The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished Terrence Malick's Badlands and I am completely taken aback by how fantastic it was. I'm having a hard time believing that somebody out there could NOT like this film.

[Show spoiler]
This was Terrence Malick's breakout film and it will go down in history with him. A lot of the concepts, themes, and techniques that he employed in later films were first utilized in this film. Two things that immediately come to mind are the narration and the great directing of the nature and landscapes.

Badlands follows two unique individuals. Holly is a naive and innocent girl who lives with her authoritarian father. She does everything by the book and seems to be mostly to herself. After she makes her only friend, Kit, a rebel who feels that the world is out to get him, the two set off together on the road, leaving behind a perfect blend of love and dead bodies wherever they go.

The sad thing about the film is how Kit was a nobody all of his life and the only way he could make a name for himself was by murdering numerous individuals. The relationship between these two characters was based on the loneliness that they both embedded. One of the best scenes in the entire movie, in my opinion, is when the two are dancing at night. It was the only normal thing that these two did in the entire movie and it was a very special moment for the viewer. We were shown a more humane and normal side to two individuals who were the furthest thing from normal. The parties involved in this film made one big mistake and that was taking Kit as a simpleton. Kit was no dummy and he proved that time and time again.

While I haven't seen Terrence Malick's "The New World" yet, I would rank his other four films in the following manner:

1. Badlands
2. The Tree Of Life
3. The Thin Red Line
4. Days Of Heaven

I loved "Badlands" the most because it was a unique film and an excellent character study into the lives of two lonely individuals. A lot of us can relate to them, but not in the same way. I liked "The Tree Of Life" secondly because it was a beautiful film and it had a lot of great messages that one could make out from simple shots of the environment. "The Thin Red Line" was the third Malick film I liked because it was an excellent war story and it was very realistic. It had a lot of great moments throughout the film, specifically the interactions between the band of brothers. Lastly, "Days Of Heaven" was the film I loved the least. It resembled Badlands in many ways, but it wasn't as dark and gritty, in my opinion.

I really recommend Badlands. It was my most anticipated film of the month and I don't regret it for one moment. The picture quality was great, but I felt that the audio quality was lacking just a smidge. Overall, a great release from the great Criterion Collection! The fact that it was inspired by a true story makes it all the better. 10/10

Well said. Well said.

I cannot wait to revisit Badlands again this weekend (and to see it in high definition for the first time). I like how the film takes its time getting warmed up and getting us to relate to both of the characters.

All the Badlands talk reminds me of something...

Has anybody else seen the 1986 film, Wisdom, that starred Emilio Estevez (Martin Sheen's son) and Demi Moore? Wisdom was directed by Emilio Estevez, and it shamelessly borrows from Badlands and from Bonnie and Clyde. It's still a fun flick, though, and it puts an interesting 1980s rich-get-richer-poor-get-poorer spin on the whole storyline.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished Terrence Malick's Badlands and I am completely taken aback by how fantastic it was. I'm having a hard time believing that somebody out there could NOT like this film.

This was Terrence Malick's breakout film and it will go down in history with him. A lot of the concepts, themes, and techniques that he employed in later films were first utilized in this film. Two things that immediately come to mind are the narration and the great directing of the nature and landscapes.

Badlands follows two unique individuals. Holly is a naive and innocent girl who lives with her authoritarian father. She does everything by the book and seems to be mostly to herself. After she makes her only friend, Kit, a rebel who feels that the world is out to get him, the two set off together on the road, leaving behind a perfect blend of love and dead bodies wherever they go.

The sad thing about the film is how Kit was a nobody all of his life and the only way he could make a name for himself was by murdering numerous individuals. The relationship between these two characters was based on the loneliness that they both embedded. One of the best scenes in the entire movie, in my opinion, is when the two are dancing at night. It was the only normal thing that these two did in the entire movie and it was a very special moment for the viewer. We were shown a more humane and normal side to two individuals who were the furthest thing from normal. The parties involved in this film made one big mistake and that was taking Kit as a simpleton. Kit was no dummy and he proved that time and time again.

While I haven't seen Terrence Malick's "The New World" yet, I would rank his other four films in the following manner:

1. Badlands
2. The Tree Of Life
3. The Thin Red Line
4. Days Of Heaven

I loved "Badlands" the most because it was a unique film and an excellent character study into the lives of two lonely individuals. A lot of us can relate to them, but not in the same way. I liked "The Tree Of Life" secondly because it was a beautiful film and it had a lot of great messages that one could make out from simple shots of the environment. "The Thin Red Line" was the third Malick film I liked because it was an excellent war story and it was very realistic. It had a lot of great moments throughout the film, specifically the interactions between the band of brothers. Lastly, "Days Of Heaven" was the film I loved the least. It resembled Badlands in many ways, but it wasn't as dark and gritty, in my opinion.

I really recommend Badlands. It was my most anticipated film of the month and I don't regret it for one moment. The picture quality was great, but I felt that the audio quality was lacking just a smidge. Overall, a great release from the great Criterion Collection! The fact that it was inspired by a true story makes it all the better. 10/10

Glad you liked it and rated it as high as you did. It's my favorite Malick also. I had the extreme good fortune to have experienced this film when it was first released and as you can tell from my posts on it, made a profound impact on me. My favorite scene (of many) is also the A Blossom Fell dance. The final verse with the prophetic words ...The dream has ended... just perfect and it makes you want to listen to more Nat King Cole. Anyway, my copy is arriving today and I'll be enjoying it again for the umpteenth time which always takes me back to '74 when I sat transfixed watching something very special.

[A Sith Lord?]

I watched Badlands today.

What a treat.

Not going to write a thorough essay as iScottie did, but I really enjoyed it. Besides, he pretty much nailed most of the points I was going to make anyways.

At times I think Kit actually DIDN'T want to kill, but it seems like he did it to try and impress Holly. Some of his kills seemed like a spur of the moment and not premeditated. When he killed Holly's dad, I think it was more of an accident. Yeah I know her dad threatened to call the police, but he seemed to be in a panic because he wasn't expecting her dad to call his bluff initially.

I think what I enjoyed most, was the "respect" the troopers gave him when he was chained up in the hanger. He had to be the most down to Earth serial killer ever, yet they all were still in awe of his celebrity and were actually treating him like one of the boys. They were all wishing him well, beyond cordiality.

Can anyone explain him stacking the rocks up near the car? I have to watch that scene again but when Holly was narrating she mentioned something about him shooting out the tire and blaming it on a flat, but then when he sees the troopers coming down the road, he starts stacking up the rocks. Was that a metaphor for something?

[joie]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Here's a question for those that are region-free: which version of Gate of Hell?
That other website has a comparison and screenshots. As usual, it looks like the Criterion has a slightly boosted contrast over the Masters of Cinema version.
On this website, Pro B also finds them mostly indistinguishable and doesn't seem to have a preference.
Obviously, I have no idea which is more accurate.
Both are light on supplements, but the MoC has a 24-page booklet with a couple of essays, whereas the Criterion has "Liner Notes with an Essay".
I think I'm leaning towards the MoC...

All else being equal, I'd get the one that's most compatible with my normal/standard/default Blu-ray player's region and costs less. Those are the only two considerations I can think of.

[joie]

Originally Posted by MasturB

I watched Badlands today.
[...]Can anyone explain him stacking the rocks up near the car? I have to watch that scene again but when Holly was narrating she mentioned something about him shooting out the tire and blaming it on a flat, but then when he sees the troopers coming down the road, he starts stacking up the rocks. Was that a metaphor for something?

Stacking rocks can mark a place, commemorate an event ... . When we climbed a peak in the Sierras, we made a stack of rocks after reaching the top -- before any of us had seen "Badlands."

[Scottie]

On the subject of Badlands, I know Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen have a brief cameo under a lamp post, but I had no idea Emilio was MS's son!

[rkish]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Here's a question for those that are region-free: which version of Gate of Hell?
That other website has a comparison and screenshots. As usual, it looks like the Criterion has a slightly boosted contrast over the Masters of Cinema version.
On this website, Pro B also finds them mostly indistinguishable and doesn't seem to have a preference.
Obviously, I have no idea which is more accurate.
Both are light on supplements, but the MoC has a 24-page booklet with a couple of essays, whereas the Criterion has "Liner Notes with an Essay".
I think I'm leaning towards the MoC...

I own the MoC version of "Gate of Hell"...if you read the DVDBeaver review, you'll see that the MoC version has slightly better PQ numbers than the CC version. That is supposedly negligible. That said, I prefer the cover art on the MoC version and I like the booklet as well.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

On the subject of Badlands, I know Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen have a brief cameo under a lamp post, but I had no idea Emilio was MS's son!

"Martin Sheen" is actually a stage name. Martin Sheen's real name is Ramón Estévez.

[A Sith Lord?]

Originally Posted by iScottie

On the subject of Badlands, I know Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen have a brief cameo under a lamp post, but I had no idea Emilio was MS's son!

Ahh. Those were the two boys Spacek was looking out the window at on the street corner?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

"Martin Sheen" is actually a stage name. Martin Sheen's real name is Ramón Estévez.

OH!

Makes sense now hahaha. Thanks for clarifying.

Originally Posted by MasturB

Ahh. Those were the two boys Spacek was looking out the window at on the street corner?

Yup!

[The Great Owl]

I particularly love the scenes in Badlands when the two characters are set up in their riverside hideout. There's the whole element of ethereal beauty, and a contrast between feeling envious of the characters and also wondering what on Earth the characters are thinking. It's one of the most weirdly fun movie moments out there.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yup!

I'll look for that!

[*DrStrangelove*]

Wow noone knows how to use spoiler tags anymore.

[Hawkguy]

..and to respond to all today's posts about the titles offered on amazon today, I also wish there were other titles offered. I either have or don't want all of them.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Wow noone knows how to use spoiler tags anymore.

I think there's a bit of a general attitude that they don't matter when it comes to these films..

..but I agree, they should still be used on here.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Wow noone knows how to use spoiler tags anymore.

A lot of people argue there's a statute of limitations on spoilers, but in my opinion, if you have a choice between potentially lessening someone's enjoyment or not by making the slightest of effort, why would you?

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by iScottie

On the subject of Badlands, I know Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen have a brief cameo under a lamp post, but I had no idea Emilio was MS's son!

That's what gives an extra added dimension to THE WAY, a nice, low-key, and very underrated film that Emilio Estevez directed and appears in, but stars Martin Sheen as the Estevez character's father.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Can anyone explain him stacking the rocks up near the car? I have to watch that scene again but when Holly was narrating she mentioned something about him shooting out the tire and blaming it on a flat, but then when he sees the troopers coming down the road, he starts stacking up the rocks. Was that a metaphor for something?

Like someone mentioned, it's to mark a spot. In this case, where the chase ended. Kit says something to the effect of "Right there's where you got me" as if it's going to be a historical spot one day and that's exactly where they need to put the sign or monument. More of the absurd humor that is scattered throughout the film.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by iScottie

On the subject of Badlands, I know Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen have a brief cameo under a lamp post, but I had no idea Emilio was MS's son!

Terrence Malick also has a cameo.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Wow noone knows how to use spoiler tags anymore.