When I first saw Days of Heaven over a year ago, I said that "it is so light on plot, that I really didn't connect with the characters or the "narrative"". Now, I finally clicked with the film. I clicked HARD.

Rewatching Days of Heaven, I realized just how stupid some of my previous comments were. While not unwarranted, I found myself looking forward to many of its smaller moments. This time it really hit me just how massive an accomplishment this was, filming for a long time and taking over two years to edit it all together. The whole location is just beautiful, a place that truly does feel like heaven, though what happens therein is far from pure. There is a lot of good and wanting to do good, as well as cleverness that risks turning evil, the beauty of those wide shots a perfect juxtaposition with the tighter, more claustrophobic close-ups of animals, bugs, and people's faces. There is also a gorgeous timelapse of a flower seed blossoming which is great in context to show the growing relationship between Abbey and the farmer as well as the general passage of time.

This rewatch also confirmed this as one of my all-time favorite Ennio Morricone scores, easily in his top 5. The legendary composer passed away at the age of 91, and while there was sadness at first, the fact that we managed to get literal hundreds of soundtracks in over 6 decades with his wonderful music is a true blessing. There are so many wonderful pieces of music that he has scored that many of us have yet to experience, and I look forward in the future to dive deep into his body of work to discover hidden gems that probably only Tarantino has seen.

Morricone has always been my favorite composer, as I honestly don't remember a time when I wasn't aware of him. My dad showed me the Dollar trilogy and countless westerns when I was very little, and the whistling, the gunshots, and the energetic use of trumpets stuck with me instantly. I have been listening on a regular basis to his soundtracks ever since I first had a PSP in 2006, then on an iPod, then on my first laptop, and now I have over 30 albums and complete scores on my phone, Spotify, my hard drives, and my computer. And the very soundtrack for Days of Heaven has been playing almost constantly whenever I am writing an essay for uni, working on a script, or even just strolling for the streets.

Morricone was one of my favorite people in cinema, and he forever will be. He leaves a tremendous legacy behind him, someone I wish every young composer would listen to, as his work is endlessly inspirational and really powerful. RIP, and rest in all of our souls and memories!