Rating: Summary: One of the most overrated movies of all time. Review: Days of Heaven is possibly one of the most overrated movies ever made. Although some of the cinematography is beautiful, the film is essentialy hollow. None of the characters are fully developed, and at times it is frustrating because you want them to say more and more; in the scene where Richard Gere is talking about how "one day you wake up and you realize you are not the smartest person in the world." This was an extremely frustrating moment in the movie because I was dying for him to say more. But the movie moves to a different sequence abruptly, leaving me grinding my teeth. Terrence Malik is a very talented film director, but this was probably the worst of the three. Pretty pictures don't make a movie great.
Rating: Summary: The most visually and emotionally stunning film . Review: A film that purposely uses spare characters and story amid vast, breathtaking cinematography and a beautiful score to reach into one's soul. I have seen this film atleast 18 times at theatres (the best way to experience the movie) and on video. The storyline is familiar from the previous reviews - don't let remarks about spare storyline and characters scare you. It is precisely this method that director Terrence Malick uses, as in a dream, to haunt the viewer forever with visual images and sound. My all time favorite!
Rating: Summary: Beautiful and unique movie Review: I saw this movie when it first came out, and it remains one of my favorites. It is like a beautifully composed poem. The scenery, acting, andbackground music all blend together like a work of art. I recommend it highly--one of my top ten favorites.
Rating: Summary: High art in cinema Review: Terrence Malick's DAYS OF HEAVEN is a highwatermark in visual expression. Nevermind the wooden acting of first timers Gere and Shepard, Malick is a true cinematic impressionist, and as a result dialogue, performance and plot become unimportant. A movie one can watch over and over, with the sound off, in reverse, or on pause, it does not matter: every frame is a perfectly composed painting.
Rating: Summary: Sweeping photography and wonderful performances Review: Days of Heaven is a winner and should be viewed and re-viewed. The photography is stunning and the lack of dialogue (at times) very effective. Although I'm not much of a Richard Gere fan, this is one film where he actually performs well. Linda Manz is at times a scene stealer (great accent, too). Combine all this with a moving soundtrack (that has long been out of print, but that I am still looking for) and you have a must see film.
Rating: Summary: See it for the stunning cinematography alone Review: This film tells the tale of a young, impoverished couple (well-played by Richard Gere and Brooke Adams) who arrive as transient workers at the ranch of the lonely, well-to-do Sam Shepard, just before the outbreak of the First World War. The couple is posing as brother and sister, for reasons never made quite clear, and the wife marries the rancher. It is an unhappy tale, but relieved by the breathtaking cinematography that will keep you riveted. Not one of the cinematic heavyweights, but intriguing, different, and definitely a visual feast. END
Rating: Summary: GREATEST AMERICAN FLICK? Review: I first caught "Days of Heaven" on a lousy VHS tape which was basically inaudible and muddy. And yet it had the power to resonate in my mind weeks and months later. Well, what a gorgeous transfer it's received on DVD -- stunning, in fact! The colors are vivid, the picture razor sharp, and the soundtrack lush. "Days of Heaven" is not a silent film, although it could be. Instead what we have here is a director so comfortable with his material, so sure about his intentions, that he allows the story to unfold almost effortlessly before our eyes. You may never care much for editing and pacing, but after seeing "Days of Heaven" you will. Scenes last mere seconds, yet tell us everything. Building layer upon layer. Is it some form of poetry? Or magical level of artistry? It's both. And the acting is a dream. Superb, understated performances. A film to be watched over and over. Look for the fire and water symbolism, especially. Then look deeper.
Rating: Summary: Heartbreaking - the most beautifully shot film of all time Review: How fitting it is that the best movie Richard Gere has ever done, and will ever do, is the one where he probably talks the least. Of course, dialogue isn't what's so breathtakingly beautiful about Days of Heaven, one of the forgotten greats of all time. It's the cinematography (maybe the best of all time, sorry I left this off my list, folks), the sad story that runs through the film, and the overwhelmingly aching tone that just resonates from every frame. Days of Heaven is a quiet, meditative film that flies under the radar in emotion and volume for most of the time. The film roams over the open fields of its locale, half-listening to conversations (even important ones) as maybe the watchful eye of God. I saw this movie once before and bought it on a whim, and am convinced more than ever that most great movies don't reveal themselves totally on the first, or even second time. On viewing #2, I can't get Days of Heaven out of my mind. It's a beautiful, sad little tone poem that resonates more than most explosive, violent movies of the '70's. You're missing out if this one isn't on your shelf. GRADE: A+
Rating: Summary: A masterpiece of cinematography conveying emotion. Review: I'm sure many of you have seen 'Road to Perdition.' And I'm sure many of you can conclude that the visuals are important to the film because of a lacking in obvious emotional strength. This led to the film's first weakness in that it relied too heavily on the distractingly brilliant cinematography to make up for the uninteresting, often cliched father-son story director Sam Mendes chose to focus on rather than the more interesting and original version of the father-son tale (between Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Daniel Craig). But in 'Days of Heaven', the muted emotions are toned down for a reason. The film surrounds a love triangle between a little girl's brother (Richard Gere), his lover (Brooke Adams) and her terminally ill farmer husband (played by Sam Shepard, who she married for the purpose of inheriting his money after his inevitable death). But this story isn't being told from the perspective of those three adults, but from the perspective of that little girl (played by Linda Manz, who hauntingly provides a voice-over of stunning power) who is, at the time, naive and unaware of the deeper regions of each adult's psyche. She is retelling a part of her life and coming to terms with it. Many of the emotions and strong story points of the love triangle are, with dialogue, rather succinct. But what expresses the emotion is not their speech, but the landscape and nature itself. For instance, there is an intense moment of furious anger, and the oncoming danger is represented by a swarm of disgusting locusts, while the anger is presented as a thriving, uncontrollable power by an equally uncontained fire sprawling across the Texan prairie. Terrence Malick did a masterful job in realizing the power of telling the story from the little girl's perspective, taking advantage of a great cinematographer and a great landscape. I recommend this film to painters, fans of romance, fans of generally wonderful cinema and to fans of brilliant cinematography. It may seem overlong to some depending on how you like the mood and emotions of a film to be expressed. But nevertheless, it's one of the greater movies I've seen in a while; not one to be missed.
Rating: Summary: tranced Review: I can't think of another film of such trancelike enchantment. It takes place during the Great Depression; it's about poverty and the bleak fates of people during that time. But Terence Malik is a cinematic magician who takes these elements and creates a poetic mood, an elegiac masterpiece. Amazing.
|