Badlands

Terrence Malick, 1972 (8.8*) Legendary director Terrence Malick turned down the major studios and made his first feature with private investors at a cost of just $350,000. The result is a small, indie film of a famous murder spree in the midwest, as the Kit Starkweather - Caril-Ann Fugate killings are filmed here as characters Kit Carruthers and Holly Sargis (even though a film disclaimer claims the story is fictional). Together, Kit and his teenaged girlfriend murdered her parents and took off on a road trip, eloping for a honeymoon of murder and robbery.

Martin Sheen starred in one of his first roles (no, that's not Charlie on the vhs cover), as did Sissy Spacek as his girlfriend. Together they drew up two characters whose coldness is chilling to witness. Somehow, this film is both raw and brutal, yet poetically beautiful, perhaps due to Tak Fujimoto's cinematography.

Generally considered one of the best feature film debuts in history, Malick [photo below] has since become a legend, making only four films in nearly four decades: Badlands (73), Days of Heaven (78), The Thin Red Line (98), and The New World (2005). Malick won several directing awards for Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. His highly anticipated Tree of Life is due to be released this year.