starkweather
Added 9/12/2009
this was a pretty lame attempt at depicting charles starkweather without actually saying that it was, but I knew.
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3.5 stars out of 4
Added 6/10/2009
The Bottom Line:
Some of the scenes in this Terrence Malick vision of the Starkweather homicides don't seem to quite fit (particularly the Swiss Family Robinson style scenes in the woods) but by and large this is a triumph of a film with engaging performances by the two young leads, inspired use of location, and a compelling ending; heck, it even has time for a satisfying car chase.
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Emotional Vacuum
Added 3/15/2009
"Badlands" was released when I was 21 and I'm not sure why I never saw it until last night. I recall a fair amount of controversy at the time of its' release in that it supposedly glorified senseless murder. It does but so did "Bonnie and Clyde" I think movie critics were more in awe of Faye Dunnaway, Warren Beatty, and the Roaring 20's gangster genre in their reaction to "Bonnie and Clyde". Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen were relative newcomers at the time and Terrence Malick making his directorial debut. I recall a wide range of emotions in "Bonnie and Clyde" including humor (thanks in large part to Michael J. Pollard' one hit wonder preformance). I did not see anything funny in "Badlands". What surprised me was the total lack of meaningful emotion on the part of the two main characters. We are led to like these two (I Think) yet we have trouble grasping their motivation. The initial murder is enough to set the stage. How that could have happened with so little meaningful reflection afterwards made me take a few steps back in my own emotional involvement.
The journey these two take was certainly not what I had expected. The real-life characters (despite the standard disclaimer in the final credits) that these two were portraying were Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. The man(and woman)hunt for them was intensive and the image we had was that of desperate persons running out of control. "Badlands" brings out the fear and uncertainty of the Central US but shows us a relaxed "What do you wanna do now?" couple who seem like their next stop would be an ice cream parlor. I guess that this is part of the success of "Badlands"; two people who can't see anything in the world except themselves and others who are out to hurt them. Their innocence in how they deal with one another starkly (or starkweatherly) contrasts with how unemotionally they perceive everyone else. For some that will be a comment on violence in the US, our inability to relate to one another in our society, or something of that sort. Others will likely want to condemn these two to a lifetime in juvenile detention. The final part of the film is either meant to endear us even more to the couple or to try and tell us that even evil people have their good days. My own impression is probably still under construction but the blue prints tell me that this is a movie that is very well made and certainly worth watching so long as we appreciate the style rather than the substance.
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wow...Amazing American movie
Added 3/4/2009
I've had this movie for a couple weeks and I've watched it all the way through at least 12 times, made everyone I love watch it with me, and will watch it at least once a week for the rest of my life. If you like True Romance you will Love Badlands. True Romance is basically a direct ripoff but set in a more modern era. Badlands!!! wowwwwww...
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Interesting Character Studies More Than A Crime Saga
Added 1/20/2009
Made in the early 1970s, this was more of classic type crime story than a modern-day one in that the violence wasn't overdone and it was a slower-paced story than what you would see if re-made today.
That slower pace makes for a better study of the two main characters, who were based on the real-life serial-killing duo of the 1950s: Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend.
Martin Sheen's Starkweather-type character "Kit Carruthers" is amazingly low- key for a killer and Sissy Spacek, playing his girl, "Holly," shows some really strange reactions (she hardly reacts after Sheen shoots her father) while providing fascinating narration. In fact, the more I watch this film, the more Spacek's narration is the highlight for me. It's great stuff.
Being a Terrence Malick-directed film, you know you are going to get some nice photography. He really loves closeups of nature. Another plus is the absence of profanity. There is very little of it.
The transfer is decent; nothing spectacular. I would like to see this, however, on Blu-Ray where it would bring out more of Malick's photographic talents.
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