Badlands (Blu-Ray)

Terrence Malick’s exquisite first film, in a new digital restoration.

Badlands announced the arrival of a major talent: Terrence Malick. His impressionistic take on the notorious Charles Starkweather killing spree of the late 1950s uses a serial-killer narrative as a springboard for an oblique teenage romance, lovingly and idiosyncratically enacted by Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. The film introduced many of the elements that would earn Malick his passionate following: the enigmatic approach to narrative and character, the unusual use of voice-over, the juxtaposition of human violence with natural beauty, the poetic investigation of American dreams and nightmares. This debut has spawned countless imitations, but none have equalled its strange sublimity.

Director-Approved Special Edition Features:
– New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director Terrence Malick, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
– Making “Badlands,” a new documentary featuring actors Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek and art director Jack Fisk
– New interviews with associate editor Billy Weber and executive producer Edward Pressman
– “Charles Starkweather,” a 1993 episode of the television programme American Justice, about the real-life story on which the film was loosely based
– Trailer
– Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda