Extremely rare… Rated 5 out of 5 This masterpiece returns to cinema after 45 years!

45 years after its release, Les Moissons du ciel returns to cinemas on May 22nd! Terrence Malick’s masterpiece has been given a stunning 4K facelift for the occasion. Extremely rare, a feature film received a press rating of 5 out of 5 stars (average of 10 reviews)! Let us remind you that this is the director’s second feature film after La Balade Sauvage, which was released in 1975.

Directed by Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard, The Harvest of Heaven takes us to 1916. Billy, a foundry worker, his girlfriend Abby and her sister Linda leave Chicago to harvest crops in Texas. Bill sees it as an opportunity to escape poverty, prompting Abby to give in to the advances of a wealthy farmer who they know has an incurable disease.

Revelation of Richard Gere

This poetic work of astonishing beauty revealed the then 29-year-old actor Richard Gere. Until now, the actor has distinguished himself in various serials. Here he gets his first leading role in a movie. The son of a farmer, he embodied the working class enough for Malick, who originally had John Travolta in mind.

The latter was forced to turn down the offer at the last moment, as ABC did not want to release him from his commitments to the series Welcome back, Kotter. Carrie Fisher had to answer him. Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman, superstars of the time, both turned down the role.

A perfectionist, Terrence Malick required his team for almost a year for the shoot. Once it started, the director threw the script in the trash and followed the actors as best they could, giving them enough time to find their own story. It then took two years to finish editing the film.

Marathon shooting

If the shooting lasted so long, it was mainly due to Terrence Malick’s request to shoot much of the footage during the “blue hour” or “magic hour”. This is the period between day and night when the sky is almost completely filled with a darker blue than the blue of the day. This period is also called “between the dog and the wolf”.

According to cinematographer Nestor Almendros, Malick wanted to “A very visual film where the story is told through the images themselves. Very few people want to give that priority to the images. Usually the director gives priority to the actors and the story, but here the story is told visually.”The technician emphasized.

Let us remind you that the latter was losing his eyesight at the beginning of the filming. His assistant had to take Polaroids of every scene to analyze as well as possible. Néstor Almendros will be awarded the Oscar for Best Cinematography for his work on Les Moissons du ciel.

See you on May 22, 2024 in the cinema to see this masterpiece (again). And if you’re a fan of the Cannes Film Festival, you’ll recognize the title Aquariumis taken Carnival of animals By Camille Saint-Saëns. This memorable song is used 3 times in the film. After Les Moissons du ciel, Terrence Malick will wait 20 years before returning behind the camera with La Ligne rouge.