Badlands (1973)

Director:

Terrence Malick

Writer:

Terrence Malick (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 1975 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

He was 25 years old. He combed his hair like James Dean. She was 15. She took music lessons and could twirl a baton. For a while they lived together in a tree house. In 1959, she watched while he killed a lot of people.

Plot:

Dramatization of the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree of the 1950's, in which a teenage girl and her twenty-something boyfriend slaughtered her entire family and several others in the Dakota badlands.

Plot Keywords:

Killing Spree | Badlands | South Dakota | Murder | On The Run

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins

US TV Schedule:

Thur. May 31

8:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	Kit
Sissy Spacek	...	Holly
Warren Oates	...	Father
Ramon Bieri	...	Cato
Alan Vint	...	Deputy
Gary Littlejohn	...	Sheriff
John Carter	...	Rich Man
Bryan Montgomery	...	Boy
Gail Threlkeld	...	Girl
Charles Fitzpatrick	...	Clerk
Howard Ragsdale	...	Boss
John Womack Jr.	...	Trooper
Dona Baldwin	...	Maid
Ben Bravo	...	Gas Attendant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emilio Estevez	...	Boy Under Lamppost (uncredited)
Terrence Malick	...	Caller at Rich Man's House (uncredited)
Charlie Sheen	...	Boy Under Lamppost (uncredited)

Directed by
Terrence Malick

Writing credits
Terrence Malick		(written by)

Produced by
Terrence Malick	....	producer
Edward R. Pressman	....	executive producer
Louis A. Stroller	....	associate producer (as Lou Stroller)
Jill Jakes	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
George Aliceson Tipton		(as George Tipton)

Cinematography by
Tak Fujimoto		(photography)
Stevan Larner		(photography)
Brian Probyn		(photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Estrin

Casting by
Dianne Crittenden		(as Diane Derfner)

Art Direction by
Jack Fisk

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Dona Baldwin	....	hair

Production Management
Bill Scott	....	production manager (as William Scott)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Broderick	....	assistant director
Carl Olsen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ken Hilton	....	set dresser
Joan Mocine	....	art work
Edward Richardson	....	associate art director (as Ed Richardson)
Erik L. Nelson	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Doug Crichton	....	boom man
Maury Harris	....	production mixer
Sam F. Shaw	....	sound effects (as Sam Shaw)
John Wilkinson	....	re-recording mixer (as John Wilkenson)
Sharron Miller	....	sound editor (uncredited)
James Nelson	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
George Fisher	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack English	....	gaffer
Douglas Knapp	....	best boy (as Doug Knapp)
Anthony R. Palmieri	....	assistant camera (as Tony Palmieri)
Ed Hershberger	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dona Baldwin	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Marion Segal	....	assistant editor
Billy Weber	....	associate editor (as William Weber)

Music Department
Erma E. Levin	....	music editor (as Erma Levin)
George Aliceson Tipton	....	conductor (as George Tipton)

Other crew
Rich Cook	....	production assistant
Gary Littlejohn	....	autos
Paul Marcus	....	production assistant
Penny Richardson	....	production secretary
Connie Lee Stone	....	production assistant

Thanks
Charlotte Jakes	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
Melvin James	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
Irvin Kershner	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
James Nelson	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
Arthur Penn	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
Bert Schneider	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation
Wallace Wolf	....	the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (as Warner Bros A Warner Communications Company)
• Pressman-Williams (presents) (as Pressman Williams)
• Jill Jakes Production (as A Jill Jakes Production)
• Badlands Company

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros A Warner Communications Company)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• FifiGE/AG Kino (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• American Film Institute (AFI)  the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation (as The American Film Institute)
• Cinemobile System  location services (uncredited)
• Cinemobile  locations by
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  titles: opticals and processing by
• Glen Glenn Sound Company  recorded by (as Glen Glenn Sound)
• People of Otero County  the producer wishes to thank: for their help and cooperation (as The People of Otero County)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | UK:15 (re-release) (re-rating) (2008) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) (1993) | Australia:M (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:14 | Italy:VM18 | UK:18 (tv rating) | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) (2003) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (1987) | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-18 (1980) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bloom Mansion - 312 E Main Street, Trinidad, Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Although Charlie Starkweather had been executed when the movie came up for production, Caril Fugate was still alive and facing parole, prompting the filmmakers to change the names of the principal characters to avoid a lawsuit.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end,when Kit surrenders he raises his hands straight up at first, but three seconds later they are slightly risen and bended over his head. After another two seconds they are back to their initial position. During this sequence the distance between him and the Cadillac changes as well.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Holly Sargis:[voice over narration] My Mother dies of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My Father kept their wedding cake int he freezer for ten whole years. After the funeral he gave it to the yard man. He tried to act cheerful but he could never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then one day hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all these memories he moved us from Texas to Port Dupree, South Dakota.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ratcatcher (1999)

Soundtrack:

LOVE IS STRANGE

A sophisticated exploration of the nature of good and evil

Surely one of the most brilliant films ever made. The haunting music and cinematography would almost suffice by itself. The hero is little more than a child: the heroine his willing accomplice, and we are made to question what is good and what is evil by seeing the world through the eyes of children. From the moment when the girl's father shoots her dog to punish her, we lose any loyalty to traditional values or to the rights of parents over their children. By the end, it's obvious to us that society doesn't value the lives of those who were killed. It anticipates Natural Born Killers, but perhaps says more and uses a tighter structure.

Brilliantly acted and directed, with many layers to it. A film to watch again and again.