6. Badlands
Rarely has a more unconventional debut film been delivered with as much assuredness and sense of artistry as Terrence Malick's absolutely gorgeous 1973 film, Badlands. As a former philosopher, Malick's films have always been a bit more cerebral than the average directors and while this is easily his least experimental film, it's still unlike most films you'll ever see. Loosely based off a series of murders in the 1950s, Badlands is a tale of two lovers on the run from the law that draws on Malick's interest in films of The French New Wave as well as movies such as Bonnie and Clyde. What was surprising then, and might be even more so today, is how confident a film Badlands is and how many of Malick's tropes are already working in full gear. His use of voiceovers and images of natural scenery to convey mood and emotions, his deceptively simple inter-character dialogue, and his propensity to delve into complicated ideas are all already visible in Badlands and really, its is every bit as good as his later, better financed work. Although it was very well-received at the time of its release, it took a few years before Badlands was fully appreciated by the majority of critics. Today, Badlands is considered one of the highlights of 1970's American film and remains a breathtakingly lyrical piece of cinema.