Customer Reviews

Badlands (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a film with a skewed perspective. Both main characters, played brilliantly by Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are on the run for murder; they are in love, and both dwell in their own fantasy-lands far from any normal idea of reality. Believe it or not, the title phrase that I used here sums up this movie completely. Let me put it into its context. Martin Sheen's character, "Kit," drags his first murder victim down into the cellar of the house and while there he glances around, then grabs the first thing he sees and returns upstairs. Upon his arrival he says, "I found this toaster." He then places it on the counter like he just discovered The Holy Grail. His character's utter detachment from what he's just done is both creepy and morbidly hilarious. I once heard something in a movie that I will relate here: A genius tends to create his own Moral Universe. I believe that, but I also believe the opposite to be equally true. Apparently, the same idea holds true for socio-pathic, psychotic morons. These characters are so lost in their own personal "Wonderlands" that they create their own set of emotions, remorse not being on their very short list. Martin Sheen is the heart of the film, and dominates every scene he is in. However, Sissy Spacek plays the perfect foil to "Kit" and his left-of-center view of life. Her cold and submissive performance is echoed in the objective narration of the film, where she accepts what is happening at all costs because "Love" can't be wrong. What was especially unnerving for me was that I couldn't help but be charmed by these two very disturbed young people. They have an endearing quality that comes, I think, from their child-like perspective of the world. Everything is seen in simple terms, without any complexity of emotion. This film is a strange adventure about two very strange characters. What makes this story all the more compelling is that it is based on actual events. This is the first film from acclaimed director Terrence Malick, and my personal favorite of his from his small, 3-film catalog. His other films are "Days of Heaven" and his remake of the classic film "The Thin Red Line." Another film with the same ambience as "Badlands" is "At Close Range" which was released in 1986, and stars Sean Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Christopher Walken. Both films are worth owning. I hope my review was helpful. Have a great day.

I love this movie, and I was very much looking forward to the advertised widescreen release. However, when I popped in the DVD and saw the dread words "This film has been edited to fit your TV screen", my heart sank. I'll keep it for the pristine picture; however, I hope Warner Bros. Entertainment gets their act together, fixes this problem soon, and gives this film the widescreen release it so richly deserves.

Les films de Terence Malick sont toujours d'une grande poésie visuelle. Badlands ne fait pas bande à part. Sur le boitier il est indiqué que le film est en version panoramique ce qui est faux, il est en version «télé». C'est l'horreur! Un film de Malick ne peut être visionner dans ce format réducteur. Je déconseille complètement cette version.

Holly (Sissy Spacek), a 15-year-old girl living in a North Dakota town, falls under the influence of twentysomething social misfit Kit (Martin Sheen). When her father (Warren Oates) stands in their way, Kit kills him and hits the road with Holly, who thinks she is in love with him. They hide out in the wilderness for awhile, and then go on the run, killing several people along the way.

Director/screenwriter Terence Malick has given us characters that are emotionally barren, as reflected by the barren landscapes of North Dakota. They occasionally seem happy together, but most of the time they seem emotionally flat and detached from their own feelings; Holly seems as if she is in a constant state of shock. Malick's style is almost like that of a documentary, presenting the events and trusting us to draw our own conclusions. Sheen and Spacek, both at the beginnings of their careers, show a great deal of talent.

Stark, realistic portrayal of more or less real life events. Terence Malick established a style he hasn't broken away from since. The beautiful open scenery, the emotionless performances, the detached narration and the blunt, almost cruel, violence. Very picturesque and artsy for a first movie. Easy to get the sense that he could have done much more and the characters' detachment leaves the viewer feeling adrift.

Brilliantly directed by Terrence Malik who also wrote the screenplay, this film examines the tragic partnership of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate. Their counterparts are Kit (Sheen) and Holly (Spacek) whom Malik neither idealizes nor condemns. Rather, using many of the devices of a documentary, he invites us to accompany Kit and Holly as they meet, team up, and then travel along a blood-soaked journey to what seems to be an inevitable and appropriate fate. Of special interest to me is their response to celebrity status as highly publicized killers. Neither seems to understand, at least fully, the attention they attract nor the implications of their behavior but both seem energized by the "excitement" they generate.

The acting throughout the film is outstanding as is the cinematography which juxtaposes the violence with the banality of the two fugitives' lifestyle. (Several scenes remind me of Travis Bickel in Taxi Driver who also seems almost totally out of touch with the reality of his circumstances.) The highly impressionable as well as delusional Holly, an insecure teenager vulnerable to co-dependency, is the more sympathetic of the two. As indicated earlier, Malik is non-judgmental as he examines the two "star cross'd lovers." When seeing this film again recently, I was again struck by the fact that seemingly ordinary people can become so dangerous, sometimes for reasons which neither they nor we can explain. How many Kits and Hollys are out there today, together or alone, resembling time bombs which could detonate at any time, anywhere? For me, that is the most chilling implication of this unique film.

I thoroughly enjoy discussing with other film buffs certain similarities and differences between and among a group of films, especially when several decades separate one from others, thus suggesting it may have been influenced one or more of them. (It is probably impossible to calculate the number of films influenced by Citizen Kane.) Badlands (1973) is a case in point, inviting comparisons with predecessors such as High Sierra (1941), They Live by Night (1949), and Bonnie and Clyde (1967) as well as with subsequent films such as The Sugarland Express and Thieves Like Us (1974), Kalifornia (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and A Boy Called Hate (1995).

Okay, just for the easily shocked: this movie is about serial killers who are good-looking, charming, and delusional. One is a fifteen-year-old girl who is infatuated with a twentysomething sociopath named Kit. From the beginning of the movie, the audience can hardly blame a young, motherless outcast of a girl for falling under the spell of Kit, who is young, good-looking, and looks remarkably just like James Dean. So what if he's a garbage collector? When you're fifteen and an older boy is paying attention to you, that hardly matters. Such is the case of our protagonist. Watching this movie, it's hard to decide what makes the movie so enthralling: our male lead, who is clearly mentally ill; our female lead, who is clearly too immature to deal with her boyfriend; or the gorgeous scenery of the Midwest. Terrence Malick made a movie that is both stark and gorgeous, both fascinating and repulsive. He uses music only when it is appropriate to the scene, and the music that he does use is powerful. Like any great artist, Malick knows his craft. I have never seen Martin Sheen handsomer or more convincing. He is able to portray Kit in a way that evokes sympathy and disgust, a rare feat for any actor. Sissy Spacek is wide-eyed and lovely, and this movie hints at her glorious career to come. This is not a movie to watch when you need something uplifting or reassuring, it is far too dark. But Badlands makes for an important commentary on the uniquely American serial killer. It also comments on teenage infatuation, growing up (or the refusal to do so), insanity, and the nature of crime. Malick always leaves enough to the audience's interpretation that we don't feel we're being preached to; however, he gives us enough visual clues and stimulating dialogue to let us come to our own conclusions.

Being a movie buff, "Badlands" has been a long kept secret from me until someone recently recommended it to me. From the first few minutes of the movie, I was drawn into the story and cared about the characters. As the film unfolded, I became mesmerized by the beautiful and interesting cinematography. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek gave brilliant and realistic performances. Even, the music was great. It is hard to imagine it was Terrence Malick's first film. I won't go into the plot because you could read that on any of the other reviews on this page but will say that it is a story of two alienated lovers who go on an unexpected killing spree. While most films show killers as "evil" and "bad," "Badlands" focuses on the human qualities and emotions of the characters, showing them neither as good or bad but as who they really are. "Badlands" is a great film in every aspect and essential viewing to anyone who likes good movies.

The film opens up and ends in diary fashion - the voice of Sissy Spacek narrates here and there, telling the tale her bleak existence in 50s rural midwest America. Holly (Spacek) lives alone with her father, dog and pet catfish. Her catfish gets sick, so she tosses him in the yard as he flounders for a gasp of air before he suffocates to death... and this is just the appetizer. She disobeys her father, so he shoots and kills her dog - and then you start to see a set of characters full of rules, but no true love... just self-imposed morality as it fits their need for control of every situation.

One lazy day Holly meets Kit (Martin Sheen), a handsome James Dean-esque character who is cocky, handsome, intelligent and shows interest in Holly. Kit is far from a father's dream of a catch for his daughter - kit is at least 10 years older and works as a garbage collector. While that profession pays better today, in the 1950s, it was hardly something worth writing home to mother about.

Holly's father forbids her to see Kit, but Kit is persistent and finally decides to kill the man who is in the way of their romance. The killing is less passionate or spontaneous than it is cold, emotionless and calculating. Similar to the way one swats a fly without remorse, killing it simply because it became too annoying, and life goes on. Holly just watches in a daze, not truly horrified at her wounded, dying father, and not surprised or mad at her beau.

Kit feels compelled to burn down the family home to cover up his crime, but then takes a record player outside so it won't burn - then goes to a self-recording record-making booth to make a confession record that plays outside the burning house as his morbid confession.

They live out in the wilderness, like animals, building primitive forts and look-out posts. When sheriff's deputies close in on them, the true killing spree begins. While a fairly unassuming garbage collector with no former criminal record, Kit has the skills of Rambo - he sets up camoflauged hiding areas and manages to kill all 3 deputies single-handed. They continue on a cross-country escape from justice, killing those who get in their way and sparing a few on a whim.

While Holly never truly pulls a trigger herself, she is the hapless participant and enabler - not threatened, but just tagging along like a faithful German Shepherd.

The movie is truly bizarre - but in a way, true to life in a chilling way. The young couple achieves a dark celebrity-like status - everyone knows who they are and are scared by them, yet fascinated at the same time.

The film is not overtly bloody and violent like the shoot-em-ups of today, but somehow very violent in an intimate way... there are many scenes without music or much background noise - just the eerie silence of the last breath of a dying gun-shot victim - things get so quiet, you can almost hear Holly's eyelids click when she blinks.

This is not a movie for kids and not a film to watch when you're tired - there are slow, silent scenes, but the film is far from boring. Aspiring actors and directors can learn a lot from this film's cinematography, direction and incredible acting. Despite it's almost flawless quality in filmmaking, it is a dark, depressing tale with no social redeeming values - other than a testimony to the results of raising children in a loveless environment. When children are not loved at home, they will attach themselves to the first person who shows interest in them - and find the near worship of their own pleasure as the pinnacle of existence.

Terrence Malick is one of the few poets of American cinema. He turns a tale of loose cannon and his clueless girlfriend driving across the country into pure poetry. Rent it, you will never forget it.