Badlands
This American classic was Terrence Malick's first film, casting a young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek in career-defining roles.
Set in 1959, in Fort Dupre, South Dakota, this is a darkly comic drama about the tempestuous relationship between a 25-year-old garbageman (Sheen) and a impressionable 15-year-old girl (Spacek). Together they live a romanticised lifestyle, on the run from the lam after shooting the girl's father. Their killing spree takes them across the midwest; across the badlands.
- Director:
- Terrence Malick ('The Tree of Life', 'The New World', 'The Thin Red Line', 'Days of Heaven')
- Writer:
- Terrence Malick
- Cast:
- Martin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesRamon BieriAlan VintGary Littlejohn
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressWritten, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, pic is his first feature and it's an impressive debut.
Total Film
pressThe unique, lilting music would subsequently crop up in True Romance, though Tarantino’s generation has yet to dethrone Badlands as the most haunting of all couple-on-the-run movies.
Roger Ebert
pressThe movie is very reserved in its attitude toward the characters. It observes them, most of the time, dispassionately.
Empire Magazine
pressAchingly evocative of a time when Hollywood had the courage to invest in complex and morally ambiguous films and an indisputable masterpiece of American cinema.
This is one of the best directoral debuts ever. It is about a young couple in the late 1950's that go on a killing spree. It is based on a true story. Martin Sheen imitates and looks just like James Dean. It observes human nature in a way that can interesting and cruel. This is a true masterpiece.
I found that movie on DVD although I knew nothing about it. Since I really liked the acting of Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, I gave Badlands a go and was not disappointed. Nowadays it is a rare feeling when you are not American to be nostalgic about American cinema. Fantastic picture all the way.
Variety
pressWritten, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, pic is his first feature and it's an impressive debut.
Total Film
pressThe unique, lilting music would subsequently crop up in True Romance, though Tarantino’s generation has yet to dethrone Badlands as the most haunting of all couple-on-the-run movies.
Roger Ebert
pressThe movie is very reserved in its attitude toward the characters. It observes them, most of the time, dispassionately.
Empire Magazine
pressAchingly evocative of a time when Hollywood had the courage to invest in complex and morally ambiguous films and an indisputable masterpiece of American cinema.
This is one of the best directoral debuts ever. It is about a young couple in the late 1950's that go on a killing spree. It is based on a true story. Martin Sheen imitates and looks just like James Dean. It observes human nature in a way that can interesting and cruel. This is a true masterpiece.
I found that movie on DVD although I knew nothing about it. Since I really liked the acting of Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, I gave Badlands a go and was not disappointed. Nowadays it is a rare feeling when you are not American to be nostalgic about American cinema. Fantastic picture all the way.
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