Ennio Morricone's 'Days Of Heaven' Soundtrack Gets 2-Disc Re-Release With Never Before Heard Music

blank As is the case when working with most geniuses, collaborating with Terrence Malick ain’t easy. While there’s a small core group of inner-circle people who have never left his side — editor Billy Weber, production designer Jack Fisk, and casting director Dianne Crittenden to name a few — even these lifers have all stated on the record how, despite loving Terry to death, it can be immensely difficult at times to discern exactly what it is he wants. History shows that Malick himself doesn’t know the answer which can infuriate collaborators. While cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki will have lensed three Malick pictures in a row (“New World,” “The Tree of Life” and the upcoming untitled romance), new collaborators that stick around is rare.

And musically, Malick has never worked with the same composer twice, and by several accounts, many musicians have been at their wits end by the completion of the job, if they even got that far. James Horner famously tore into Malick during the scoring process of “The New World,” refusing to work further on the project and called it, “the most disappointing experience” of his career. Hans Zimmer fared slightly better, but working on “The Thin Red Line” also took its toll and at one point he felt that incessant work on the film was ““going to kill” him.

However, there is one collaboration seemed to go over slightly smoother: that of legendary composer Ennio Morricone‘s work on 1978’s “Days Of Heaven.” But even then, according to Billy Weber on the Criterion commentary track for that film’s DVD release, none of the music was placed in the spots it was written for save one cue of music.

And this was apparently fine with Morricone. “Just before Terry left, Morricone said a wonderful thing to him,” Weber recalled on the disc.” ‘You can put the music I wrote for your movie anywhere you want in the picture. There’s only one piece of music I don’t want you to move, and that’s the music for the wheat fire.’ And Terry agreed and that actually is the only piece of music that is where it was written for.”

Done deal, super smooth workflow all things considered, right? Not quite as Morricone was rather frustrated with the process as well.

“When we recorded the music he was very demanding,” the composer said in the Malick documentary, “Rosy-Fingered Dawn.” “He didn’t know me very well, so he made suggestions, and in some cases, gave musical solutions. This kind of annoyed me because he’d say: ‘This thing . . . try it with three flutes.’ Something impossible! So, to humor him, I would do it with three flutes and then he’d decide to use my version after all. His was impossible or I would have written it myself. And more nitpicking like that which means he was very attentive and careful about music.” Sounds like the Malick we know and love.

Oh well, this is the long (and hopefully more interesting) way of saying that Morricone’s wonderful score to “Days Of Heaven” is getting a remastered re-release. The two disc set includes the original 1978 soundtrack album and and a second disc of Morricone’s cues used in the film totaling 30 tracks is 73 minutes worth of music. The discs also include some never-before heard music that Morricone composed for the film, but Malick did not use. During the lead up to “The Tree of Life” we wrote an ultra-comprehensive play by play of the making of each one of Malick’s films, so if you’re a big “Days Of Heaven” fan — and you should be — you’ll definitely want to read this. In case you’re unaware, this gorgeous, love-triangle drama starred Richard Gere, Sam Shepard, Brooke Adams and centered on a hot-tempered farm laborer (Gere) who convinces the woman he loves (Adams) to marry their rich but dying boss (Shepard) so that they can have a claim to his fortune.

Film Score Monthly released the soundtrack and you can head over there to place your order now. [via Film Music Reporter]


“Harvest”


“Main Theme”


“The Fire”

“Days Of Heaven” Soundtrack Tracklisting

DISC ONE –1978 Soundtrack Album

1. Aquarium [Le Carnaval des Animaux] (Camille Saint-Saëns) 2:05
2. We Used to Do Things (Linda Manz) 0:49
3. Enderlin (Written & Performed by Leo Kottke) 3:14
4. Harvest 2:59
5. Threshing 2:05
6. Happiness 2:13
7. The Honeymoon 1:26
8. Swamp Dance (Performed by Doug Kershaw. Words & Music by Doug Kershaw.) 3:32
9. The Return 2:31
10. The Chase 2:00
11. The Fire 7:48
12. Ashes & Dust 2:17
13. Days of Heaven 3:26

Ennio Morricone Cues Used in Picture

14. Main Theme (7M1 tk 8) 1:02
15. The Farmer and the Girl (Theme 18—piano version) 1:53
16. In the Field (Theme 5 long version, cf. Harvest) 2:59
17. Bad News (3M1 tk 3) 2:35
18. Non-Stop Work (2M1 2nd part) 0:36
19. Main Theme (2M1 1st part) 1:18
20. Bad News (4M3) 0:36
21. After Wedding (5M2 2nd part) 0:56
22. Empty House (5M3, cf. The Honeymoon) 1:24
23. On the Road (1M2 for 5M4) 1:41
24. They Should Leave (6M1, cf. Ashes & Dust) 2:16
25. On the Road (8M1 long version, cf. Happiness) 2:13
26. Bill Returns (8M2, cf. The Return) 2:30
27. The Locusts and Fire (9M1, cf. The Fire) 7:29
28. The Farmer and the Girl (11M3 2nd version) 2:26
29. His Death (5M2 1st part) 1:27
30. The Farmer and the Girl (10M3, cf. Days of Heaven) 2:46

DISC TWO — Extended Score Program

1. 1M1 (Main Title) 2:00
2. 1M2 (Train Ride) 1:44
3. 1M3 (Main Theme) 1:47
4. Theme 18 (Love Theme, long version) 1:22
5. 2M1 1st part (Main Theme, alternate take) 1:20
6. 2M2 (Main Theme) 0:53
7. 2M3 (Threshing, alternate mix) 2:05
8. 3M1 (Bad News, longer version) 2:42
9. 3M2 (Work Theme) 1:46
10. 3M3 (Love Theme) 1:00
11. 4M1 (Intro to Love Theme, 2 versions) 0:39
12. 5M1 (Love Theme) 1:17
13. 5M2 (Insect Noises With Main Theme) 1:45
14. 5M3 (The Honeymoon, with piano) 1:26
15. 6M1 (Intro to Love Theme/Ashes to Dust) 2:42
16. 6M2/7M2/7M3 (Suspense Theme/Main Theme, 2 versions/Suspense Theme) 2:27
17. 8M1 long version (Happiness) 2:16
18. 8M2 (The Return, piano version) 2:33
19. Ghost Voices 2:33
20. 9M1 (The Fire) 7:31
21. 10M1 (Pursuit Theme) 1:26
22. 10M2 (The Killing) 1:06
23. 10M3 (Days of Heaven) 2:47
24. 11M1 version 1 (The Chase) 2:01
25. 11M1 version 2 (Love Theme) 2:06
26. 11M2 (Main Theme) 1:03
27. 11M3 version 2 (Main Theme) 2:36
28. 11M3 version 1 (Love Theme) 2:29

Bonus Tracks

29. 4M2 (Intro to Love Theme) 0:22
30. 5M2 1st track (Insect Noises With Main Theme, alternate) 1:51
31. 5M2 2nd track (Main Theme, 1st mix) 1:23
32. 5M2 2nd track (Main Theme, 2nd mix) 1:22
33. Theme 18 (Love Theme, short version) 0:49