1973 Directed by Terrence Malick
Dramatization of the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree of the 1950s, in which a teenage girl and her twenty-something boyfriend slaughtered her entire family and several others in the Dakota badlands.
Badlands is, without doubt, one of the finest directorial debuts of all time. It is a lyrical and disturbing road movie produced by a filmmaker who, despite his inexperience, managed to craft one of the great films of the decade in this warped romantic adventure about two young lovers and their senseless killing spree across the Dakota badlands.
Over the course of five decades Terrence Malick has become recognised as one of the greatest filmmakers of his, or any other, generation yet his considerable talent is already present in every frame of his haunting debut as if his skill as a visual storyteller emerged effortlessly and fully-formed with this first attempt. There really are few first films as confident and…
The nicest and quietest movie about a serial killer I've ever seen.
It may not have the same dream like qualities of his later works and not as much lot to take away once it's over (or maybe there is and I'm just stupid like I was with his other two films), but Malick's debut it's just as solidly constructed and confident, not to mention just as pretty.
If you're looking to check out this guy's work but you're afraid of what you'll think, I'd say this is a good starting point, since it's pretty easy going and not nearly as alienating as his later stuff.
So yeah, check it out.
Facts.
Holly is a naive, young girl. She has (/had) a dog. She is scared of being with Kit; she is scared of being without him. Kit is a lonely young man. He found a toaster. He is impulsive and charismatic and utterly insane. Badlands is all about the facts.
If I could ask Mr. Malick one question, it would be when facts ceased being sufficient to convey his vision. Badlands is an exceptional example of how fine a movie can be when it is straightforward, compelling, and 'easy' (which is a dirty word in some circles, apparently). This is not a dig against his emerging style as a purveyor of visualized emotion, but an appreciation of his skill at…
Terrence Malick directorial debut was pure cinema magic! Gorgeous absolutely breathtaking cinematography which also serves to make all that takes place in the film that much more disturbing!
Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek's performances were truly a chilling and unsettling experience! The film will haunt me for quite a long while for I can't comprehend how anyone could be as cold and callous about taking a life! I still can't decide whose worse the trigger happy psychopath or the young girl who thought of his homicidal ways as nothing more than a pet peeve!
While this is a fictional story it was inspired by an incredibly similar real-life murder spree which happened back in 1958 involving Charles Starkweather and his teenage girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate!
A film that just begs to be seen repeatedly to be truly savored!
Naughty Approved!
Director Terrence Malick's feature film debut is a beautifully shot, elegantly crafted & fluidly narrated crime drama that wonderfully exhibits his cinematic eye for detail & breathtaking imagery and also happens to be his most accessible film to date.
Having gained a significant cult following over the years, this classic has a lot in store for both fans & detractors of this filmmaker, as the former will find an early glimpse of Malick's blossoming talent while latter will be pleased with the absence of those rambling philosophical voice-overs.
Loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather & his adolescent girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate in 1958, Badlands tells the story of Holly Sargis; a young teen who falls for an older rugged guy…
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)…
What's at the core of the American myth?
Kit and Holly chase their American dream the only way America has ever known: theft and violence, destruction and fear. They embody the American spirit: their young love, Kit's wicked charm, Holly's impossible innocence, their whiteness, and their aspiration. Their only future is to follow this lockstep beat, this manifest destiny that lies on the horizon, until the myth runs out and it's only the fire that remains.
I mean it’s magnificent. Fantastic. All-timer. Its the only movie I’ve immediately rewatched. I’m in too much awe to write a real review, but I’ll leave you with my favorite line in a movie full of them:
“ I sat in the car and read a map and spelled out entire sentences with my tongue on the roof of my mouth, where nobody could read them.”
I wish this had been my first foray into Malick's work, as I definitely prefer his now much more transcendent and flowing style to the style of his first feature. I can't exactly fault him for that, I just wish I had understood the progression before I learned of what would turn out to be my favorite film of all time (Knight of Cups) and another legitimate contender in The Tree of Life. Nevertheless, this film is still fantastic in every aspect of the word, and I wouldn't expect anything less from Malick.
The film itself is an uncaring foray into nihilism, loneliness, and love, yet the characters are almost detached from life itself and the narrative they find themselves…
If only Malick continued making films this beautiful and real without having to compromise story and a narrative drive.
What’s with Terrence Malick and red headed women? This was like a dark fairy tale. The lighthearted score perfectly contrasts with the violent plot. Kit is a pure weirdo. Holly was a great counterpart. This movie was really good.
Chilling, entrancing and emblematic of 70s cinema’s best qualities.
Every mundane sound crackles, every shot shows more than it initially lets on and every interaction is rife with tension. Martin Sheen’s callous worldview and effortless cool propel the movie but Sissy Spacek’s demure character really keeps it grounded.
Really just flawless. And I don’t throw that word around lightly.
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