Terrence Malick’s directorial debut masterpiece BADLANDS (1973) will be released in a new high definition Blu Ray edition from Criterion March 19th 2013. Martin Sheen stars as Kit, a James Dean-esque young man who falls in love with a doe eyed high school girl named Holly (Sissy Spacek). When her strict father (Warren Oates) becomes aware of their relationship the two are forbidden to see each other. Kit rebels by killing him and taking off with Holly on the road. The young lovers go on a kind of rollicking adventure living in their own fantasy world while evading the law. What begins as a romantic tale of the boy doing anything for the girl he loves becomes twisted as the sociopathic Kit turns gun happy and starts killing people randomly.
Badlands was partly inspired by the real story of Charles Starkweather and his young girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate who went on a murder spree in 1958. It is gorgeously shot, set against a backdrop of the spacious, desolate South Dakota plains and features the intimate character narration Malick has used in other films since like The Thin Red Line. What makes the film special is how the innocence and wonderment of Holly’s recollection of what occurred during her time with Kit transforms it into a beautiful yet tragic cinematic poem.
Special Features
– New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
– Making “Badlands,” a new documentary featuring actors Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek and production designer Jack Fisk
– New interview with editor Billy Weber about director Terrence Malick’s unique approach to editing
– New interview with producer Edward Pressman
– Trailer
– PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda
