Terrence Malick's startlingly accomplished debut feature was inspired by the Charles Starkweather and Caril-Ann Fugate murders of the late-1950s. Martin Sheen plays Kit, a 25-year-old garbageman who walks with a James Dean swagger. When he first meets the innocent 15-year-old Holly (Sissy Spacek), he falls head over heels in love with her. Her father (Warren Oates), an overprotective widower, will not allow the relationship to blossom, even after Kit informs him of his decent intentions. This refusal sparks Kit into action, triggering a brutal killing spree across the Midwest. All the while, Holly is there by Kit's side, to witness the senseless crimes and ponder her uncertain future.
BADLANDS is told from the point-of-view of the naive Holly, whose childish musings make the cold, detached killings seem all the more shocking. Malick's truly distinctive style, which combines lush photography and dreamy voiceover with bleak subject matter, has made him one of the world's most revered directors. His influence can be seen in works as wide-ranging as Quentin Tarantino's TRUE ROMANCE and David Gordon Green's GEORGE WASHINGTON. If there is such a thing as a perfect movie, BADLANDS certainly qualifies.
Director Terrence Malick's debut is based on the Charles Starkweather murder spree of the 1950s. A South Dakota garbage collector woos a high school naif away from her father--and kills him--and the two embark on a statewide killing binge. BADLANDS is a slice of demented Americana, made all the more disturbing by Malick's understated direction and Sheen's over-the-top James Dean posturing.
Theatrical Release: October 15, 1973.
BADLANDS was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1993.
BADLANDS marked the feature-film debut for director Terrence Malick, who studied philosophy at Harvard and as a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford.
Malick appears briefly as a man who knocks on the front door of the house that Kit and Holly have occupied.
Bruce Springsteen's song "Nebraska" was based on the Starkweather murder spree and was influenced by the movie. (Springsteen also wrote a song called "Badlands," which is not about the same subject.)
DVD Features
Region 1
Snap Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen Anamorphic - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Stereo 2.0 - English
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 - French
Subtitles - English, French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Associate Producer
Louis A. Stroller: Producer
Director of Photography
Brian Probyn:
Director of Photography
Stevan Larner: American Director Of Photography
Director of Photography
Tak Fujimoto:
Executive Producer
Edward R. Pressman: Producer
Art Director
Jack Fisk: Director/Art Director
Review 1:
"...A rich, dark and strange melding of fantasy, allegory and local detail..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.53-4 12/01/1974
Review 2:
"...Startling....The lovers-on-the-lam movie to outpace them all..."
Source: Total Film
p.118 07/01/2003
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