Badlands (1973)
Dramatization of the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree of the 1950's, in which a teenage girl and her twenty-something boyfriend slaughtered her entire family and several others in the Dakota badlands (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Terrence Malick
Written By: Terrence Malick
Starring: Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Terrence Malick, Ramon Bieri, Alan Vint, John Carter, Bryan Montgomery, Gail Threlkeld, Charles Fitzpatrick, Howard Ragsdale
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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Badlands belongs to 124 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (public: moderated by kozan26 - 227 stars)
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8. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (public: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)
9. National Film Registry (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
10. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 29 stars)
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17. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (public: moderated by rant1229 - 19 stars)
18. Humanity and the Natural World (public: moderated by paulofilmo - 18 stars)
19. Best of criticker: Drama (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 17 stars)
20. Directorial debut (public: moderated by djross - 16 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 10 |  |
Ocelot | 80 89% |
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Honestly, if Martin Sheen seduced me like that, I'd go along with him too.
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| 9 |  |
Alex Watkins | 6 98% |
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The only Malick film which can be said to have a sense of humor, albeit a deeply strange one, the sort that inspires bewilderment instead of hearty laughter. Yet somehow it hits the same elegiac tone that's defined Malick ever since, and a film which could easily have been, in careless hands, a simple portrait of dimwitted killers on the run becomes something very affecting. A romance built on the shakiest of foundations and doomed to fail somehow becomes heartbreaking even in its inevitability.
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| 7 | anderton | 85 79% |
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I found a toaster.
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| 7 |  |
karamazov. | 95 99% |
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Gorgeously perverse, haunting, captivating. For me, this is the director at his greatest-- when Malick wielded a sense of understatement and of the ironic, to go along with his unrelenting detachment and artistic ethic. Like no other I know of, he evokes an overwhelming sense of wonder, while seemingly mourning the mortality of humankind and its society, the planet, and the galaxy, and the brutal indifference of existence. Completely magnificent.
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| 6 |  |
Magb | 85 73% |
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Badlands is one of those films where the main characters do really horrible things, but because the film is so well made and the characters are otherwise so likeable, it's impossible not to feel at least a bit sympathetic toward them. Martin Sheen is just perfect and Sissy Spacek is very good too. Malick's expert direction shines through every shot and scene. And the film is a damn sight better than that goddamn Natural Born Killers.
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| 6 |  |
Nathan S | 4 74% |
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"He says 'frog' and I jump." Holly is naive and stupid, allowing herself to be an accessory to Kit's idealic dreams of criminal celebrity and myth (at which he succeeds, interestingly enough). She is of little choice and consequence to the plot, but Malick opts to present things from her perspective, not as if it's about her, but happening to her. Even in his formative years, Malick is adept with landscapes, montage, and music. A very impressive debut.
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| 6 |  |
djross | 94 99% |
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The greatest crime film of all time (if as I do one excludes TAXI DRIVER from the crime genre, but then again perhaps this should be too), and the first of Malick's quasi-Heideggerian masterpieces. One of the great directorial debuts of all time, along with THE MALTESE FALCON (Huston) and CITIZEN KANE (Welles).
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| 5 |  |
MartinTeller | 85 84% |
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The sepia-tone newsreel style footage feels out of place, but it's only a minute or two. The cinematography isn't as stunning as his other films, but it definitely has some glorious moments. What struck me most was the attention to the magnificent details of life... a small gesture, a silly joke, admiring the flowers. These little things are the essence of living, and their quiet emphasis serves as condemnation enough of Kit. My least favorite Malick, yes, but one I'd gladly visit again.
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| 5 | theficionado | 100 97% |
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Oh! So THIS is what Oliver Stone was trying to do.
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| 5 |  |
frederic_g54 | 9 90% |
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Fact: Terrence Malick should make more films...
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| 5 |  |
Tds4a | 3 80% |
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For a film about two amoral killers on the run, it's never actually exciting. Instead it concentrates on capturing a bizarrely beautiful mood. Spacek and Sheen are a fantastic duo, mainly because of how mismatched they are.
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| 4 |  |
Pickpocket | 8 82% |
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Beautiful is an understatement.
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| 4 |  |
Hawkins | 89 88% |
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There's something hopeless about the way these two lovebirds on the lam wistfully romanticize their flight, and something haunting in the choice to film all the murder with matter-of-fact static-cam and no prescribed emotion - no angry acting, no sad acting. At most they seem despondent and detached from it, all their passions reserved for a slow dance against the empty darkness.
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| 4 |  |
JakeAesthete | 99 99% |
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Holy fucking shit, rewatching this post-Tree of Life/To the Wonder... this is like a completely different filmmaker. Look, i love "new" Malick (way more than most people) but this is just incredible in an entirely different way. How did i not realize earlier that there's as much proto-Hal Hartley in this as there is in mid-80s Godard? It's as if somewhere during his twenty year hiatus Malick forgot that irony could serve a constructive, positive purpose in narrative art.
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| 4 |  |
DavidKahane | 99 98% |
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A striking visual tone poem of troubled discontent; it captures spiritual desperation in a way that is equal parts moving and engrossing. Evocative, elegant images are Malick's trademark and they're in full evidence here. Unlike others who aspire to match his resplendent compositions, Malick's efforts never feel needlessly showy. They're always organic, integral to the storytelling. They build the mood in tandem with the delicate writing and the focused, fervent performances by Spacek and Sheen.
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| 4 |  |
BillyShears | 100 98% |
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The opening credits. The stereopticon sequence. That shot of them dancing in the dirt with Kitt's clean boots and Holly's bare blistered feet. OTHER STUFF. The best debut. Without it we wouldn't have Nebraska ya'll. ~
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| 4 |  |
mrandersen10 | 85 89% |
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An incredible film that's easily my favorite of Malick's works. I personally think this blows away the comparatively shallow "Bonnie and Clyde". It is introspective and at the same time non-judgmental towards the misguided couple and the apathetic manner in which they dispatch their victims. All the while, there's a sense of purity and authenticity to the proceedings.
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| 4 |  |
chadisdanger | 89 94% |
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Malick's first, and it feels at times like he's trying to find what works for him. But all the same this is a very accomplished debut. This would be lurid subject matter in lesser hands but Malick understands the great sadness and fairytale delusions that underpin this kind of narrative, creating a strange and haunting story of disturbed youth lost in their own mythology.
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| 4 |  |
afx237vi | 90 95% |
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A depiction of a life without reason or consequence, only existence. Youthful aimlessness leads to a life of corruption and a loss of innocence, yet both characters remain gleefully oblivious to this fact. For them there is no "why?". The lightness of tone and the use of upbeat music doesn't quite blot out the sense of sadness that permeates this film.
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| 3 |  |
knuth | 90 96% |
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"It sent a chill down my spine and I thought where would I be this very moment, if Kit had never met me?" An existential masterpiece.
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| 3 |  |
lex | 95 91% |
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It's incredible how all of Malick's trademark, awesome directorial qualities were already in his debut picture. To call Badlands his most simple and least ambitious film would be accurate, I suppose, but you could also argue it's his most flawlessly constructed story. And I continue to be amazed how a movie about a murderous sociopath leaves me with a big smile on my face.
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| 3 |  |
Paradigma | 80 89% |
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He sure looks like James Dean!
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| 3 |  |
omgfridge | 11 99% |
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I once wrote a critique that spanned many pages on Badlands. I no longer have it but the main point was that this is greatness.
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| 3 |  |
ZayanK | 90 84% |
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Adam and Eve gone wild.
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| 3 |  |
KasperL | 70 65% |
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It's pretty good (emphasis on pretty).
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| 3 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 91 95% |
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Very stylish and captivating. Although the story is not really complex and the characters shouldn't be likeable, the great acting and directing draw you in.
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| 3 |  |
Moribunny | 45 33% |
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Badlands fits snugly into that rather provocative category of the "romantic serial-killers movie". It's not as moronic and tasteless as Natural Born Killers nor is it as thoughtful and inspired as The Honeymoon Killers. I'd describe it as being watchable and cinematically proficient yet shallow, somewhat pointless and a bit juvenile, placing it on par with Bonnie and Clyde. The musical score here is consistently unsuitable for whatever's happening onscreen.
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| 3 |  |
loc42 | 80 79% |
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A meditative search for meaning in an existentialist way which gives you the feeling that it's a slow paced experience eventhough it's not a slow movie. Mallick as an uncompromising romantic tries to follow his characters in an impressionistic manner and depict not only them but also the nature around them "beyond good and evil".
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| 2 |  |
JohnSandwich | 90 95% |
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Style and substance. Martin Sheen really shines here, as does Spacek. Excellent.
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| 2 | pompousass | 40 71% |
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Malick's re-examination of the Charles Starkweather case is conducted under antiseptic laboratory conditions. A homicidal maniac, who does an uncanny James Dean impression in T-shirt and cowboy boots, and his baton-twirler girlfriend, take flight, cross-country; but they find themselves continually penned into arty, desolate compositions and saddled with inane things to say. "We should crush our hands with this rock so we'll remember this day always." "Wouldn't it hurt?"
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| 2 |  |
Noblet | 84 81% |
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I expected this to be a lot darker and grittier than it actually was, since it is a early 70's crime movie. But the film just has such a strange, almost cheery atmosphere. I think it's the music and beautiful landscapes that makes the film a calm, casual experience. I liked it a lot.
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| 2 |  |
redacted | 83 79% |
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I don't know if it's sympathy you feel for the characters. Passing judgement on the simple and plain Holly isn't worth while, she is young, stupid and naive. Kit is young, in love and empty at the same time. They both know the consequences of what they are doing, but they keep doing it while it lasts. The film portrays this in a slow reality and simple voice-over. They both knew it would end, they both just give up in the end. Is Malick saying how little life and consequence mean?
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| 2 | vertigo2120 | 75 18% |
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Badlands is expertly crafted, but besides the monotone and matter of fact voiceover of Sissy Spacek, there's no insight into the characters and little feeling expressed, which made the film extremely flat for me.
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| 2 |  |
3against4 | 96 88% |
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Martin Sheen gives one of the great all-time film performances as the charmingly self-effacing sociopath Kit Carruthers. Narrated sleepily by the perfectly blank-faced Sissy Spacek, Badlands is a haunting, sprawling masterpiece that is determined not to judge its two lead characters and, with control astonishing for a first-time director, succeeds completely. Malick is already in almost total control of the hypnotic style that has become his trademark and makes him my favorite director.
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| 2 |  |
deaddilly | 85 84% |
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You can watch Malick in reverse chronological order and still find evolution. I'll be forever grateful that I have at least one 'storyteller' film from Malick; if for nothing else than to get a different perspective of his visionary genius.
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| 2 |  |
susie-mauve | 97 98% |
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Such an eerie experience. Malick's visual poetics unwind so beautifully, you get a great glimpse of the themes and motifs that he's employed in most of his following films. Spacek is mind blowing, she manages to perfectly portray this detached, passive & almost alien-like teenage girl, while Sheen is perfect in the shoes of the reinvented compulsive "rebel-without-a-cause". Watching it and thinking of all the more-modern-films that tribute it, i realised just how seminal this masterpiece was.
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| 2 |  |
eCitizen | 70 70% |
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Beautiful, stunning, shocking. Excellent performances, and the scenery shots are inspired. A bad boy taken the the ultimate extreme, and a subservient, ignorant girl escaping her dull life. Scary stuff for real.
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| 2 |  |
zspyry | 10 99% |
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I consider this my favorite movie (for no objective reason). It just clicked with me on an emotional level. But even looking past my own bias, this film is masterfully made, and criminally overlooked.
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| 2 |  |
bof | 90 97% |
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Why did anyone bother making Natural Born Killers when this was already around? All else aside, one of the best uses of a voice-over narrator ever.
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| 2 |  |
billkerwin | 97 97% |
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One of the best uses of voice over in films. A strange, poetic, haunting film, beautifully directed. Sheen and Spacek are very, very good here.
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| 2 |  |
mwgerb | 64 75% |
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Kit is quite an individual.
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| 2 | Beej | 95 94% |
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Absolutely mesmeric whilst removed from its coldly delivered violence. The two central performances from Sheen and Spacek are top notch as well, with Kit being a charismatic, fascinating character, although he is a figure of youthful rebellion and is frequently compared to James Dean, contradictory elements in his character mean that he is not at all stereotypical. Malick's cinematography is not as clean as in later films, but the rough quality adds to Badlands. Close to TTRL for my fave Malick
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| 2 |  |
eveelun | 80 78% |
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Offbeat drama has a contemplative and wistful tone that elevates it beyond the "youths on crime spree" sordidness that so many other films indulge in (and many characters in this film, besides Sheen and Spacek, focus on).
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| 2 |  |
TheDiceman | 85 98% |
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Brilliant
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| 2 |  |
backwardsuit | 88 95% |
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I found a toaster.
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| 2 |  |
Kavu | 84 82% |
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Great lead role from Sheen and brilliant directing from Malick. I liked the non-judgmental take on the story.
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| 2 |  |
Anomaly | 89 93% |
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Bizarre and enjoyable. Its tone and attitude towards the violence differentiates it from pretty much all other films like it, and it's brilliantly acted. Strong debut from Malick.
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| 2 |  |
paulofilmo | 76 96% |
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Where I began.
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| 2 |  |
bhajansunlo | 88 97% |
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Every shot in the film captures the sense of wonder and the film seems to be as much about the magic of American landscape as it is about the aloofness of the runaway couple. The loneliness of both Holly and Kit are palpable.
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| 2 |  |
jswinder | 91 96% |
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I'll kiss your ass if he don't look like James Dean...
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| 2 |  |
dardan | 96 99% |
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Kitt murders her father figuratively and literally. Together they abscond into a night unmentioned: we see them dancing in a forest, kissing in a tree hut; we see them, beyond the grasp of culture, working to write a tale of origins, their outskirts, their past, seeking to break off this nature, his nature, by piercing through the grace that allows it to blossom: her.
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| 2 |  |
drawkward86 | 99 98% |
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Practically perfect. Martin Sheen as Kit is easily one of my top few screen performances of all time, if not in a class by itself. The fact that Malick had already found his voice so distinctly without a single feature film to his credit is awe-inspiring; his instinct to eschew symbolism in favor of mere observation, and to refuse to judge his main characters, is perfectly tuned, and his visual style, while sometimes epically breathtaking, finds its voice in the details.
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| 2 |  |
IeuanDP | 80 76% |
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You barely get to see beyond the naive utopia of Kit and Holly's life on the run, and the dark undercurrent of it is left to the imagination. Kit's killing spree feels numb and impulsive, while this is juxtaposed with its glamorisation from the outside. Against barren landscapes, Terrence Malick paints a distant portrait of two people seemingly devoid of socialisation and totally removed from reality, but without any surrealism.
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| 2 |  |
Icarus | 90 88% |
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Following the exploits of a teenage girl and her older, murderous boyfriend, Malick's film charts the movement from purity and innocence to sin and death. What is most brilliant though is in the mature use of voice-over narration, which reveals a concurrent journey within the mind of the girl, who moves from being a star-struck teenie-bopper to a hardened skeptic about the one she loves most. The increasingly dark and stark imagery traces these thematic threads visually.
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| 1 |  |
natebarrios | 70 56% |
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uniquely beautiful... I'm afraid to write any criticism for fear that Martin Sheen will shoot me
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| 1 |  |
k177105 | 96 94% |
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About the struggle of freedom that constantly and unavoidably slips into non-existence. Memorable for me in many senses. Fantastic to have watched it in a cinema.
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| 1 | damil | 75 81% |
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The whole thing was a bit strange in a way I couldn't quite pinpoint. Something in the atmosphere. It seemed unrealistic, which is odd, considering it's based on true events. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.
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| 1 | sourheart | 3 36% |
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Watched a while ago - good entrance into how dark it gets
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| 1 | fi_chince | 65 18% |
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Cinematography was beautiful. I had a hard time getting into the story because I didn't understand the character motivations. You could say that the point is that they had no motivations, which may be true, but doesn't make it interesting for me.
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| 1 | gaby | 78 77% |
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Everyone loves a good film about a couple on a crime spree. This one includes more murder than Bonnie & Clyde ever did. Worth watching for the moral ambiguity alone. Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are both wonderful in their respective roles. This is one of Malick's earlier works.
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| 1 |  |
edward | 92 86% |
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It's Bonnie and Clyde with better characters, better actors, better cinematography, and a slightly better script.
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| 1 |  |
Ceekay19 | 70 55% |
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Holly Sargis: "One day, while taking a look at some vistas in Dad's stereopticon, it hit me that I was just this little girl, born in Texas, whose father was a sign painter, who only had just so many years to live. It sent a chill down my spine and I thought where would I be this very moment, if Kit had never met me? Or killed anybody... this very moment..."
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| 1 |  |
peyrin | 85 90% |
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Narration is a bit pretentious at times but it's incredible to watch Malick turn the Dakota wilderness into his own personal wild west.
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| 1 |  |
feublo | 88 82% |
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It's brilliant how effective Malick's directorial debut actually is. From the cinematography and shots with beautiful depth, to the charming and yet sociopath villain the audience grows to adore. Sissy's character is soft, ignorant, and perfectly narrates this romantic runaway, to the point where certain things she describes mean so much without any visuals. A great glimpse of Malick's style that seems to flourish from here.
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| 1 |  |
TDH1878 | 95 96% |
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Impeccably acted, written and shot, Badlands remains one of the finest directorial debuts of all time.
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| 1 |  |
mattorama12 | 71 64% |
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Impressive filmmaking and performances. My only problem was that the first hour or so seemed to drag on a bit. I did love Spacek's complacency and Sheen's casual demeanor. And the final 30 minutes are really great
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| 1 | Pickle_Man | 95 87% |
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Went in expecting top-notch landscapes, left surprised and impressed by Martin Sheen.
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| 1 | Zoran | 83 81% |
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American movie at its best.
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| 1 |  |
JSchlansky | 77 70% |
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I now know where Hans Zimmer ripped the soundtrack to True Romance from
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| 1 |  |
Just1n | 80 78% |
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Based on a true story with perfect performances by Sheen and Spacek. The bleakness and emptiness of the characters is matched perfectly by the surroundings.
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| 1 |  |
hsncrspywl | 90 89% |
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Strong debut from Terrence Malick. You can see bits and pieces of his narrative and cinematographic style forming here, while still keeping a relatively straightforward plot. Hazy and dreamlike, but never too stuck in evoking a time and place, this film focuses more on juxtaposing 1) the horror of the crimes committed and the naive romance between the protagonists and 2) our characters and their lives against the American landscape. Fantastic cinematography, as you would expect.
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| 1 |  |
buffratings | 95 96% |
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Impeccably acted, written and shot, Badlands remains one of the finest directorial debuts of all time.
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| 1 |  |
Amadeus | 73 71% |
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first part is better than the second part.
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| 1 | bratings | 94 94% |
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Terrence Malick's Badlands may well be one of the most impressive directorial debuts in the history of American cinema.
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| 1 |  |
zmoats | 96 97% |
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The beauty of the Badlands in its quiet. Speak softly and carry a big stick. While the film itself is anything but soft, its dialogue is sparse. It constantly feels like its on the verge - especially in the last third - of telling you some big secret but it just never quite gets there. Malick doesn't want to tell you why, because maybe sometimes there is no why.
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| 1 |  |
DesertPunk | 78 69% |
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The most amazing thing about Badlands is simply that Malick pulled it off. Normal people can't juggle this style, this cast, and this script and catch it before it crumples to the ground, but he certainly can.
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| 1 |  |
onomatopizza | 92 70% |
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Terrence hadn't yet decided on only whispers.
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| 1 |  |
rebeccalex | 85 85% |
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Another film of Malick's with some outstanding shots. Interesting to watch after viewing his more recent films.
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| 1 | Nepeta | 100 99% |
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The house aflame serving as the most haunting and literal death of innocence. Both Kit and Holly are incredibly naive, and that they seem suited for each other's company in this regard is damning of Kit. There is no romance in their interactions, though Holly's narration indicates a romantic longing. As the run continues they become more and more detached from society, instead surrounded by wilderness and darkness; a palpable loneliness, even in each other's company.
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| 1 |  |
juntakinte99 | 90 82% |
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It makes sense that Malick's first film also became the template for all his future work. Like in his later filmography, here he's ruminative on how to re-invent a piece of American mythology for a cinematic telling. And that comes connected to his standard poetic photography, voice-over narration, and editing. His later films aren't as tight--either in a narrative storytelling or in performances--but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is easily one of the best debut films of all time.
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| 1 |  |
lisa- | 7 92% |
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it's interesting, the contrast between the brutality of the circumstance with the deadpan conversation and quietly intimate moments, perhaps in order to emphasise those very human qualities that are so mundane yet so essential. rather beautiful at times though i wasn't completely drawn into it.
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| 1 |  |
svenerik | 85 78% |
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Beautiful and terrifying. Sheen and Spacek are stellar, Malick at the top of his game at the starting gate. An astonishing debut.
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| 1 |  |
Elysian Air | 98 95% |
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When Kit meets Holly for the first time there's nothing noteworthy about their encounter except for Kit's calm, beguiling exterior. As Holly later says, it's funny how you can know someone and never really know them. One of Malick's key strengths, especially with Badlands, is narrative elision; we drift quite serenely in and out of Kit and Holly's violent fairy tale, never clashing with reality but observing it as a curiosity, like some quaint intrusion in a peaceful meditation.
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| 1 |  |
tonydal | 60 21% |
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Awfully stylized. Red's VOs are frequently clunky and annoying--and out of place; she sounds like she's reading from an assignment. Some peculiar musical moments as well. The whole thing made me think of True Romance if it had been produced by Simon & Garfunkel.
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| 1 |  |
Neonman | 87 86% |
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Serial killers this charismatic and this banal about their own doings always seem so interesting to me. Because of this, do they deserve more sympathy?
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| 1 | Chacron | 45 21% |
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Looking at the other reviews it seems I might have missed the point with this film - it never really goes anywhere and the characters are really shallow - plus the ending is ludicrously abrupt.
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| 1 |  |
XakkMaster | 88 84% |
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Subtle evil and naivety pulse through the veins of the very low-key, very brilliant performances from Sheen and Spacek. Astounding direction, especially in the final 30 minutes featuring the great car chase. One might think while watching this movie that such apparently normal people who behave like this don't really exist, but when considering the pragmatic light Malick casts on them, it makes the fact that this is inspired by a true story all the more disturbing... but easier to comprehend.
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| 1 |  |
Obdurate | 70 40% |
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I might be a minority here but I'm not such a fan. I think like all of Malick's films, it's well made and interesting, but it fails to pull me in completely. I'm always almost there but not quite, except for a part or two.
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| 1 |  |
ronthedog | 85 82% |
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This film is all about the soundtrack. Beautifully shot with a surreal quality that you can't help feeling is deliberate.
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| 1 |  |
hehejaja | 75 67% |
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Beautiful and sore, but somewhat difficult to inhale.
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| 1 |  |
TreyAtwood | 80 80% |
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Malick's voice overs were, since the beginning, hauntingly beautiful and poetically prosaic.
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| 1 |  |
prowler | 76 77% |
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base extremes of the human condition, beautifully exposed. loved the (hyper)natural approach, showing the layers of cruelty and adaptation that humans, as part of nature, are capable of
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| 1 |  |
graveyardtan | 95 93% |
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Malick's debut gets better with each viewing, hitting sublime heights of cinematography along the way.
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| 1 |  |
x-human | 89 92% |
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In chemistry you can take two innate elements and put them under the right amount of pressure causing an explosion. That's what Malick has captured near perfectly here. Sometimes the most startling crimes happen only because two people meet; either one could have lived out their lives quietly as productive members of society. Instead the right series of circumstances unraveled causing these characters to act in accordance with their natures. Highly Recommended.
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| 1 |  |
Stain | 50 33% |
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Ho-hum.
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| 1 |  |
caiman | 92 95% |
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The premise of Badlands appears in writing to be typical. A 20-something bad boy catches the eye a young impressionable girl much to the chagrin of the girl's father and the couple set out on a road trip crime spree that makes them infamous. But the beauty of Mallick's work is that what it is on paper and what it is on screen are two different animals. His ethereal music and scenic cinematography give the film a unique voice and make this the best of its kind.
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| 1 |  |
AFlickering | 8 99% |
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when i watched this as a teenager i don't think i realised it was a comedy as much as anything else. these days i laugh my way through a lot of that first hour. i still don't really like the epilogue though, lays on the irony a little too thick (whereas the end of DAYS OF HEAVEN is fucking perfect).
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| 1 |  |
CinematicESP | 82 56% |
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Such an likeably unlikeable protagonist, played to perfection by Martin Sheen. Also great use of Gassenhauer.
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| 1 | CatScandal | 69 64% |
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martin sheen is perfect, but i didn't feel like the film took full advantage of that
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| 1 |  |
Derekstar | 70 50% |
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Badlands seems to be a sort of response to Bonnie and Clyde. While I intellectually understood the importance and the impact of Bonnie and Clyde, that film failed to move me for some unknown reason. While I would argue that Badlands is a superior movie, I kind of had a similar reaction. I get it, I see what it's doing, but I'm a unmoved by it. I'll say this though: I had a similar reaction to Taxi Driver after seeing it for the first time. Repeated viewings yielded greater appreciation.
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| 1 |  |
Optimus_mike | 85 80% |
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Very well done on all parts.
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| 1 |  |
moraesfelipe | 80 85% |
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Malick's crafts a mesmerizing New Hollywood film -- one the best cinematographies of that decade --, but without cynicism or a bitter look on America of those days, I guess. A brilliant debut.
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| 1 |  |
snallygaster | 80 89% |
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Turns just slightly toward caricature near the end, but probably my favourite Malick. I always wanted to be a criminal, I guess.
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| 1 | Launch | 87 87% |
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Although it's Malick's first film he sets the cornerstone for his future films with some absolutely gorgeous shots. Reminiscent of "Bonnie and Clyde"
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| 1 |  |
closedmouth | 80 67% |
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I found the glib delivery and emotional detachment irritating until it became clear it was deliberate, but even then it smacked of "kids these days" from Malick. I was expecting a tone similar to Days of Heaven, so the quick pace was a little weird, but I was into the rhythm by the end. I did enjoy it.
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| 1 |  |
hellboy76 | 88 97% |
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An amazing debut from Malick, beautifully filmed. The haunting carelessness of youth corrupted is on display, sometimes meandering, sometimes with a stunning pace. Sheen and Spacek are superb.
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| 1 |  |
ehk2 | 50 66% |
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I couldn't find here anything special to deserve the status of a 'cult'. frankly, i prefer and like 'natural born killers' more.
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| 1 |  |
tinysausage | 83 91% |
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A really beautiful strange film. The pretty photography and music distance us from the characters' actions, and maybe that's Malick's point: they are strangely disconnected from the meaning of what they are doing.
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| 1 |  |
kevinjoseph | 76 91% |
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Despicable people doing despicable things, and there's nothing you can do but watch. Where do I sign up?!
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| 1 | CarsonWid | 81 89% |
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reminded me of Pierrot le fou. Sheen was brilliant is the lead role and although the entire film was quite beautiful, Sheen carried the film.
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| 1 |  |
Judo Koala | 85 90% |
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"I sensed that my destiny now lay with Kit, for better or for worse, and it was better to spend a week with one who loved me for what I was than years of loneliness."
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| 1 |  |
yesistasty | 93 82% |
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Very offbeat script, full of strange naivete and understatement.
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| 1 |  |
QVT | 75 79% |
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Martin Sheen is excellent.
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| 1 |  |
JordanDcFc | 85 81% |
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Martin Sheen was amazing in this, you never really know what's going on inside his head. Great wide shots of the landscape and the nonchalance of each killing really make this a creepy, perplexing experience.
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| 1 |  |
spleen | 87 88% |
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While watching this I was awestruck by the unsettling sense of impending dread. The cinematography is beautiful and the music is an amazing collage of old and new. Unfortunately Sissy Spacek's narration is grating and Sheen looks a lot more like Emilio Estevez than James Dean.
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| 1 |  |
Calexico | 75 51% |
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An entertaining movie. Funny ending. Some beautiful shots. My first Terrence Malick film. A good tale of two kids living life like it's game and its consequences.
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| 1 |  |
Filligan | 84 56% |
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Badlands is a queer film at best. In the beginning its strange atmosphere seemed to emotionally disconnect me from everything happening; it felt very lifeless and sterile. Once our main characters are on the move, however, it becomes increasingly enjoyable, thankfully with the same odd score maintaining its original tone. Martin Sheen is all kinds of fantastic.
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| 1 | boredoms | 93 98% |
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Strange and beautiful and disturbing and, above all, tonally fascinating. Not quite like any other film I've seen.
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| 1 |  |
WWallce4prez | 88 92% |
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It may not be as jaw-droppingly beautiful as the other Malick films to follow, but it is pretty freaking close. He gives one of the most impressive directorial debuts ever. Definitely his most concise film, but it still holds all the glory that we've come accustom to in viewing his films. Sheen is glorious and Spacek is wonderfully naive.
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| 1 |  |
andagh | 100 97% |
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Maybe the most subtly disturbing movie ever. Gets under your skin.
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| 1 |  |
inhmn | 98 80% |
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the biggest of the movie is it's pace and calmness.
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| 1 |  |
JonnyHalftab | 93 97% |
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I think this just changed my mind about the death penalty. Kit was way too bright a light for the chair
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| Average Percentile 71.36% from 3173 Ratings |  |