Days of Heaven (1978)
Grade: 93
The documentary "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" lavished more screen time on "Days of Heaven" than on any other film, even going so far as to use the theme as the final credits rolled. It is easy to see why "Days of Heaven" was so honored: it is a great argument for cinematography rather than script or story as the most important element of a film (I still believe that the script is the most important element).
"Days of Heaven" has a minimalist script and relies upon the camerawork to flesh out the plot. There are many distant shots of lush wheatfields, of migrant farm workers earning their day's wages, of steam trains and thrashers. There are also many close-ups, not just of the beautiful cast (then unknowns) but even of grasshoppers munching. The slow pace allows the cinematography to tell the story. The shots become redundant only when depicting a wheatfield fire.
"Days of Heaven" takes place in the Texas panhandle area during World War I. Richard Gere stars as a hotheaded itinerant worker. His lover is Brooke Adams, but for some reason they tell others they are brother and sister. They work on the immense wheat farm of Sam Shephard, who has been told he has but one year to live. Shephard falls in love with Adams. Gere tells Adams to marry Shephard, with the intention of both inheriting his wealth after his impending demise. It would seem that all sides benefit from this arrangement, except that Shephard isn't getting sicker, and suspects that Gere and Adams aren't as they appear to be.
"Days of Heaven" was a project that took place over several years. One reason for this was the scenes included all four seasons, another was that most filming took place at dusk due to favorable lighting.
The cast, direction, cinematography and story are all excellent and mark "Days of Heaven" as one of the most important American films of the 1970s.
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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