Terrence Malick’s directing career has spanned four decades. Now that can be a bit misleading since he’s only made six films during that time. Still, that small body of work has been enough to make him one of my favorite directors. For me, a Malick movie is an experience. He’s an auteur who plays by no other rules other than his own and the quality of his films are always at a high level. There are also several thematic and visual distinctions that course through every Terrence Malick picture, stylistically and narratively differentiating them from most other movies.
It all started in 1973 with the release of “Badlands”. Malick was inspired by the real-life story of Clarence Starkweather, also known as the ‘Mad Dog Killer’. He and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate went on a killing spree through the midwest in the late 1950’s, murdering 11 people including her parents and her 2-year old sister. But the similarities between the film and the true story are few. “Badlands” does focus on an ill-founded young romance and the terrible events that follow but it looks at them through a much different lens than the true story would allow.
“Badlands” stars a 33-year old Martin Sheen who looked a lot younger than he was. He’s intentionally given a James Dean look with his white t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue jeans, dangling cigarette, and rebel-styled hair. He plays Kit, a rudderless ship with seemingly no direction or aspirations for his life. He’s just quit his job as a garbage collector and you get the sense that he has no idea what’s next.
While walking through the streets of a small South Dakota town, Kit comes across 15-year old Holly (Sissy Spacek) twirling her baton in her front yard. Spacek was almost 10 years older than the part but you would never guess it from her performance. She immediately comes across as an innocent and naïve young girl with a very veiled perception of the world. She lives alone with her father ever since her mother died a few years earlier. I got the sense that that loss had deeply affected her life. Holly falls victim to Kit’s charm and a romance follows, against the wishes of her father. From there, as with most of Malick’s movies, the story takes an idyllic idea and carries it through to a sad and violent conclusion.
In “Badlands” there are several things that Malick doesn’t reveal and several questions he doesn’t explore. For example we know practically nothing about Kit’s past. We also never get a clear idea as to the root of his violence. Personally I think it’s all found in his and Holly’s quest to find where they belong in the world. Malick gives us two characters who you could say create their own twisted fairy tale of existence. They romanticize their lives on the run and never seem to count the consequences or consider the damage the do. They live in a fantasy world of their own making. This evident from several scenes and conversations they have. We also sense it from Holly’s narration which we hear scattered throughout the movie.
In “Badlands” you’ll also see the genesis of Malick’s concentration on nature. Even then his camera seems to gravitate towards beautiful shots of the sun breaking through a leafy canopy, glistening dew on a flower petal, or the lively flow of water in a stream. It’s certainly not as profound as in his more recent pictures but it’s undeniably there. And throughout the film there seems to be a contrast between the beauty and peacefulness of nature and the skewed fantasy world the characters have invented.this subtle dichotomy is never more vivid than in the movie’s well-known tree house scene. I’ll leave it at that for those who haven’t seen it, but it’s a fascinating sequence.
Let me build on that last sentence. “Badlands” is a pretty fascinating movie and it’s a strong directorial debut for one of our best directors. It’s a well written tale of two lost souls dancing between idyllic naiveté and sociopathic violence. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Again, “Badlands” is an obvious birthplace of Malick’s particular and personal style of cinematic storytelling and that in itself is worth seeing. But there are also more unsettling stories of lost innocence and tragedy from Malick’s pen that are just as vital to making this a great film.
I think it would be safe to say that the Marx Brothers had a brand of humor that was uniquely their own. In a variety of ways Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo Marx influenced the comedy genre like no others. Their chaotic and anarchic comedy is centered around rapid-fire quips and ingenious slapstick that’s as well choreographed as any fine dance or ballet. Some of today’s audiences haven’t had the same appreciation for the Marx Brothers and many moviegoers raised by modern cinema may be tempted to dismiss their style of humor. But I stand with the many who believe that the brothers were some of the greatest comic geniuses ever to grace the big screen.
I don’t mean to be repetitive. But at the risk of sounding like a broken record, they just don’t make romantic comedies like this anymore. This 1953 classic from director William Wyler is a beautiful blueprint for a genre that seems to struggle with making quality movies these days. “Roman Holiday” brings together the always good Gregory Peck and the adorable Audrey Hepburn in a film that could almost be considered a fairy tale story. But while the film embraces some of the elements that make a good romantic comedy, it dodges a few of the conventions which have become all too familiar.
When mentioning “Titanic” and the movies most people today instantly think of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster epic. But there have actually been several movies centered around that ill-fated voyage in 1912. One of the best of these films came out in 1953 and like Cameron’s movie, this film was simply titled “Titanic”. It featured a fine cast and special effects that were considered pretty cutting edge for that time. Of course being a 1953 picture it didn’t depend on its special effects as heavily as Cameron’s. Instead the true strength of this version lies in the characters and their stories which unfold before us on the ship prior to the collision which would eventually sink the vessel.
My recent time spent looking at the movies of French filmmaker Jacques Tati has been a true delight. As I’ve made my way through his small but brilliant catalog of films I’ve grown more and more impressed with the ingenious craft at the heart of them. “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” was the first film featuring Tati’s lovable Monsieur Hulot character and it’s arguably the greatest display of his physical comedic abilities. Tati both starred in and directed this picture and his meticulous approach to filmmaking is seen in every frame from his carefully conceived sight gags to his beautiful work with the camera.
