Grace Weissman 10/10/13 Blue Cinematic Analysis The movie Days of Heaven is centered on a 1910s farm, where the

lives of Bill, a laborer, Abby, his girlfriend, and The Farmer intertwine as they struggle to overcome the wickedness they find inside themselves. Bill starts out a worker in a Chicago steel mill, until his negative side takes over and he punches and kills his boss. This prompts him to run away to the Texas Panhandle with his girlfriend, Abby, and younger sister, Linda. Bill and Abby pretend they are siblings, so that people will not gossip about them. When they arrive in Texas they are hired as workers in The Farmers wheat fields. Bill overhears a doctor telling The Farmer he is dying and only has a year to live. Meanwhile, The Farmer falls in love with Abby and confesses his love to her. Abby is initially conflicted about how to react, but is swayed by Bills immoral plan to marry The Farmer and inherit his money when he inevitably dies. Linda and Bill live with Abby and The Farmer; selfishly enjoying the luxuries of The Farmers rich lifestyle, while Bill and Abby duplicitously continue their relationship. For months The Farmers health remains solid, ruining Bills plan. Still, The Farmers foreman is suspicious of Abby and Bills intentions and tries to warn his boss. However, just as Abby begins to actually love her husband, he discovers the relationship she had with Bill and the cruel nature of her marriage to him. Shortly thereafter, a swarm of locusts overtakes the wheat fields, prompting a furious Farmer to set them on fire. He confronts Abby and ties her up, the anger inside of him prevailing over any kindness he once felt towards her. He then goes after Bill, who stabs him with a screwdriver, killing him. Abby, Linda and Bill run away, and Abby resolves to live a more honest lifestyle. After travelling far by boat,

Grace Weissman 10/10/13 Blue they are hiding in the woods when police, led by the foreman, find them and shoot Bill. Abby then inherits money and leaves Linda at a boarding school. The film ends as Abby gets on a train with World War I soldiers, while Linda runs away from school with her friend. Days of Heaven paints a picture of everyday life in 1916 Chicago and Texas, including the modes of transportation and jobs available to most people. Bill begins the movie as a steel worker in Chicago, which was an economic
powerhouse(Transportation History, 1) at the time, full of factories. When he leaves

there are several shots of the streets, where although there are some cars, it is clear most middle class people do not have what were considered fragile luxury
items(Transportation History, 1). He travels south on the top of a train, as immigrants

did. Once they arrive in Texas, they join migrant workers, using horse drawn carriages, a prominent mode of transportation, to reach The Farmers wheat field in the Panhandle. One of the most pivotal scenes in the movie takes place during a massive locust swarm. Although, they were a major pest species on the prairies and plains of the 1800s(Chapco, 810), this was years before the movie took place. Days of Heaven showed accurate example of the transportation and job opportunities during 1916, with one error regarding the prevalence of locusts at the time.

1.Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewers awareness of the setting, characters or plot development. The story and dialogue in Days of Heaven are not very engaging on their own, but the cinematography brings depth and intrigue to the film. Shots range from the

Grace Weissman 10/10/13 Blue most detailed close-ups of locusts eating to wide angles showing the vastness of the fields in which Abby, Bill and Linda worked, a thorough representation of their setting. The cinematographer used a high-speed film stock for many decidedly dark and moody shots at twilight and nighttime, giving an added amount of realism and tone to the visuals. The silence and peaceful beauty depicted in images of waving grain, moving water and flying birds elevate the plot to a slow evolution while capturing the interest and aesthetic of such a visual-dependent film. In addition to shots meant to slowly unfurl the narrative, several motifs carry subtle foreshadowing and implications about the characters throughout the stories development. Bill is first seen with fire, like his aggressive nature, Abby is by water, which is as swiftly changing as her emotions. Linda is grounded and earthy, while The Farmer is with his weather vane, airy and shy. The weather vane was also a motif, recurring at various stages of functionality and disrepair when the relationships between The Farmer, Abby and Bill are a seemingly harmonious or when their careful deception is unraveling. The fragility of their situation is also seen as views of The Farmers stained glass window are intertwined with scenes of him and Abby. The subtle yet all encompassing nature of the cinematography in Days of Heaven serves not only to move along the plot and develop the characters, but adds a unique layer of sensory input to match the mood and theme of the film.

Grace Weissman 10/10/13 Blue Works Cited

Chapco, W. "A DNA Investigation into the Mysterious Disappearance of the Rocky Mountain Grasshopper, Mega-Pest of the 1800s." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30.3 (2004): 810-14. Abstract. Print. "Transportation History Videos." America on the Move. National Museum of American History, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://amhistory.si.edu/ onthemove/themes/story_48_1.html>.