Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Days of Heaven Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2021

Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new composer and editior featurettes; new video essay by filmmaker Chris O’Neill; new audio commentary by critic Adrian Martin; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Terrence Malick is an American director, a native of Illinois, whose films have a distinctive European flavor. They are all like casual but fascinating encounters -- we meet their characters, get to know them, and then part ways. We rarely remember their exact stories; what stays with us are images of them, certain thoughts and emotions.

Days of Heaven, a film for which Malick won the prestigious Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979, follows the deeds of a young Chicago steelworker (Richard Gere, American Gigolo) who commits a crime and flees to Texas, together with his girlfriend, Abby (Brooke Adams, A Man, a Woman and a Bank), and little sister, Linda (Linda Manz). There, the three befriend a wealthy but seriously ill farmer (Sam Shepard, Don’t Come Knocking), who eventually falls for Abby and marries her.

The film is fractured into uneven episodes, each relying heavily on Linda's narration. Most of the tragic events in it are described by the little girl in a unique kind of way -- she sees them, and so do we, and then tells us, with simple words, what is happening. The rest is filmed by Malick in a near documentary style, one that treats nature as a key character, not simply a setting for the events the film chronicles.

Sound is also of tremendous importance in Days of Heaven. On more than a few occasions, random sounds -- a gentle breeze, water flowing, birds chirping, etc. -- are used by Malick to indirectly reflect the complex emotions the main protagonists struggle with. These are the moments when Days of Heaven very much feels like a visual poem.

This unusual attention nature receives in Malick's films, however, is always at the expense of the main protagonists, which is why their stories are never complete. This is not to say that Malick's films are about the universal conflict between men and nature, as some critics suggest. Quite the opposite, they are intimate observations that typically show how both react to each other when they become close.

In Days of Heaven a few such reactions are precisely the focus of attention. On one hand, it is the steelworker, his little sister, and his girlfriend who arrive in Texas and soon discover that they need to learn to live life differently. Malick shows how the three of them struggle to adjust while they also keep doing the things they used to do in Chicago -- love each other, get angry and fight, and dream together. On the other hand, it is nature. Malick shows how the different seasons affect her, how the farmers treat her, and when disaster strikes, how nature also struggles.

This philosophical view of life that Malick introduces in Days of Heaven is achieved primarily through the employment of carefully lensed footage that is quite uneven at times but also very effective. In more than one way, it suggests that life is a process of constant motion, a series of uneven events, where men and nature interact in some truly unique ways.

For Days of Heaven Malick was assisted by two legendary cinematographers, Cuban Nestor Almendros (The Man Who Loved Women), who won an Oscar for the film, and the uncredited Chicago-born Haskell Wexler (who really speaks his heart out in one of the supplemental features provided on this Blu-ray disc, and many, this reviewer included, believe should have been recognized by the Academy as well). The film’s memorable music score was composed by renowned Italian maestro Ennio Morricone (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso).

Days of Heaven Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Days of Heaven arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same master that the folks at Criterion worked with when they produced this release of Terrence Malick's film for the U.S. market in 2010. Even though the age of the master is starting to show now, I still like it a lot. Recently, before receiving this release, I actually upscaled it to 4K and thought that it looked rather impressive. But the truth is that a little over a decade later, with the studios producing very high-quality 4K masters on superior technology that are also graded differently for 4K Blu-ray, this film can absolutely benefit from a brand new 4K master. It will look stunning on 4K Blu-ray as well. In fact, I think that in addition to improved density, the other major area where notable upgrades can be made is color reproduction. Simply put, new masters are graded differently now, and when they are done right, they easily improve upon what was done ten, fifteen or twenty years ago. This being said, I still think that the current master -- which was struck from an interpositive -- looks gorgeous. It reveals very pleasing delineation and depth. It is stable, clean, and healthy too, so while it may appear a tad dated at times, it is very nice. Finally, on this release there is some room for minor encoding optimizations. You won't have to worry about serious anomalies that would affect your viewing experience, but if you have a larger screen you will be able to tell that these types of optimizations would have been beneficial. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Days of Heaven Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I revisited the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It is a very solid track that handles Ennio Morricone's score with great ease and does plenty to open up key sections of the film, as intended. It is clean and very healthy. There are a lot of older films now that are getting new Dolby Atmos tracks, but if this lossless track is ever redone, I would be very surprised if notable improvements are introduced.

Days of Heaven Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer - vintage trailer for Days of Heaven. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Thrown Upon the Earth - Editing Days of Heaven - in this new program, editor Billy Weber recalls his initial encounter with Terrence Malick and discusses the production of Days of Heaven, the casting of Richard Gere (the first choice was John Travolta), the editorial process and specifically how the film was essentially put together, Paramount's expectations for the film, etc. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Fields of Fire - Scoring Days of Heaven - in this new program, Daniel Griffith discusses the specific role music has in Days of Heaven, the similarities in the manner in which Ennio Morricone and Terrence Malick understood the function of music, the Americana vibe of the main theme, specific editing choices, etc. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Linda's Story - a brand new video essay on Linda Manz by Chris O'Neil. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Commentary - a brand new commentary by critic Adrian Martin.

Days of Heaven Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This brand new Blu-ray release from Via Vision Entertainment offers a very solid presentation of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven. However, with so many older films now transitioning to 4K Blu-ray, it is impossible not to wonder how much better Days of Heaven could look in native 4K. Some months ago, long before this release was announced, I actually upscaled Criterion's release of Days of Heaven to 4K -- which by the way is sourced from the same master that the folks at Via Vision Entertainment worked with to produce their release -- and thought that it already looked stunning. Are we getting spoiled with 4K Blu-ray? Of course, but this is why I keep writing that there has never been a better time to be a film collector. As usual, Via Vision Entertainment's release offers a wonderful selection of exclusive new bonus features as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.