By Chuck Ross

I’m going to spend a couple of hours this weekend doing exactly what I did last weekend, and I’ll be repeating one of the most pleasurable experiences I’ve had in months. I’m smiling just thinking about it now.

For any of us who love movies, and are lucky enough to have both big HDTVs and acompanying sound systems to fully enjoy them, there are a handful of movies that we’ve been waiting to come out on Blu-Ray that are literally made for this format.

One of them came our recently, and the pleasurable experience of watching it is to what I’m referring.

The movie is "Days of Heaven," which the Criterion Collection recently released in a gorgeous Blu-Ray version. It’ll set you back around $35-$40, but it’s well worth it.

Released in 1978, "Days of Heaven" is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. I’ve always liked describing it as a silent movie with words. The photography is by two master cinematographers, Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler.

The movie, by Terence Malick, certainly has its critics, some of whom claim that it’s slow, plodding, emotionally distancing and even over-photographed.

I could not disagree more. It’s one of the masterpieces of cinema. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I don’t want to reveal the plot. 

After you’ve seen the movie, you might want to check out Roger Ebert’s review of it. He’s a fan as well. (His review is from a number of years ago.)