Days of Heaven (on Criterion)

Oh happy day! One of my favorite films has gotten the Criterion treatment. For the uninitiated, getting the "Criterion Treatment" is like getting the white glove treatment. Criterion is the gold standard of DVDs for film buffs and collectors alike. Days of Heaven is the 1978 American masterpiece from filmmaker Terrence Malick. The title is probably a reference to Deuteronomy 11:21 (I say probably because Malick is notoriously close-mouthed about the meaning of his films), while the film itself is filled with echoes of themes and allusions to stories from the Old Testament. Stories of Eden, the Fall, the sin of Cain and an Exodus -- there's even a plague of locusts brought on by the deception of a wayfaring pilgrim passing off his lover as his sister. It's Genesis transposed to the Texas Panhandle, with an existential overlay. Malick studied philosophy at Harvard and Oxford, and published a translation of Heidegger. All of Malick's films can be seen as meditations on the implications of a paradise lost. What Days of Heaven is most celebrated for is it's gorgeous cinematography. It has to be listed among the handful of most visually beautiful films ever made. The folks at Criterion had the help of Malick himself in ensuring that this digital transfer is as close as possible to his original vision. Days of Heaven is a film I've watched many times on the old Paramount DVD -- which is pretty decent -- but I can't wait to rediscover it's poetry and terrible beauty in this new and improved version. I'll probably never get to see it on the big screen, but having it on Criterion is the next best thing.

Richard Gere (Bill) and Brooke Adams (Abby)

Entering the farm

Sam Shepard (The farmer)

One of many beautiful close-ups

Robert J. Wilke (The farm foreman)


Frames courtesy of DVD Beaver