“DAYS OF HEAVEN” Terrance Malick, (1978 ) – The Train ride Sequence analysis: Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
1) 00.04.19
The three drifters Linda, Abby and Bill flee the city Chicago respectively towards the train (Boxcar). Abby enters the Frame from the left side while Bill carrying 2 bags enters from the right side scampering fearfully.
Low oblique angle still camera placed on the right side of frame to show the long shot of Linda Abby and Bill’s Hopping a freight, Camera lowered on street ground signifies their escape from this specific city land (the industrial Chicago)
Bill was scampering turning his head back afraid he might be chased by anyone (after he mistakenly murdered his boss in the steel mill), also Bill ‘s entrance from the right of the frame emphasises him being in charge of their escape and make him closest to the foreground hence remains the strongest and clearest figure while his diagonal movement from right to left of the frame emphasises his wandering and an unplanned travelling trip.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient Dawn light before the sun rising, the greyish sky (zone 6) image is muted monochrome with a wide angle and deep focus with no breaking highlights
The crooked train tracks aren’t telling where they direct or end signify the anarchic movement of Bill ‘s aimless wandering also the foggy deep space at the end emphasises their unknown mysterious destiny yet to be unfold to viewer and even to themselves as well.
Shot starts by The running entrance of Abby from the right side of the frame following Linda, and ends as the 3 characters diffuse in the background hence reach train and far off from the foreground
Linda’s narration. “In fact, all three of us been going places. Looking for things, searching for things.”
Ambient sound
Music
Dramatic function
The sound of their hopping feet, running towards the train.
The song is “Enderlin” by Leo Kottke, a folksy, instrumental piece that Captures perfectly the mood and flow of the scene it starts in this shot with rhythmic chord put down as they are escaping away giving a sense of circulating loop of their continuous escape and wandering.
This particular passage and shot is the key to understandin g what motivates and drives these three characters, especially Bill. They lead a nomadic existence, going where the work and opportunity for adventure takes them, seeking metaphorical ly a redemptive return to Eden.
Comments Linda’s narrative style with her eccentric, strongly accented and authentic pronunciatio n seems beyond performance, very much in tune with the film's folksy rhythms. Bill ‘s continuous flee from judgment would later be linked with a visual theme (a running dog)
1
Time
Picture action
Shot description
2) 00.04.25
Simple, yet detailed, silhouette of the train bisects the magnificent and broad sky, heading west with smoke puffing out of it as it moves in a steady slow pace
Magnificent long shot of train crossing a fragile looking trestle camera slightly pans left with the train gliding west, the train is parallel to the picture plane creating a 2d painting dreamlike space and picture.
Performance
Lighting
Design
The train bisects the space emphasizes the man versus nature relationship creating its own type of dark black cloud, the suspended built hanging train signifies the man’s sky height struggle for reaching a better life. Matching Linda’s narration “ going on adventures” as they are supposed to be sitting on top of train.
Day light, the sky is more brighter and bluish in tone in the upper sky of the frame (zone 5 ) than the lower frame shot, clouds could set to zone 7, while the black silhouette of the steam train is (zone 2 ) and the smoke puffing off from it is varying in its opacity starts in zone 2 to fade between zone 3 -5
The fact that there are clouds both above and below the bridge creates this fantastic sense of scale where the train is dwarfed by nature. And also the puff of black smoke that appears to run along the clouds. As if everything “man made” is black and dark creating polluting effect the against resplendent pure sky
Edit point The cut is as the train is moving west towards the near end of the frame and camera is still panning, catching its gliding, the train never reaches the end of the frame which gives us sense of the long or actual time of the journey in parallel to the train’s pace
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient sound
Music
Dramatic function
No narration
No ambient sound
As the train chugs along the music kicks off giving another energy to the scene and keeps tempo with it even before we hear the actual sound of the train
The shot deposits the viewer into the distance, before returning us to the intimacy of the crowded.
Comments She tells the whole story. But her words are not a narration so much as a parallel commentary, with asides and footnotes. We get the sense that she is speaking some years after the events have happened, trying to reconstruct these events that were seen through naive eyes.
2
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
3) 00.04.30
Linda’s M to CS laying down on some unknown person, opened eyes, thoughtless, with an unexcited look
Still oblique angle shot but slightly moving with train movement Linda is diagonally canted to the picture plan, some few sunrays spotted on her.
Observant, Imaginative but not very at rest or excited. She Plays against her narration as Here she has a look familiar to many apparent, bored road trip look.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Daylight, Linda is mostly seated in the shade but a diagonal sun rays spots her from up left to highlight her top hat and the end sleeves of her left hand, her skin tone is in zone 6
Linda’s style and color palette of her clothes browns and olive greens explains her personal interest in earth, which matches her tough talking city girl not very innocent nor girly character as she is not wearing childish colors like pink or red like other girls of her age
The cut of this shot is after it sustains the tempo of equal duration of the previous shots, as the equal duration of shots imply the slow passage of train journey.
Linda’s narration: “going on adventures”
Ambient sound
Music
The train sound fades in
The jaunty music and lovely landscape along with Linda’s facial expression in here shows. How beauty and misery can coexist in a mystery on which the film will rest.
Dramatic function
Comments
Linda Manz's voiceover narration conflicts with what we are seeing just as it relates to it This may also suggest that Linda is romanticizin g the story and trying to make it more exciting as she recounts it.
Linda is happier and more interested in earth as she even wants to about be a "mud doctor," exploring and understandin g the Earth underneath’s, so there is nothing exciting for her being on train as she prefers being closer to earth, not just observing from afar.
3
Time
Picture action
Shot description
. 4) 00.04.35
Overloaded Train zipping the land with passengers sitting atop of the train some looking east, some west, smoke puffs off the train as it goes forward intervening up with the sky cloud. As the shaky camera tilts down we see Bill and Abby locked in their embrace as Linda unfolds us that Bill and Abby are usually posing as brother and sister.
The shot is unfolding as it starts with the train zipping the land and the frame in thirds with one vanishing point and also the green land horizontally cuts the frame with the train zipping the land in the lower 2/3 of the frame and train’s smoke contaminatin g the sky in the upper third, as the camera tilts down, we see LS of Bill and Abby’s seated embrace squeezed in the centre middle ground of the frame surrounded by 2 passengers’ back consuming the two edges of the foreground
Performance
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Once again the picture plays against the narration as we see Bill and Abby happy and at rest in a public display embrace as Linda informs us that they hid their love relationship for the fear stigma of people’s talk, as they are unmarried which is the most important plot ties and strives.
Daylight, the sky very top of the frame at is overexposed in zone 8 – 9 which is also masked by the clouds z7 and smoke z4, where all the faces of the passengers are shadowed monotone with no highlight breaks.
The overloaded train of passengers surrounded by landscape form a very impressionist picture of this working class immigrants,
The cut in this shot is few seconds after Bill turning his head left, squeezing his face from the opposite wind and after Linda’s narrates that “My brother didn’t want anyone to know”
Linda’s narration” They told everybody they were brother and sister, my brother didn’t want nobody to know.” Linda ‘s narrations complement the picture as she says they told everybody” we see the array of the urban passengers on the train that signify the public or “everybody” and as the camera tilts down revealing Bill and Abby in embrace, Linda continues “ they were brother and sister, my brother didn’t want anybody to know”
Though Bill is dressed up in suit, Abby is in masculine suit stripped rough brown pants, and jagged brown jacket.
Ambient sound
Music
Dramatic function
Train sound is clear and audible
Enderlin, acoustic song
Linda’s narration of the main plot ties and the events makes it clear that she is telling us this story. As We see it unfold through her immature eyes, which explains the almost fantastical elements, and the characters who remain distant
Comments This is the first of many Biblical allusions as Abraham and Sarah as well as Isaac and Rebecca did the same thing when they traveled to another land–both face the disastrous results. In fact, we’ll see that a lot of the Biblical allusions in the film are associated with tragedy and judgment. This association alone foreshadows the trouble their relationship will be in soon enough.
4
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
5) 00.04.30
Front car of the train pulls the train west towards the camera where we see panoramic view of the train gliding west and different gestures of seated passengers on different car heights levels with the dark smoke puffing off is accompanyin g the train, Camera tilt up softly as the train moves west.
As Linda narrates “You know How people are” camera is a bit lowered we see the black contaminatin g front train wagon pulling the train in a long panoramic view against the upper still sky, the train pan consuming the lower 2/3 of the frame, as the camera slightly tilts up we eventually see the 2 lovers seated gesture in a wide shot.
Here the train rolls by and captures the many hitchhikers on the train. All seem to be looking for a job and a better place,
Lighting The ambient light here is united to the mise-enscene to the extent that it actually becomes a part of the miseenscene, this shot lighting is more grayish and darkened.
Design The huge black train (machine) man led overloaded with passengers separating the sky and fields Reminds us that man is trying to take control and mastering this natural space for his own gain, matching with Linda s narration of the people black deeds and gossip. Some passengers are wearing hats, some are wrapped with blankets some are leaning on their items but Abby and Bill are just leaning on each other
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
The cut of this shot is after it sustains the tempo and of equal duration of the previous shots. To the equal duration of shots imply the slow passage of journey time
Linda’s narration: “you know how people are, you tell them something they start talking.”
Ambient sound
Music
Dramatic function
Here the train rolls by and the film captures the many hitchhikers as we hear distant human voices of them waving as well as the train ‘s honk on the train. All seem to be looking for a job and a better place, once again expressing the idea of class conflict. As Linda narrates you know how people are and the front black dull train car which puffing off smoke consuming almost all the frame defends Linda’s words of people’ invasion
Enderlin, acoustic song. Layering over the soundtrack the industrial and natural sounds that would replace the dialogue and defy audience expectations, transforming the narrative into a meditation of these lives in impressionist ic fragments edited together in a flow of imagery like visual music
As Linda narrates you know how people are and the front black dull train wagon puffing off smoke defends her words showing a notion how people invade and destroy surrounding which signify the man versus nature by his huge blocking machines and transports.
Comments Malick shows here a panoramic expression of man’s duality though viewer sympathize with the class conflict and passengers poverty, they are still unmerciful gossipers and can be very destructive people to each other and to their surrounding.
5
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
6) 00.05.15
Ding Dong’s profile close shot, seated atop of the train as well smoking his cigarette, thoughtful looking west towards the greenery and the Yellow mountains
Dindong is in 2/3 vertical right side of foreground frame, His profile close shot slightly canted emphasizes him as it is opposite to the previous wide shot of the running through figures of passengers on train.
Meditating the green land and the yellow mountains which according to his prophesy will eventually rise in flames
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light where Dingdong is back lighted by the sun his whole close up (foreground) is in the shade in contrast with the high lightened background, as sun rays spot the green land and mountains (zone 6)
We see Dingdong thoughtful close shot of his profile in the foreground along with the whole range of landscape Greenland, yellow high mountains and bluish sky having the same vanishing point which supports his “falling end of earth” prophesy while his thoughtful look, & the close shot of him gives us an intimate relation and curiosity with him.
The shot where dingdong appears comes before Linda talks about him, and the duration of shot was shortened in comparison to the previous ones, the shot is cut after Dindong puffs off his cigarette
Linda’s narration: “I met this guy named DingDong”
Ambient sound
Music
The train rolling.
“Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
This single shot Of Dindong plays as an indirect fire ball that fortells the film ‘s climax, which will end in apocalyptic flames, after a God-sent plague of locusts comes with the gentle Farmer's roused jealousy, as his suspicions grow more aggressive.A nd all the characters fail to escape the reap & the judgment of their deeds
This shot also emphasize the direct relationship between nature and man, as Malick is equally interested in the plants and the critters that inhabit the earth alongside them, and sees humans on that scale.
6
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
7) 00.05.17
Little blonde girl M shot of her profile on train Throwing away her hair off her face, taking a step closer to have a look of the bird flying
Medium low angle shot of the profile the girl more into the left side of the frame as she moves slightly to the center to have a closer look. She was first emphasized by her frame filling figure and as she was separated by the sky from the right splitting her from the smaller kid around her
The little profile of the girl stepping closer to enjoy a better view of the bird is paradoxical to what Linda is going to narrate about Dingdong’s prophesy of the fall of nature’s beauty.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light where the sun backlight the little girl and highlights breaks in her hair, and the overexposed cloud in the very right of the frame probably in zone 7- 8.
The little blonde passenger gesture (throwing her hair) dressed in pink adds softness, lightness and beauty to the shot mood but in the mean while she still belongs to the poor striving class as her shirt is holed.
The shot starts with the little girl throwing her hair away off her face, ends as she reach the center of the frame.
Linda’s narration:
The sky seems to provide a glow over the film, like a reminder of an alternative power
“I met this guy named DingDong”
Ambient sound
Music
The train rolling.
Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
The monotony of the trip is etched on the faces of the travellers, but nostalgia, even romance, is the dominant mood, as we see the Imperfect poor Passengers are surrounded by the perfect nature and landscape greenery from both sides.
Malick use these insert shots In order to just keep up with the flow of action, with the pace of a scene, the audience has to piece together characters and events based on stray clues.
7
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
8) 00.05.18
POV shot of the little girl of a single bird squeaking and flying freely in the pure blue sky above the yellow mountains
Camera pans left slightly catching the bird’s solo flying in an empty blue sky which covers the upper 2/3 of the frame leaving the yellow mountains in the lower third
The bird’s flying solo and freely in a clear cloudless sky above mountains introduces us to the horrific paradox Linda is about to narrate about dingdong’s prophesy, the fall of the earth rising in flames
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
The sky here has a certain purity in its shade and colour (zone 5) the bird and the down hills of the mountain share kind of the same zone 4
The beauty and serenity of the vast nature is the dominant mood of this shot, which is paradox to what Linda is about to reveal, where we see the poor Passengers can still be treated by the surrounding nature and greenery landscape.
After the bird’s squeaking in the previous shot, Linda’s anxious shot cuts after she narrates what dingdong told her (the whole world is gona rise up in flames).
Linda’s narration. “I met this guy named DingDong”
Ambient sound The train rolling. Birds squeaking
Music Enderlin acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
Malick underlines his timeless, age-old plot by reminding us of its timeless nature seen against the vastness of space and time. He does this by continually flit between shooting the microcosm and the macrocosm.
Nature is really another character in this beautiful film as Malick, is interested in the interplay between man and the natural world. Although the open plains and vast panoramas provide a marked contrast to the dirty poverty of passengers on train from the industrial Chicago,
8
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
9) 00.05.20
Linda’s cs of her semi profile concerned look of what she heard from Dingdong. She is seated Still and stunned while the passenger behind her in the background is moving normally.
Linda ‘s CS oblique angle stunned semi profile face is in the middle third of the frame, black dark figures are beside her and the yellowish lands on her two sides, which are canted a bit towards one vanishing point, placing her in an unseen closed triangle.
Linda ‘s stunning and thoughtful look is emphasized by her stillness and frozenness look while her surrounding is moving normally as this is a reverse shot to what she heard from Dingdong about the whole earth rising in flames.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light, Linda is back lighted more from the left as we see the highlights in her hair and the back shoulders of her jacket. While her face is in shade.
The oblique angle of Linda’s semi profile trapping her in an unseen closed triangle with dark colours surrounding her and the yellowish grass add to the shot the mood of concern, fear and restlessness
After the bird’s squeaking in the previous shot, Linda’s anxious shot cuts after she narrates what dingdong told her (the whole world is gona rise up in flames).
Linda’s narration: “he told me the whole earth is going up in flames.”
Ambient sound
Music
The train rolling sound is put down a little
Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
This shot foretell how all the coming incidents will rise paralleling DingDong’s prophesy which suggest the fall of the earth and man’s judgment and attempt to escape it which is a Biblical allusion to the Book of Revelation.
Malick frequently uses individuated close ups of his characters unaccompani ed with speech, as a unique way of expressivene ss where they perform easily identifiable feelings and in turn invites our own act of meaning making. (Rybin, 2011)
9
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
10) 00.05.23
Regular poor family and passengers on train, the father looking stunned with the innocent kids mouth opened metaphorical ly reacting with Linda’s reveal of how the earth will rise in flames.
The camera moves diagonally from the lower right to the upper left of the frame showing a passenger father and his 2 kids as Linda narrates Flames will come out of here
Showing the innocent and naive looks of passengers who seem like they never heard of such prophesy ( fall of earth) that Linda is narrating, the father and his 2 kids share the same ignorant naive look.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient sound
Music
Ambient light, as Passengers here seem to be seated inside a wagon, but generally the direction of the light is from the right as we see from their profiles which are shadowed from the left
The camera shoots the family from the youngest member kid to the older to the father respectively; suggesting the generations who grow up in their ignorance and naivety.
After the smooth tilt of the camera, the shot cuts as Linda says flames will come up of here
Linda’s narration: “Flames will come out of here and..”
The train rolling is more audible than the previous shot.
Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
Although the scene has no bearing on the narrative it adds to the sense of place and time, as the faces of the passengers, which seem totally natural as if they weren’t aware they were even being filmed. Such images add to the world we see and increase our awareness of the surrounding elements
As with Malick’s montage editing style we are exposed to people and places in ordinary life, exhibiting habitual behavior and inconsequent ial play, which makes the story more universal and urbanized as supported by the sepia photographs in the credits from early 20th century America, with an emphasis on urban labor and poverty.
10
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
11) 00.05.23
Abby and Bill squeezed by the surrounded passengers seated in an embrace as the train puffs off its smoke above them, Abby kisses Bill hands which is surrounding her, Bill turns his head looking to her, they both look happily in love.
This shot is repeated again through the slow train journey, but inserted again here to show Abby and Bill’s general reaction and behaviour bubbled and driven mostly by their feelings in life.
Abby and Bill seated in their embrace lost in their love bubble as Linda continues her horrific narration of the flames rising and the train puffing off smoke, where Abby and Bill seem totally out of this world and careless, unaware of their destiny or of Linda ‘s narration of the apocalypse rising
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient sound
The natural lighting of the sun and the dim shades of dawn play as much with the atmosphere and mood of the story just as much as the scenery of the seemingly endless prairie.
The desperate and worn look of the clothing of the poor passengers on top of the train mirrors the perception of how they internally feel, as all the clothing are dimmed and muted in color, we see the story of this social class from Bill and Abby perspective though they all have their stories which is not told, but their faces are expressive enough.
The shot starts as Linda says “there and they will just rise up.The mountains are gonna rise in flames”and ends with the turning head of Bill towards Abby.
Linda’s narration: “there and they will just rise up.
The train rolling is clear and audible.
The mountains are gonna rise in flames”
Music Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
The shot Show the train, which is filled inside and atop by mainly migrants seeking agricultural work in the wheat harvest of the Great Plains,as They come from all backgrounds, but most seem like recent foreign immigrants at the bottom step of the ladder of success leading to the American dream.
The bold little girl who narrates the film, providing her disjointed, naïve but often mature commentary on the events which take place. It is her persistent observations that made her over mature than her age and open her eyes with knowingness about her surrounding.
11
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
12) 00.05.31
Oblique wide angle shot of the train with passengers on top of it heading west, the black smoke is puffing out eastwards reversely to train direction mingling with the sky clouds while the green wheat fields are waving gently with the wind
The distant wide shot of the train heading west With passengers on top is bisecting the land and the sky hence appearing dwarfed as it is surrounded by vast nature from up and down,
The train slowly gliding west introduces us where all the coming acts are going to happen in the wheat fields, which are still green not ready for harvest.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light,the sun rays are downwards as it is projected on the top of the train, the clouds has some over exposed areas
Invasion of man and his man made boxcars with its thick layer of black smoke puffing off of the train is matching with Linda ‘s narration speaking about the rise of Flames destroying the earth.
The cut of the train heading west occurs in the middle of his passage while train still in the frame and haven’t reached the end
Linda’s narration: The water is gonna rise in flames
Ambient sound
Music
Dramatic function
The train rolling. With the flames emerging out magnified.
The train moving across the vast expanse of the American hinterland to the rousing strings of Leo Kottke’s” Enderlin” is a visually and spiritually fulfilling experience.
The shot may suggest that it is the man and his machine and technology invasion that works mostly against nature which will cause the earth apocalypse
Comments After all, humans have no more control over their unpredictabl e, unmanageabl e emotions (or, ultimately, their destinies) than they do over wild creatures, the land, the tides, the weather, or the seasons.
12
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
13) 00.05.36
Long shot yet a socially distant of 3 deer moving randomly amongst the wheat fields as Linda narrates about the creature running every which way
The shots of the 3 deer centered in the frame, as such shots of animals surrounded by plants, though very inserty-type shots, but have strong dramatic impact on the viewer as they contextualize the place of the scenes involving the lead actors
The deer ‘s random movement is simultaneous to Linda s narration about the creatures moving in every which way
Day light The lighting here is diffused in the mise en scene where no certain direction is suggested.
Nature and its creatures are homogeneou s and contagious in colour which emphasis the sense of reconciliatio n and merging between the nature and its inhabitant’s creatures.
Shot cuts as the deer moves randomly parallel to what Linda narrates about creature fleeing every which way.
Linda’s narration: Creatures will run every which
Ambient sound
Music
The train rolling sound is not heard
Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
The shot fortells that there could also be a dangerous rebel potential in the beautiful nature and its inhabitants, further demonstrates the unstable balance between man’s corruption and divine judgment exhibited through nature
This delicate shift in man’s internal relationship to evil is symbolically seen in the film’s external images of nature, which contextualize the existential dilemmas of the characters
13
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
14) 00.05.39
The train slows down and many of the itinerant workers jump off with bundles and small suitcases in their hands Medium to l shot of many passengers carefully sliding down off the train, camera follows the passenger in foreground and shot ends with the a bag thrown from off the train in the very foreground
The train forms longitudinal ray bisection from the left side of the frame where we see plenty of passengers jumping off the train at different perspective levels. Camera tilts down following the passenger in the foreground, and the train smoke is now puffing westwards.
Visual and aural parallelism is created as the passenger in the very foreground seem like asking the passengers (Bill and Linda) on train for help as Linda says hollering for help.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light, deep focus light direction is from the right as Bill and Linda are back lighted in contrast to the passenger sliding down, although we see the green land highlighted from the left of the frame
Very deep space is created by the longitudinal canted train, visually dynamic by the multitude passengers sliding off the train on different levels of the frame, which intensify the flee action and vast movement, the red brick stone is the dominant colour in the shot which channel the feeling of workmanshi p and labour also the fire flames Linda is referring as passengers sliding down.
The cut here is by a huge bag thrown off the train in the very foreground of the frame
Linda’s narration: “Some of them burnt half their wings burning, People are going to be screaming and hollering for help.”
Ambient sound As the image tells us of a dialogue happening between passengers it is muted by Linda ‘s narration and the music as The dialogue is kept to a bare minimum, sometimes giving the film a silentmovie feeling, but we hear the sound of the passenger gliding from the train, jumping to ground, besides the sound of the train rolling.
Music The same acoustic tune of the guitar Enderlin
Dramatic function
Comments
This shot exhibits more Linda’s counterpoint between of what’s on screen which is parallel to the film's diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and images, including music and sound effects hence establishes a harmonic relationship with them while remaining distant
The images of workers in their surrounded landscape look like impressionist paintings that cinematogra pher Almendros creates on the screen with the natural light of his location
14
Time
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
15) 00.05.39
Amongst the seated passengers Two passengers jumped off the train as it moves, Throwing their wrapped bags first and steady themselves as they reach ground while Linda talks about the people who had been good and manage Escaping fire.
Camera tracks the pan of the train from a distant mirroring plane as the train is panning parallel to the picture plane and smoothly tilts down tracking the second passenger ‘s LS jump off the train to ground
Picture parallel to Linda’s narration, only 2 selectively jumped off the train as it is moving, which bounce back to the escapism Linda is narrating from Dingdong ‘s prophesy of the earth apocalypse and the few people who will manage escaping.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light, passengers on train are back lighted, as the passengers jumps off, the light comes from the right (obvious from the passengers ‘s profile) separating the light areas in the frame horizontally between the foreground and background from behind the train.
Linear motif is created in the dark mood frame, where all the passengers in the shot along with the train are in black to emphasize the dark escapism atmosphere Linda is narrating, in contrast with the green edenic background.
Shot starts by Linda narrating people “who ve been good will escape the fire”
Linda’s narration “The people that have been good will go to heaven and escape the fire.”
The shot ends by a passenger jump off the train and steadies his gesture.
Ambient sound
Music
Sound of the train rolling, along with the sound of the passengers throwing their bags and jumping off to the ground.
Enderlin”, acoustic song
Dramatic function
Comments
Linda captures here the essence of one of the dominant themes of the film; navigating the boundaries between good and evil in human kind
During this moment Linda talks about people escaping the impending apocalypse. Now as these workers jump off it’s almost as if they are mirroring this escape and entering into a better place, whether economically on this earth or after life according to Dingdong’s prophesy
This shot also create strong visual metaphor as if the train is the flaming earth and only few people will manage escaping it
15
Time 16) 00.05.52
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
M to c shot of Passengers running in the foreground bringing the foreman with his megaphone bellowing for sackers from back to foreground as he walks few steps eastwards. Emphasis clearly his mouth and white teeth calling for sackers from the black megaphone
The MS to CS still shot of foreman comes from behind the horse to the foreground after some passengers cross in front of him, he is in the vertical 2/3 of the left side of the frame as his horse is in the right vertical third
The foreman bellowing through his megaphone with the slight canted gesture emphasize his calling as it is so obviously pronounced from the megaphone.
Day light where it comes from up left as we see the horse ‘s top hair more highlighted as the foreman is back lighted
There is a contrast in the picture colours as the horse in the right frame is white and the foreman is dressed in black. Also the foreman ‘s white teeth is so emphasised from the black megaphone signifying the act of bellowing, which metaphors Linda ‘s words the evil asking god for help
The cut comes while the foreman ‘s walking towards the right of the frame, right after he bellows I need sackers.
The Foreman calling in his megaphone “Sackers – I need sackers”
Ambient sound
Music
People running sound is clear.
The music changes its acoustic guitar to fading in the earlier looping guitar rhythm played during their flee from Chicago
Dramatic function
Comments
This shot explains that applied capitalism requires an underclass to exist, one that does not reap rewards or benefit from the system,
One of the themes with which Malick deals here is the dilemma of the unskilled worker in America. The disparity of wealth between the farmhands and the rich farm owner
Also this shot may be a visual metaphor for the man’s fall from grace and need for redemption calling God for help.
16
Time 17) 00.05.54
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
Very long wide shot of plenty of urban passengers of all ages and genders shown from their backs running upwards towards the foreman wagons, they seem running in a hurry trying to catch some vehicle
The wide shot of passengers who keep entering the frame running towards the foremen wagons who are in the background but signified by the yellow flag and by being upper in the frame. one is sitting on a horse another is standing in an open wagon
We see here a very reflective conventional image for the industrial era where the local class and workers are running towards the high class foreman and wagons as if they ask them for a better living and seek their employment
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Daylight where passengers are back lighted and sunrays are from the left, as their right side of their backs is darker.
Depressed brownish costumes of the working class running the fields opposing the foreman black wagons all coming together to form a picture of the dichotomy of the upper and lower class at the turn of the century.
The cut comes within the passengers running up towards the foremen ‘s wagons after Linda narrating, “He don’t even hear”
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient sound
Music
Linda’s narration: But if you’ve been bad, God don’t even hear you. He don’t even hear you talking
Distant sounds of the passengers running and the foremen bellowing lowered down by Linda’s narration
The guitar chord rhythm or looping which was played before during Bill and the girls” escape from Chicago hopping freight. It could be the theme for the continues escaping or the drifting of the lower working class searching a better life
Dramatic function
Comments
Malick here shows the multitude of the working class opposing the few foremen wagons, besides the rhythms and cycles of their desperate need for catching an opportunity or a vehicle to a better life.
The image shows the existence of the many laborious class, search for a better living, but it's not irony that Malick is communicati ng so much as perspective: one impression of life among many.
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Time 18) 00.05.57
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
Different actions happening on different eye level to l shot of a foremen with megaphone on his horse rotating clockwise with passengers passing in front and beside him, another Ms of a foreman standing in his wagon holding megaphone as well
Medium shot of passengers passing in front of the camera, in the foreground, another foreman on his horse with megaphone in the middle ground and another vehicle, in a way we see both the vehicle and foreman on the horse in the middle vertical third of the frame, and passengers on the 2 edges thirds.
The visual dynamic and crowdedness moving in a multidirectional way as well as the people crossing in the very front of the camera depicts perfectly the hurriedness of the passengers and the attempt of escapism at the apocalypse.
Lighting Daylight, light ‘s direction is from the left of the frame as wee the wagon left edges more highlighted.
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Ambient sound
Music
The multidirectio nal movement enhances the visual intensity, and increases the Sense of the open dynamism of Space and actions happening outside the frame. We also have these grand foremen in magnificent suits and tall hats, status symbols of their wealth and power.
The shot starts by the matching running of the passengers from the previous shot and cuts after the foreman on the horse rotates right to match with the following shot of the foreman’s walking few steps to the right.
Linda’s narration “He don’t even hear you talking
Sounds of the foremen bellowing and talking fades in and more audible as Linda finishes her sentence
Music guitar rhythm Fades out
Dramatic function
Comments
Explains that this is a time of with a great divide between the wealthy and the poor.
This Biblical allusion from the Book of Revelation, which is a dark moment with trials to escape paralleling with the upbeat and high-energy of this scene, once again playing the narration correspondin gly around the images.
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Time 19) 18) 00.06.00
Picture action
Shot description
Performance
Bill carrying bags on his back moves towards the foreman, where the foreman said arrogantly that a man can earn 3$ a day if he wants to work, and continues bellowing for sackers then asked Bill if he ever sacked before when Bill lied replying last year and the foreman checked him with his eyes and told him to get on. Passengers kept crossing in foreground and background
Medium shot of Bill and the foreman where bill’s gesture is fully towards the foreman perpendicular to the picture plane while the foreman’s gesture is open to the public around them, Abby places herself in their centre in the wagon. The foreman is indicated to be in power by the tall hat. However, he is positioned on the left side of the frame while Bill remains on the right.
The foreman is talking fuzzily to Bill as he checks him and moves his head away as he bellows for sackers which emphasize his dominance and that Bill is the one who needs him and Bill is merely one of many the sackers the foreman will hire this day and can replace anytime as Linda narrated later, Bill keeps staring at foreman waiting for his reply after he lied that he had sacked last year.
Lighting
Design
Edit point
Mono/ dialogue
Day light, characters are backlighted, sky is overexposed hence colourless and burned out, Bill ‘s profile slightly more lightened as he is facing the sun, while the foreman is shadowed
The 2 men are centred face to face emphasises the conflict and the adversary which will unfold later, Bill’s suit is pitched black than the foreman’s olive black suit. Bill even though shown as a poor industrial and farm worker, he is typically dressed quite dignified, feeling as though he deserves more than he has.
The cut comes right after the foreman said get on and waved to Bill to get in the car wagon moving his hand back down.
Foreman: Man can earn 3$ a day if he wants to work, have you ever sacked before ? Shouting Sackers I need sackers. Bill:sure Foreman: When was that? Bill: Last year.
Ambient sound
Music
Different sounds are audible adding to the shot dynamism, sounds of people running, car motor, foremen bellowing in their megaphone.
No Music.
Dramatic function
Comments
This shot demonstrate the film’s economical context and dichotomy between the poor labors and the wealthy set in the era of the industrial economy, where the wealthy also needs the labor class as their wealth is originally built off the backs of these hard working men.
This 3$ a day also demonstrates the lie and the myth of the American dream, where the loop carries on & those immigrants labors couldn’t find the ladder out their tiring labors.
Foreman: Get on
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Rationale: Without a shadow of doubt, the American auteur director Terrence Malick has profoundly reevaluated the present understandings of cinematic concepts such as image and sound, character, and narrative. His films are extremely visual, and elude explanation, and in some sense a profound challenge to such notions, as their primary concerns are not plots and characters with complex psychologies, nor an intellectual engagement with ideas, but, with the dominance, beauty and poetry of their imagery, which reminds the viewers of the fact that the most primal and direct way in which cinema engages its audiences is via the power of images. (Lee, 2012) For this reason, I was curious to study more about his visual style and picture elements and chose this specific scene from “Days of heaven” film because of its significance in the narrative structure of the film, as it reveals the most crucial plot ties, (Bill and Abby posing as brother and sister), and reflects the main themes of the film: man versus machine and man versus nature as well as the industrial era’s class conflict, besides it is utterly rich in framing the shots, full of visual metaphors that suggest man’s fall from grace, need for redemption, man’s duality and last but not least has a strong hierarchy in the audience’s perception of the whole film because of DindDong’s prophesy of the earth’s apocalypse which will be later unfolded in the film’s climax.
Genre, Theme, Picture Style And Design: Malick’s drama is elemental in every sense of the word. (Earth, air, water, fire.) And so is the story of "Days of Heaven” which has a strong Bible allegory as the title itself is derived from the verse “That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.” Deuteronomy11:2, This chapter mainly explains the conditions of god to bless Israel. (Michaels, 2009)
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Besides the fact that Bill and Abby posing as brother and sister resemble Abraham and Sara’s situation in Egypt, when a plague of locusts was god sent to pharaoh when he took Sara as a wife, the parallel continues in that Bill (the migrant labor in a wheat field) must leave the ranch (Eden) and continuously flee from judgment and hide from the authorities (God), moreover, Bill and the farmer’s relationship is also similar to Cain and Abel though they weren’t not literally brothers, but what happens between them is a form of fratricide, in addition it also suggests a fall on the apocalyptic accounts of the Last Judgment (from a guy named Ding Dong, according to Linda's voiceover) which is also derived from the book of revelations, among other many biblical images and motifs. (Emerson, 2011) The film’s genre is known to be epic or a period film Caught in the decades before World War 1, the Great Depression and World War II, as it depicts the period where man and nature were just beginning their struggle against each other, also known for the great division between the wealthy and the poor where their wealth is built off the backs of workmanship in the cataclysm of the industrial era where man versus machine relationship is also rising, how man related to this technology that emerged from this era and its affects on him and shaping his world is prominent in the film, (Ewing,2010) as well as the myth of the American dream where we see all these urban immigrants labors attempt to climb the ladder of success and escape their working class seeking a better life. However the film surpasses its time and setting to paint with extensive strokes whose trajectory can be read and applied universally to any era. Moreover the whole story can be generalized as it belongs to all working class but we watch it from Bill’s perspective. (Tucker, Kendall, 2011) Man’s duality and this delicate shift in man’s internal relationship to evil is also symbolically seen in the film’s external images of nature, which contextualize the existential dilemmas of the characters who are trapped in their respective cages and unable to flee or escape the judgment. The longing and desperation in all of these characters is so plain to see that we do not need to hear them talking. (Percy, 2011)
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The film is dominated by impossibly nature shots and sounds (blowing wheat, rippling brooks, golden sunsets), These landscapes and objects surrounding the characters, act as a third main antagonist in this film or as the “avenging power” which one may even see it like the manifestation of gods’ judgment or the cursed harvest of man’s own rebel, evil deeds and betrayals, The plague of locusts on the wheat crop and the subsequent fire in the fields demonstrate the hellish potential in the beautiful serene nature, further demonstrative of the dangerous balance between depravity and divinity, which Malick so poetically explores, as we see the nature both envelops the viewer in its magnificent beauty while at the same time exerting a worrying aura of control: “as this living nature observe and tell us more about the characters than any expository dialogue. (Percy, 2011)
For these reasons we can also characterize the Film style as formalism as it uses medium to emphasize essence hence " expressionist” visualizing man’s battle with himself trying to submit and defeat nature with his own will; recognizing that the two can never be separate. Indeed, Malick’s camera frequently frames his characters within and almost one with the wheat fields, which equates the being of humanity with the being of wheat as in both there is growth, harvest, resilience and redemption. (Rybin, 2011)
Malick ‘s affinity to silent cinema is obvious especially in Heaven, where he aims to bring cinema back to its humblest origins, of presenting unmediated reality by focusing our attention on image and sound rather than narrative, In this sense Days of Heaven is a homage to those creators of the bare image in the years before sound whose works are admirable for their raw quality and the of lack of artificial refinement and gloss. Said Almendros, the film’s main cinematographer, who also worked in plenty of Rohmer and Truffaut films) (Almendros, 1984)
Since I lack imagination," Almendros wrote in his marvelous book, A Man With A Camera, "I seek inspiration in nature, which offers me an infinite variety of forms." But there is something more about his style that he was always true to a light's source, true to the emotion evoked by the cast and color of light as it changed through the day. Nestor believed the most beautiful light was natural light and He rejected the typical
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lighting schemes of the '40s and '50s films, which called for the use of key lights, backlight, fills and highlights, He preferred to first capture or augment existing light, then shape and bend it, and respected light's truth-telling element, the way it can expose and conceal. (Thompson, 1998)
Malick and Nestor’s main target and united vision for Days of heaven was to simplify its photography: cleansing it of any artificial glossy look of the recent past films. They had films of the silent era as their role model like Griffith and Chaplin, when cinematographers made unique and fundamental use of natural and available light. Using natural light as often as possible meant using only natural window light for day interiors, like the great Dutch painter Johann Vermeer. As For night interiors they intended using very little light, from a single justifiable source, such as a lantern, candle, or electric light bulb. (Tucker, Kendall, 2011)
Nestor being inspired by the art works of great painters of the old Hudson School of the 19th Century, who helped to shape the mythos of the American landscape primarily by Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper and most notably Frederic Edwin Church wherein natural shots and shots of human beings among the landscapes evoke the romanticism in the sense of being and divinity. (Michaels, 2009)
Malick’s magnificent knowledge in painting made him also a still photography collector where His collection of turn-of-the-century reproduction books became the guide for designing the film’s clothes of the people of the era which should lack the synthetic look or quality in the finely machined clothing. Moreover they used this collection as the first images for the audience to see during the title sequence, thereby setting the mood and the whole sense of period for the film’s picture. (Almendros, 1984)
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Film Production, Innovation and Drawbacks: Set in Texas Panhandle, in 1916, the film was made in Canada, in a region of southern Alberta, where the elements of the location massively supported the film’s design. Furthermore the air, more transparent with more harsh light than Europe, resulted with the actor’s face to appear in dark shadows to the film’s eye, when being backlit. Though the normal trend when filming day exteriors is to use reflected or artificial light (such as an arc) to fill the shadowed areas and thereby reduce the photographic contrast, However, Malick and Nestor agreed on not following the standard, and use no lights, and instead expose more the shadowed areas, Which resulted with an over-exposed sky ("burned"), thereby losing its blue hue,So the Straight exposure of shadow in backlit situations gave this "burned out" sky-white, or colorless. However Using arcs or reflectors would have flattened the scene, and losing shot’s dimension and its visually appeal, so Almendros decided to avoid the use of any artificial or reflected light, and to split the difference between his reading for the sky and his reading for the shadow, resulting in faces being slightly underexposed, and the sky slightly overexposed, taking away thereby the intensity of blue, yet not letting it burn white. Moreover Malick and Almendros became more and more bold in using less and less artificial light, preferring the look of the raw, bare image after they saw that the results were rewarding and enhancing the visual style and presentation of the story. Malick wanted the major portion of the film photographed during one of these acute day situations, a period of time he called "the magic hour" which is The time between the sun set and the fall of night, when the light seems to come from nowhere. It is a time of extraordinary beauty but very challenging and hectic to achieve much of their shooting scenes because Actually the time between sunset and total darkness is only about twenty minutes, which made the actors, and the production team rehearse all the day till they come to shoot the rehearsed scenes in these tight 20 minutes in the “magic hour” (Almendros, 1984). Malick's determination to shoot the film’s most scenes in this light was not simply an unwarranted aesthetics, as historically
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and in story context, this was the period when these scenes would really have taken place, for the field labors would rise before the sun and work until it set, their only "free" time being this "magic hour". Giving it that aged sepia tone as if it is falling from the narrator’s memory or as if It’s a rhyme to a passage of time that suggests a harmonious state of existence and the impossibility of its lasting beyond a short period of time hence divine and emanated. (Michaels, 2009)
Another pioneer feature in “Days of Heaven” was The early use of Panaflex: the Panaglide Technology System which is Panavision's version of the Steadicam System, that offered more mobility freedom during shooting as it is attached on a simple head with a handle, uniting the cinematographer and the mechanical elements, hence, the movement becomes almost human. Even though The daily shootings were amazingly shot; there was an impression of tour de force, of great effort, as The camera became a protagonist, a living actor; and an intruder which made them also sometimes prefer the steady shot on a tripod or a very smooth, invisible classic dolly move, on the other hand, in the fire sequences, the camera penetrated the flames and move around in a dazzling vertical movement that visually intensified the moment’s drama. However with the Panaglide, the viewer gets the true impression of three-dimension and the real geography of the set was portrayed perfectly. (Almendros, 1984)
However a Drawback of the use of the panaglide was the presence of discontinuity in the scenes where Malick cuts the film together with Editor Billy Weber in a rolling montage like style, in which he spent 2-3 years in the post production of the film, the problem was later solved by adding Linda ‘s narration which eventually richened the sense of poesy of the real, according to The Criterion Collection DVD’s audio commentary details is that Malick did not script the voiceover, but rather let the young actress (Manz who was a real waif off the mean streets of New York) watch scenes she’d acted in, and then express back to the director what she thought was going on with the characters in the scene. From over 60 hours of her commentary, Malick used about 15-20 minutes’ worth in the film. (Schneider, 2009).
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Linda’s embodiment added such sense of authenticity and purity to the film, Her narration, as abstract and philosophical as it is infantile, guides the movie along like a slow-moving train, (Nordine, 2011) as we see the story and judge the characters from her perspective, this made us sympathize with her brother the murderer, await the kind farmer’s death and love Abby in all her ways and see Each character in the film as a flawed and perfect at the same time as we are.
Despite the authority of Linda’s voice, her narrative didn’t always "match" the picture; we do not see the things she described, This dialectical approach has clear parallels with the Soviet montage supporters, such as Sergei Eisenstein, who was against using sounds as flat factual illustrations of images preferring an audiovisual counterpoint, where sounds prove their independent existence and act. The complicating voice-over is just one of the tools Malick used to oppose as well as integrate sound and image, often in confusing ways (Crofts, 2001) and complex results and notions, things such as this explain why the resulting sequence of “Days of Heaven” is a visually led film with short scenes, sparse dialogue, but bold imagery. Malick and Almendros also followed Andre Bazin theory of montage, ultering reality and everything that can support it such as sound, deep focus, and invisible editing, (Blakeny, 2009) so At the end of some scenes, they would fade to black by closing the lens stop slowly, so if their exposure was an F/2.8, they would fade slowly to an F/16, and then close the variable shutter on the Panaflex until total black is achieved. (Almendros, 1984)
Another technique which added to the film classicism style was the "day for night" shooting, which was a way of shooting wide exteriors during the day and making them appear as though they were night scenes. (Also known as "American Night") This standard black and white method that is used even with color today is to underexpose the scene and print down in the positive print. The main difference with black and white was the use of a red filter that added luminosity to faces, added overall contrast, and, most importantly, darkened the sky. (Almendros, 1984)
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Furthermore, one of the most notable elements that made this film very respectably unique is the absence of the visual effects, where such a creative effort was always made to achieve and sustain Film’s sense of realism by simplification. Like the great silent filmmakers, Malick and Almendros used other basic illusions or tricks that were done simply, opposing to current complex CGI, even in the most difficult achieving scenes like the plague of locusts, live locusts supplied by the Canadian Department of Agriculture was used for the close ups and the foreground scenes, as for the wide panoramas, they used a technique appeared in “The Good Earth” which is rolling the camera in reverse and throwing peanut shells from helicopters, So when the film was projected forward, the "locusts" would appear to be flying up, which demanded the actors and the tractors to perform in reverse. (Almendros, 1984)
Conclusion: In conclusion, this film was such an innovation in its narrative structure as well as its technical realization, as it is a series of journeys, both internal and external as the film’s last scene shows a visual rhyme where we see Linda walking again along the train tracks with her new friend, serving as a return to the image of the train’s freight from Chicago with Bill and Abby as well as a reminder that such movement will continue, even though we’ve seen all we’re going to of Linda’s internal journey. As with most else in the film, this is a mere glimpse of a larger whole that spoke directly to the soul, piercing the very centre of man’s being, because the film exudes an obvious edenic yearning, a longing to recapture man’s lost wholeness of being, exhibiting his desperate need for redemption which will keep chasing him in whichever land he escapes to, he would always be opposed by the glory and avenge power in nature which will always be evident reminding him of his dwarfs, his desperate need for reconciliation.
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References: •
Tucker,T. & Kendall,S. (eds) (2011) Terrance Malick film and philosoph.New york: The Continuum
• Michaels, L. (2009) Terrance Malick Contemporary Film Directors. Urbana And Chicago: University of Illinois Press. • •
Rybin,S. (2011) Terrence Malick and the Thought of Film, New york: Lexington Books. Almendros, N.(1984) Man with a Camera.Trans. Rachel Philps Belash. New York: Farrar,Straus, and Giroux.
•
Dawson, M. (2007) “Days of Heaven, left field cinema” http://www.leftfieldcinema.com/terrence-malick-days-of-heaven
•
Ewing, J.(2010) Cinema Sight, Days of Heaven (1978) The Commentary cinema. http://cinemasights.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/daysof-heaven-1978-the-commentary/ (April 28, 2010)
•
Percy, W. (2011) “the search,Days of Heaven” http://stillsearching.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/days-of-heaven/ (10 May,2011)
•
Lee,H. (2002) “Senses of cinema, Great Directors Terrance Malick”. http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/malick/ (12December, 2002)
•
Thompson, R. (1998) Myth-making With Natural Light, Nestor Almendros, http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/mythmaking_with_natural_light_3206/ (25 November 2012)
•
Schneider, D. (2009) “Cine Scene, Days of heaven” http://www.cinescene.com/reviews/daysofheaven.htm
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