Every Terrence Malick Movie Ranked Worst To Best
2. Badlands (1973)
Undeniably one of the greatest directorial debuts of all time, Badlands wasn't just Malick's first film, but it's also his most accessible and narratively conventional. The simple story of a couple (Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek) who run away from home after a murder, the drama watches like a troubled love story and a twisted thriller.
With Sheen and Spacek in two of their greatest roles - in love, increasingly unhinged and directionless - Badlands is ferocious in its depiction of crime and uncertainty, and is sweeping in its assessment of morality, love and death. And even though it's only his first film, Malick finds great beauty in its violence and open scenery.
Like many of Malick's films, the road drama is both bleak and disarming, but in its blunt portrayal of heartbreak and death the director works his magic to fill everything on screen with a sense of wonder and even hopefulness. It's simply an American classic, capturing a moment in time, and would be #1 if not for one other film...