In 1958, Charles Starkweather (age 20) and Caril Ann Fugate (age 14) went on a killing spree, murdering 11 people. This story serves as the basis for Malick's Badlands an amoral exploration of solitude, nihilism and love.

Malick's debut is an astonishing piece of cinema. The story he tells is simple and is filled with simple characters. This is something I always find in his films. But in Malick's particular niche of cinema it isn't always about the story, it is about evoking a sensation and conveying themes. And even though he is hesitantly discovering the boundaries of how far he can reach as an artist, he has already developed a sense of the lyrical realism that has become his…

In his debut, Terrence Malick is an uncanny creator of pearlescent forms, a very stark balladeer, Mark Twain’s coolly ferocious heir. Small-town life in the 1950s makes for a void quickly filled with outlaw vanity and magazine-stand enchantment, garbage-man punk (Martin Sheen) and teenage baton-twirler (Sissy Spacek) meet and harmonize apathetic psyches in "the big marble hall" of Nature. He's a James Dean wannabe or Billy the Kid perhaps, acting mostly with his shoulders and pockets, a scarecrow with a rifle in the fields and suddenly a cracker-barrel philosopher when facing a recorder. She reads gravelly from Hollywood gossip digests and is told to enjoy the scenery, a freckle-dotted blank sheet of paper crouching by her murdered father (Warren Oates)…

Badlands is perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing and I want to watch it over and over again until I wither away and die. I don't say that about many films, so it seems like I should just stop there... but what the hell. It appears I have things to say.

A startlingly young Martin Sheen plays Kit, a good looking twentysomething who seems to have too much energy for his sleepy small town surroundings. He falls in love with Holly, a young but mature girl who remains inexplicably complacent during her wild adventure with her older boyfriend. Sissy Spacek brings Holly to life with an unforgettable deadpan performance, always reminding you that she's just a kid who thinks…

At the New York Film Festival in 1973, American cinephiles got to see the birth of two new directors, both of whom would go on to become two of the best directors of their generation. Both directors were American and their debuts spoke to their own personal corner of America. One of these directors was Martin Scorsese, whose Mean Streets was a dark and gritty tribute to Scorsese’s New York youth, and the other was Terrence Malick’s Badlands, a tribute to the lyrical Midwest he grew up in.

Few directors, if any, find their voice in even their debut films. It really comes as an astonishment that Badlands feels just as polished as one of his later films. It’s beautifully…

"Names Caruthers. Believe I shoot people every now and then. Not that I deserve a medal."

As I was browsing the store today on the lookout for some films for my 30 Days, 30 Countries Film Challenge, my eyes were drawn to Badlands sitting by itself on the shelf. The vintage art style on the Criterion Collection cover was striking and made it visually different than every other film in the vicinity. And after I found out that Paths of Glory wasn't in stock, and feeling like I struck out, I found myself going back to where Badlands was sitting.

I said "screw it" and bought it.

Even before I popped it in tonight, Badlands had already proved to be…

Given the little time I've spent with Terrence Malick’s filmography (this is my third film, but two of which are hour-absorbing epics so they've taken a considerable amount of my time) I've had a surprisingly tumultuous experience. I began with The Tree of Life; a near perfect allegorical narrative of family, childhood and home that was unfortunately betrayed by the pretentious intention of the director. Style over substance? Absolutely.

Sometime after I watched The Thin Red Line and I absolutely adored it. Sure, the approach isn’t different, it’s a philosophical tale brimming with subtleties and artistic nuances, but they are much more subdued, relevant and easy to comprehend. Put simply, there wasn't any nonsensical sequence involving dinosaurs. And today I…