"Days of Heaven", One of My All Time Favorite Films

Oh my God, I'm so excited to ruin this film for you. I don't know why this film affects me the way that it does, but it DOES affect me. I love every thing about it. The story. The cinematography (won the Oscar). The score (Morricone is GOD and should have won the Oscar {it was nominated}). EVERY THING!!!

I love searching online and reading about all the behind the scenes drama surrounding it. How it took forever to get made. How the scene in which a character dies and you see him fall in the water was actually shot in Sissy Spacek's (who was not even in the movie) living room in a large aquarium. How Gere did "Days..." and then went to do "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and that movie was shot and released whilst Malick was still editing "Days...". I love it!!!

Here's where I will ruin the film for you, so stop now if you want to see it: No? Okay. Here we go.

Gere was a Chicago factory work who quarreled with his boss and struck and killed him. So his little sister and girlfriend (Brook Adams) head down to Texas (is this were I got the idea to run to TX?). They take work on a farm owned by Shepherd's character. Gere and Adams pretend to be siblings so as not to cause scandal. Gere overhears Shepherd speaking with his doctor and learns that he has a year to live. Gere decided Adams should marry him and they will get the fortune when he dies. (Shepherd is "the richest man in the Texas panhandle). So they marry and the guy DOESN'T DIE!!! Over time Shepherd picks up on what EVERY ONE else notices at first glance, that Gere/Adams are a couple and he goes after Gere. Gere kills Shepherd. Shepherd's right hand man (who has had his eye on Gere the whole time) goes after Gere and Gere is killed (he's the one that was in Spacek's aquarium.

So it's a really simple story, but it's so compelling - to me anyway. I love the looks of the film. It's set in the TX panhandle, but filmed in Canada. I love the lack of dialogue. There is far too much talking in a lot of films. This one is sparse on the chit chat. Good. Morricone's score is breathtaking as always. I'm a BIG Morricone fan.

If this film is on (it was last night), I have to watch it. Like I said. I don't know why it affects me so, but it does.