Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Waldo I — 17 May 2009

One of the most beautiful looking films I've ever seen, Days of Heaven is, at it's best, a sort of visual poem. Shot almost entirely at magic hour (around 6 - 7pm when the light is just right), the movie plays like hypnosis.

This is partly achieved by a deliberatly slow pacing. If you don't surrender yourself to the idea that this is a piece who's mission is mood over plot, you'll most likely find yourself very frustrated.

I found the style of the picture reminiscent of the first films ever made, where cameras were simply placed on tripods, turned on, and pointed at moving objects until the film rolled out. Though I really enjoyed Mallick's first film Badlands, I find myself admiring Days of Heaven more, as I see it as a more ambitious undertaking.

It is impeccably made, and a required viewing for any fan of the as an art form, and in it's purest form; images.