Days of Heaven (1978)
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A desperate pair of lovers seek a new life in the Texas Panhandle, only to find themselves entangled in a complex web of deception and romance with a wealthy, dying farmer.
The story
In 1916, after a violent altercation in a Chicago steel mill, Bill and his girlfriend Abby flee to the Texas Panhandle with Bill's young sister, Linda. They find work as seasonal laborers for a wealthy, ailing farmer. To avoid local gossip, Bill and Abby pretend to be siblings. However, the farmer takes a liking to Abby, and Bill begins to manipulate the situation, encouraging Abby to marry the man so they can claim his fortune. As the harvest progresses, the boundaries between their fabricated roles and their true feelings begin to blur, creating a tense dynamic between the three of them.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1916, Chicago steelworker Bill flees to the Texas Panhandle with his girlfriend Abby and his sister Linda after a fatal accident at his factory. They work for a wealthy, dying farmer, and Bill convinces Abby to marry the man to secure their future. While the farmer's health remains stable, he develops a genuine affection for Abby, who begins to fall in love with him. Bill eventually realizes the situation is slipping away and plans to leave. During the next harvest, a locust swarm strikes the fields. In the ensuing chaos, a confrontation leads to a fire and a physical altercation where Bill kills the farmer with a screwdriver. On the run, Bill is shot by police. Abby leaves Linda at a boarding school and departs for World War I, while Linda eventually runs away from the school.
- First release year
- 1978
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Terrence Malick
- Writers
- Terrence Malick · writer
- Cast and characters
- Richard Gere · Bill; Brooke Adams · Abby; Sam Shepard · The Farmer; Linda Manz · Linda; Robert Wilke · The Farm Foreman; Jackie Shultis · Linda's Friend; Doug Kershaw · The Fiddler; Stuart Margolin · The Mill Foreman; Richard Libertini · The Vaudeville Leader
- Genres
- period drama; romantic drama
- Themes
- deception; romance; fate; survival
- Tone and mood
- painterly; poetic; mysterious
- Premise and plot tags
- period piece; rural; romance; tragedy
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews for its visual beauty and cinematography, though some critics found the narrative structure and lack of plot to be challenging. It has since been acclaimed as a masterpiece and a pioneering achievement in cinema.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Cinematography · win; Cannes Film Festival Award · Best Director · win; Academy Award · score · nomination; Academy Award · costume design · nomination; Academy Award · sound · nomination
- Production trivia
- The 'locusts' were simulated using peanut shells dropped from helicopters.; The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2007.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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