BBBB.5

(out of 5)

Every single frame in this gorgeous melodrama is dripping with beauty (it deservedly won an Oscar for its cinematography).  Richard Gere and Brooke Adams, unmarried and pretending to be siblings when they are actually lovers, go to live as workers in the fields of Sam Shepard‘s sprawling Midwestern ranch with his little sister (Linda Manz). When Shepard takes a liking to Adams, thinking there is nothing standing in his way, he sets in motion a tragedy of Steinbeckian proportions. Terrence Malick’s second feature, literally one of the most attractive looking films of all time, is depressing and melancholy but fascinating in its rich subtext and visual splendor.

Paramount Pictures

USA, 1978

Directed by Terrence Malick

Screenplay by Terrence Malick

Cinematography by Nestor Almendros

Produced by Bert Schneider, Harold Schneider

Music by Ennio Morricone

Production Design by Jack Fisk

Costume Design by Patricia Norris

Film Editing by Billy Weber

Film Festivals:  Cannes 1979

Academy Award
Best Cinematography (Nestor Almendros)

Nominations
Best Costume Design (Patricia Norris)
Best Music (Original Score) (Ennio Morricone)
Best Sound (John K. Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass Jr., John T. Reitz, Barry Thomas)

Golden Globe Award Nominations
Best Motion Picture-Drama
Best Director (Terrence Malick