Is Days of Heaven the most beautiful film ever made?  Terrence
Malick's first film wowed audiences; his second, Days of Heaven,
set a rapturous new standard in cinema aesthetics. David Thomson
shines a light on its legacy     • The Guardian,     • Jump to
comments () Richard Gere (centre) in Terrence Malick's film Days
of Heaven from 1978. Photograph: The Kobal Collection/  Terrence
Malick's 1978 movie Days of Heaven was never a huge hit, but it
was such a departure and so deliberate an attempt to have the
audience stirred by beauty that it felt calming and inspiring.
Without shame or caution it was trying to address the pre-modern
era of American history, the natural conflict between landowners
and newcomers. But it was just as interested in the vanity of
men and women trying to tame and organise the wild parts of the
country. Beyond that, was this perhaps the most beautiful
picture ever made? Second films are famously hard, but with Days
of Heaven, Malick was announcing that he would do things his
way.    1