Days of Heaven - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Days of Heaven"
Days of Heaven (1978)
Timing: 1:34 (94 min)
Days of Heaven - TMDB rating
7.5/10
1144
Days of Heaven - Kinopoisk rating
7.409/10
12721
Days of Heaven - IMDB rating
7.7/10
68000

Actors and characters

Photo Richard Gere #34806Photo Richard Gere #34807Photo Richard Gere #34808Photo Richard Gere #34809

Richard Gere

Richard Gere
Character Bill
Photo Brooke Adams #104810Photo Brooke Adams #104811Photo Brooke Adams #104812Photo Brooke Adams #104813

Brooke Adams

Brooke Adams
Character Abby
Photo Sam Shepard #35619Photo Sam Shepard #35620Photo Sam Shepard #35621

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard
Character The Farmer
Photo Linda Manz #45190Photo Linda Manz #45191Photo Linda Manz #45192Photo Linda Manz #45193

Linda Manz

Linda Manz
Character Linda
Photo Robert J. Wilke #44245Photo Robert J. Wilke #44246

Robert J. Wilke

Robert J. Wilke
Character The Farm Foreman
Jackie Shultis
Character Linda's Friend
Photo Stuart Margolin #87469Photo Stuart Margolin #87470

Stuart Margolin

Stuart Margolin
Character Mill Foreman
Photo Timothy Scott #83656
Timothy Scott
Character Harvest Hand
Gene Bell
Character Dancer
Doug Kershaw
Character Fiddler
Photo Richard Libertini #96132

Richard Libertini

Richard Libertini
Character Vaudeville Leader
Frenchie Lemond
Character Vaudeville Wrestler
Sahbra Markus
Character Vaudeville Dancer
Bob Wilson
Character Accountant
Muriel Jolliffe
Character Headmistress
John Wilkinson
Character Preacher
King Cole
Character Farm Worker
Photo Terrence Malick #71076Photo Terrence Malick #71077Photo Terrence Malick #71078Photo Terrence Malick #71079

Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick
Character Mill Worker (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • Almost immediately after filming began, Terrence Malick abandoned his own script and spent nearly a year filming the movie almost entirely based on actors' improvisation. He wanted the actors to "find the story" themselves.
  • John Travolta, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman all turned down the role of Bill.
  • Due to vision problems, cinematographer Nestor Almendros filmed the movie practically blind. Before each take, his assistant would take a Polaroid photo, which the cinematographer would examine under a powerful magnifying glass.
  • A solitary rural house on the horizon, surrounded by wheat fields (this visual image runs throughout the film) is reminiscent of the painting "Christina's World" by the great American artist Andrew Wyeth.
  • Terrence Malick spent two years editing this film.
  • The scene where Bill falls face-first into the water was filmed in a large aquarium in Sissy Spacek's living room (Terrence Malick had previously worked with Sissy Spacek on his 1973 film 'Badlands').
  • The film was shot on location in Alberta, Canada. All the buildings, including the farmhouse, were constructed from plywood by set decorator Jack Fisk.
  • The book Linda is flipping through in the farmhouse is an illustrated edition of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'.
  • Haskell Wexler, credited as an additional cinematographer, told renowned American film critic Roger Ebert in a private conversation that he actually shot most of the film.
  • Striving for maximum realism, costume designer Patricia Norris sewed the costumes from worn clothing and old fabrics.
  • Filming proceeded very slowly, mainly during the short 20-minute period of "golden light" immediately preceding sunset.
  • The shots of the locust swarm taking flight were filmed as follows: a helicopter circled over the fields, scattering ordinary peanuts in large quantities, while the actors simultaneously backed away. In the finished film, this footage was simply reversed.
  • When Bill picks up a rifle at the 84th minute of the film, it is a standard double-barreled shotgun. When he shoots at the police at the 86th minute, he fires three times in a row without reloading.
  • Almost immediately after filming began, Terrence Malick abandoned his own script and filmed the movie for about a year almost entirely based on actors' improvisation. He wanted the actors to "find this story" themselves.
  • Cinematographer Néstor Almendros, due to vision problems, filmed the movie practically blind. Before each take, his assistant would take a Polaroid photo, which the cinematographer would examine under a powerful magnifying glass.
  • The scene in which Bill falls face-first into the water was filmed in a large aquarium in Sissy Spacek's living room (Terrence Malick had worked with Sissy Spacek on his previous film, "Badlands" from 1973).
  • The book that Linda flips through at the farmer's house is an illustrated edition of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book".
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