5. Days of Heaven (1978, dir. Terence Malick)
This movie wasn't on my radar at all, ever. It was on television one day and I noticed it starred Richard Gere and was directed by Malick - who I had heard of because of The Thin Red Line being released a few years prior - but never seen anything of. I thought I'd give it ago and from the very first frame I was entranced by it's oddly stoic-yet-inviting beauty. The movie starts and then within about 2 minutes it had already surprised me (remember I had zero idea what it was all about).
I continued watching and revelled in it. The movie was existing only for me at that moment. The second that Ennio Morricone's Oscar nominated score (one of my all-time favourites) merged with the Oscar-winning images (who knows who they're by, there's so many conflicting stories - but Nestor Almendros was the one with the statue) I new I was viewing something special.
It showed me that you didn't need specifically words or powerful acting to create a masterpiece. I am a very visual person and when I saw the images of a dusk sky saturated in locusts it just hit me extremely hard. I don't really know how to explain it. But it's something I've been in love with ever since. I always think a movie that can show us and not tell us is interesting. The other one's that come to mind are Gus Van Sant's recent death trilogy. He may very well have been taking a page out this this movie's book (in fact, Last Days I think does so very much). When the movie was over I really liked it but it to is a movie that really grows with you. You remember the images, the music, the everything. It has since become a strong favourite of mine, as you can see in the sidebar. But why can't I find the soundtrack anywhere?
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