Recent Reviews for Badlands
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MCT:August 23, 2008It's pretty ironic that I watch this film on the same day as Natural Born Killers since it has many similarities. But besides that, this would be my favorite Malick film. It has certain elements that puts it above Days of Heaven, at least for me, and Martin Sheen's performance is spectacular and their are no ideals pushed onto us by Malick like some other films like these.
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MCT:August 6, 2008
Very similar to Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands is a slow, mysterious and quirky film about a pair of lovers on the run from society and the law. It stars a young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek (who also narrates).
I must admit it took me awhile to get interested in the story, mainly because of the southern drawl of the narration and the slow pace of the film, but eventually I warmed up to it and enjoyed the slow, somber approach to the direction of the film.
As the story developed, the underlying complexity of the film really shines through, especially in the analysis of the two outcasts and the public's obsession with celebrity status. There are some great sweeping scenes of the plains states included as well, and you can't help but like Sheen's character, Kit, who comes off as a gentle man who never kills for enjoyment but only to remain on the lam. This is due in part to the director's ability to convey the story in relative neutrality, never judging any of the characters or their motivations. Definitely an American classic. -
MCT:July 28, 2008el mejo road movie q he visto. una obra maestra. le sigue de cerca Bonnie & Clyde, y tal vez Natural Born Killers (aunque no sea fan de esa pelicula, no puedo decir q no es buena...)
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MCT:July 9, 2008It's a slow movie that is dealing with a subject of rebelion and freedom as well as love. I may compare it with Bonnie & Clyde story and the cause they are fighting for is pretty much the same. Dialogs and music are defenetly the better side of this movie. Of course the acting is superb too! The whole movie has some strange,hypnotic atmosphere.
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MCT:July 4, 2008
When Holly, an ordinary, shy 15 year old girl meets the charismatic, rebellious Kit, her world is flipped upside down as she falls head over heels for him. After committing a series of crimes the pair become felons and go on the run together. What begins as a dangerous and exciting liaison soon becomes an isolated and lonely venture. 'Badlands' is superb at displaying the passion and necessity for true love, but also at showing its destructive and darker qualities. This is shown mainly through it's superb characters played by some truly remarkable actors. Sissey Spacek shines in her quiet, naive portrayal of Holly, but it is Martin Sheen who steals the show as criminal Kit, embodying an incredibly powerful charm and likeability. Sheen never falls out of character, he is so focused and dedicated to a role that could have so easily been misinterpreted and portrayed in a much more manic and negative way. Despite the characters crimes, his charm is never lessened, from start to finish Sheen is the films flawed hero and quite rightly hailed as the new James Dean. What also makes the film memorable is it's gentle, melodious score and wonderful wide shots, both adding to the films themes of love and seclusion. 'Badlands' is an excellent film due to its display of superb acting, attractive scenery, and simplistic directing. Truly Compelling stuff.
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MCT:June 27, 2008Terence Malick's Badlands is as mysterious and enigmatic as the director himself. There are hints of Bonnie and Clyde, and it would go on to inspire such films as Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. However Badlands is a character study unlike either of those films, depicting isolation and despair in a way not matched since. Both Sheen and Spacek give monumentally good performances with Sheen in particular embodying all that is cool and rebellious in 50's American counter-culture, but is also capable of detached brutality and violence. His character kills not for enjoyment, revenge, or any other sinister purpose but simply to keep on keeping on. His distorted sense of self importance is also fascinating to watch as he does not seek idolisation but utterly believes his actions hold a certain value.
Terrence Malick may have failed to be the prolific director many hoped he would be, but Badland's is a classic that any Joe Hollywood director would gladly trade an entire career worth of mediocre movies just for the chance to make. -
MCT:June 13, 2008This little known Bonnie and Clyde like story from the 70's has built up a cult following over the years, but I can't exactly say I'm part of that group. In the small-town of Fort Dupre, South Dakota, not much happens, until 20-something garbage collector Kit meets young, naive Holly. They are an unusual, contrasted match, but they end up falling head over heels for each other, much to the dismay of Holly's protective father. He demands that the two never see each other, and Kit takes matters into his own grisly hands, murdering him, and setting the house on fire, while Holly watches with confused emotions. The two then saddle up and run away as outlaws on a murder spree, and as time goes by, bodies start to pile, and the two become a sort of local folk tale in the Midwest. This movie wastes potential in my opinion. What could have been a socially aware and fascinating movie, was washed out by the rather ambiguous lead character, Kit. Their wasn't a whole lot of insight into such a disturbed person, and I was left void of emotion with all the senseless violence. There is some poetic value here, and it's presented through the narration of the impressionable Holly, but this is mostly a vague story based on the true life murders of 1958.
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MCT:June 12, 2008
Wildly offsetting, wildly captivating, and wild in its own substance, Badlands is an inventive and thoughtful picture that holds motion in every department. Sheen's 'Dean-esque' portrayal supplements the wondrous visuals laden before the up-beat, jittering sound score. The film is not so much a tale of morals, but more a look into the psyche and the cause of actions, all the while probing the role of the celebrity and the role of wealth in a growing society.
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MCT:May 26, 2008
A frighteningly raw insight into small town 1950's America - stagnant and ordinary on the surface, hard and dissatisfied underneath. Malick expertly captures the taboo relationship between Holly and Kit, taking us deep into the latter's twisted psychology and his obsession of wanting to be famous, no matter what the cost. The lack of fancy camera work and special effects gives the viewer the feeling that they are watching a real slice of life, and the fact that Badlands is based on a true story not only makes Kit's character more shocking, but also incredibly pathetic.
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MCT:May 8, 2008
I think this may be the first film I've ever seen by director Terrance Mallick, and it was great.
A beautifully shot look at a couple of kids on the run, making steadily worse decisions, based on the Starkweather crime spree of the
50's.
Recommended. -
MCT:April 23, 2008
Amazing film by Terrance Mallick that is obviously a heavy influence on QT.
There are finger prints from this film on Natural Born Killers, Death Proof and especially True Romance -
MCT:April 20, 2008
based on charles starkweather this movie plays out alot like "natural born killer" but instead of hating martin sheen's character for killing innocent people ... you kinda feel sorry for him...sheen and spacek are amazing in this film ....
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MCT:April 13, 2008
I saw her standing on her front lawn, just twirling her batoon
Me and her went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people died -
MCT:April 1, 2008
Martin Sheen is so hot in this. Great movie.
I love the little part where sissy and martin are just dancing a little bit out in the woods. -
MCT:March 21, 2008
Terrence Malick makes his movies with a very different perspective and each of them are the most visually gorgeous ones i have ever seen, Badlands is not different in those respects, the innocence of the narrative is spellbinding much like in Days of Heaven and the amazing music and beautiful setting adds a mystic mood to the flick which was a treat for the senses.
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MCT:March 12, 2008BADLANDS (1973)
directed by Terrence Malick
starring Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren OatesBadlands was based on Charles Starkweather's murders in the late 1950's and it went on to inspire more films, notably Quentin Tarantino's scripts of True Romance and Natural Born Killers, which were orginally one film, True Romance even borrowed the musical theme from BadlandsA young garbageman is a rebel without a cause, he looks like James Dean and likes searching the cans to see if there wouldnt be anything to sell for a buck or two. He meet a young lady, a teenager, they start hanging and soon become involved in a relationship. Her dad is against that idea cause he is a little scumbag and ten years older than her. One night he goes there and kill him, they run and begins a killing spree.
This is Terrence Malick's first film, and we can already recognize his unique ways of making a film. He tells his film trying to be poetic and it works, but for one reason, because it takes the young girl's naive point of view of the events. She knows its wrong what they are doing but she doesnt seem to care. In the other hand, the dude acts like it was casual to kill people, he doesnt do it for fun, but just to make sure no one will tell on him.
At one point, they decide to enter a rich man's house, he shows the man the gun and tells him they are on the run and wish to hang out for a while. Later when asked why he does it, he says he doesnt know. Its a strange film with a strange mood to it.
Martin Sheen plays the young killer in the right tone, never acting psycho and never acting self-aware either. Sissy Spacek looks young and naive enough. Malick shots the film with lots of landscape and adds lots of music to give the feel he wants but he never have any opinions about his characters or the events he is telling, he is simply showing them on the run. We dont know their past or their future, we simply witness an unusual glimpse of those characters lives. Its not bad.
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MCT:March 7, 2008
I forgot I saw this, what an excellent movie. Great filming, landscape, Martin Sheen probably at his most unmainstream BA.
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MCT:March 5, 2008
Malick knows how to shoot landscapes to perfection...another beautifully shot film by a weird, lonesome director
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MCT:February 5, 2008
i loved this! i was waiting for a long time to see it and it was worth the wait! i reccomend it to everyone
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MCT:January 29, 2008
Great, great movie. Martin Sheen gives the performance of his career, Warren Oates rules in his small part, and I'm fairly sure science can prove that early 70's Sissy Spacek is the cutest thing to ever exist. There's also a whole mess of awesome dialogue and breathtaking cinematography. I really can't think of a weakness.
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MCT:December 19, 2007
Director Terrence Malick is a master in the medium of indifference. This film is wonderfully acted and brilliantly understated. Its disturbing without being overwhelming - kinda' like Natural Born Killers on Prozac.
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MCT:November 23, 2007i can see where mr tarantino got his inspiration from when writing the scripts for true romance and that other one with woody from cheers in it that was really shit. true romance has even got the same theme tune. sissy spaceks best performance that i've seen... she even somehow manages to look slightly sexually attractive. it must be the short shorts! hot pants? i do enjoy her acting alot generally! martin sheen plays the badass with a heart james dean a-look-a-like killer. it was romanticised and stark with its intentions and it was done well. i will be on the lookout for further terrence malick
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MCT:November 18, 2007
Premier long métrage du mythique Terrence Malick. Une histoire somme toute assez banale, mais rendue intelligemment. Acteurs principaux crédibles, manipulation très ingénieuse de la caméra. Narration pertinente et poétique. Quelques lacunes au niveau de la psychologie un peu dur à cerner du personnage féminin, mais c'est négligeable. Un pionnier du genre.
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MCT:October 17, 2007
brilliant in all aspects, it's a shame that Terrence Malick has only made three films since. infinitely superior to "Natural Born Killers" which was inspired by the same events. what Oliver Stone doesn't achieve with his "artistic" excess, Malick is able to achieve with subtlety and grace. Martin Sheen, who seems to be channeling James Dean, and Sissy Spacek are both perfectly cast and are a big reason why this film is a classic. if you've yet to recognize the genius of Terrence Malick, check this one out.
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MCT:October 5, 2007
Beautifully shot with a powerful lead performance by Sheen and a wonderful performance by Spacek that is somewhat overshadowed. The movie is interesting in it's portrayal of a romance contrasted with the brutality and senselessness of it's killings, but at the same time, it never reaches an incredibly exciting climax. However, it remains a great movie to watch with no real boring point.
