4. Badlands (1973)
Badlands and Days of Heaven are fairly similar pictures. Both feature a young couple retreating from the world, the men in each pairing have blood on their hands, and in each film the couple finds some solace or escape in a more natural, earthy world. This framework - the interaction and conflict of man against nature (whether that be earthly nature, spiritual nature, or human nature) - is at the bedrock of nearly all of Malicks films. What pushes Badlands ahead of Days of Heaven is the fact that its characters feel more fully formed, especially Martin Sheens Kit, the dreamy murderer who lures Sissy Spaceks Holly out into the wild with him. Badlands is a film of open spaces and open wounds. The barren, empty landscapes are filmed in a manner that gives even the bleakest scenarios a touch of poetry, showing us how Holly finds meaning, even beauty, in the increasingly violent world around her. For a first film, its an astonishing achievement, and was only a taste of things to come.