Terrence Malick's 'Days of Heaven' (1978)
Her Head in FilmsMay 21, 202401:42:02

Terrence Malick's 'Days of Heaven' (1978)

In this episode, I talk about Terrence Malick's 1978 film "Days of Heaven." Set in 1916, it follows a man named Bill, his sister Linda and his girlfriend Abby. All three are poor and go to the Texas panhandle to harvest wheat on the farm of a rich and mysterious man who, it turns out, is dying. Bill encourages Abby to start a romantic relationship with the man in hopes of getting some of his wealth but the scheme will have disastrous consequences for all of them. I talk in-depth about the making of the film and why it's haunted me for years. There are spoilers in this episode. 


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Show Notes:

• TMZ video of Terrence Malick (https://www.tmz.com/videos/0-464zid8i/)
• Youtube video of Terrence Malick dancing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MGyHS8jwY0)
• My Brokeback Mountain episode (https://herheadinfilms.com/2020/04/01/episode-104-ang-lees-brokeback-mountain-2005/)
• Jack Cardiff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cardiff)
• Visions of Light (1992) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXeuk1tO32k)
• The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Carnival_of_the_Animals)
• Out of the Blue by Dennis Hopper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Blue_(1980_film))
• My episode on The Gleaners and I (https://herheadinfilms.com/2019/05/28/episode-95-agnes-vardas-the-gleaners-and-i-2000/)

All My Sources:

• Criterion Collection DVD of Days of Heaven (https://www.criterion.com/films/213-days-of-heaven)
• Terrence Malick: Rehearsing the Unexpected by Daniele Villa and Carlo Hintermann (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21400743-terrence-malick)
• The Cinema of Terrence Malick: Poetic Visions of America by Hannah Patterson (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140328.The_Cinema_of_Terrence_Malick?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=QEEDsVpSTW&rank=1)
• Why Chloe Sevigny is on a Mission to Save the Work of Linda Manz (Another Magazine) (https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/11955/chloe-sevigny-natasha-lyonne-linda-manz-cb-dennis-hopper-out-of-the-blue)
• The Not-So-Secret Life of Terrence Malick (Texas Monthly) (https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/the-not-so-secret-life-of-terrence-malick/)
• The Secret Life of Terrence Malick (The Independent) (https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-secret-life-of-terrence-malick-2288183.html)