Days of Heaven

Days of Heaven is a 1978 American romantic drama art film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in the early 20th century, it tells the story of two poor lovers, Bill and Abby, as they travel to the Texas Panhandle to harvest crops for a wealthy farmer. Bill encourages Abby to claim the fortune of the dying farmer by tricking him into a false marriage. This results in an unstable love triangle and a series of unfortunate events.

Days of Heaven was Malick's second feature film, after the enthusiastically received Badlands (1973), and was produced on a budget of $3 million. Production was particularly troublesome, with a tight shooting schedule and significant budget restraints. Additionally, editing took Malick a lengthy 3 years, due to difficulty with achieving an overall flow and assembly of the scenes. This was eventually solved with an added narration by Linda Manz. The film was scored by Ennio Morricone and photographed by Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler.

The film was not warmly received on its original theatrical release, with many critics finding only the imagery worthy of praise. It was not a significant commercial success, although it did win an Academy Award for Best Cinematography with an additional three nominations for the score, costume design and sound. Malick himself won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite initially unfavorable reviews, Days of Heaven has since become one of the most acclaimed films of all time, particularly noted for the beauty of the cinematography. In 2007, Days of Heaven was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".