifeRelease date: 2011-10-11; Amazon Instant Video; Movie
Best price: $3.99