Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Ramon Bieri, Warren Oates

Director: Terrence Malick

Summary: It's South Dakota 1959. A couple of youngsters, Kit and Holly, embark on a fantasy journey which results in violence and bloodshed.

Former Harvard Rhodes scholar Terrence Malick's debut feature revisits the murderous Midwestern terrain of the late 1950s. Kit (Martin Sheen) is a 25-year-old trashman who fashions himself as James Dean. When he meets Holly (Sissy Spacek), a cute, innocent 15-year-old, he finds himself falling 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 triggers Kit into embarking on a murder spree across the Midwest. All the while, Holly is there by Kit's side, to witness the senseless crimes and ponder the future.
BADLANDS is told from the point of view of the naive Holly, whose voice-over sounds like she's reading from a serial romance. It is this innocence that makes the detached, cold killings all the more shocking. Sheen portrays Kit--a dreamer who wants nothing more than to leave his mark on history--with a grace and humor that makes him a sympathetic character even while he's killing innocent strangers. All of this can be accredited to Malick, whose understated, seemingly simplistic direction adds an even greater emotional impact to the proceedings.

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Terrence Malick's Badlandshas become a cornerstone in American cinema. Although not a success at the box office at the time of its release in 1973, its influence can be seen years later in the Tarantino-penned Natural Born Killersand True Romanceamong others, and it remains arguably one of the finest debuts by a director in Hollywood history. Astonishingly, Malick has only made two movies since: Days of Heaven(1979) and The Thin Red Line(1998). Badlandsalso brought Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek to the notice of Hollywood for the first time. Shot on a low budget, the film (based on Charles Starkweather and Caril-Ann Fugate's 1958 killing spree) portrays a loved-up couple on the run from the law who embark on a series of killings motivated by their need to survive.

The film has become a classic, partly due to Tak Fujimoto's cinematography and partly due to the detached attitude the couple adopt towards murder. Like Tarantino's later anti-heroes and heroines, Kit and Holly are killers without conscience. Holly's naïve teenage mentality makes her passive attitude seem even more shocking, and her only comment that leads us to believe she has any grasp of the situation is when she mentions that Kit may be a little crazy. Yet there is also an innocent, "young love" side to the couple's actions which the audience cannot fail to feel pity for, greatly helped by the pairing of Sheen and Spacek as well as Malick's gift for drawing the finest and most sensitive performances from his actors.

On the DVD:Badlandshas been cleaned up nicely with a 1.85:1 widescreen print and 5.1 surround sound. Although seemingly short of extras the one included on the disc is a real gem: "Absence of Malick" offers insight into this notoriously publicity-shy director from the cast and crew and the reason why he ended up acting in his own movie. --Nikki Disney

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Featurette - 1. ABSENCE OF MALICK, Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical
Year:	1973
Release Date:	May 26, 2003
Runtime:	90 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 016086
Keywords:	Action, Badlands, General, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure