This 93 minute PG rated DVD features film stars Martin Shee n & Sissy Spacek.
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.
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.
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.)
Badlands Reviews:
"...A rich, dark and strange melding of fantasy, allegory and local detail..."
-- Richard Combs, Sight and Sound
"...Startling....The lovers-on-the-lam movie to outpace them all..."
-- Total Film Staff, Total Film
"Brilliantly controlled and singular in style, the film has come to be viewed as masterly, and the soullessness at its core as a commentary on American culture."Wall Street Journal
Customer Badlands Reviews Customer Badlands DVD Reviews
Average Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)
a little slow sissy spacek and martin sheen are excellent. movie drags a little but stll one of my favorites Submitted by uturn4696 (homer la) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
great story this was a great story! The two main characters, sheen and spacek were wonderfully beleiveable. the trancelike quality of their journey was facinating to watch Submitted by snobelt (woodstock il) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
true classic This is a must see/must have! Poetic 70's movie at its best.
NOTE: It's a shame that such an important movie (listed in the National Film Registry), got such a poor DVD issue - although digital transfer is very good, there are no extras, no comments, not even a note about why this is a classic. I suspect/hope this movie will be reissued in a few years the way it deserves.
Submitted by Vegas Boy (Las Vegas, NV) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Haunting An excellent movie that was based on the Starkweather muders during the sixties. It bring to light just how real this could be anyplace, any time.
I loved the soundtract and can"t find it anywhere.
Submitted by jerry_sutton37 (Williston SC USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
name of music played in film can some one tell me the name of the haunting music played during this film?? Submitted by magicalgirl1 (england) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
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Badlands DVD
Badlands DVD Features
Region 1 Snap Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Full Frame - 1.33 Letterbox - 1.85 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 - French Dolby Stereo 2.0 - English Subtitles - English, French - Optional Interactive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus
a little slow
great story
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