If a classic can be defined by how fresh it remains after its first release, then Terrence Malick's crime drama, 35 years young, is worthy of the tag.

Star rating ****
Dir: Terrence Malick
With: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek

If a classic can be defined by how fresh it remains after its first release, then Terrence Malick's crime drama, 35 years young, is worthy of the tag. Bold, forceful, stunningly realised, with a pair of Oscar-worthy but alas Oscar-denied, performances (perhaps memories of Bonnie and Clyde remained too strong), it's still hard to believe this was only Malick's feature debut. With Martin Sheen as the lean, mean, James Dean-lookalike killing machine, and Sissy Spacek as his spaced-out teen girlfriend, the story journeys from the suburbs of South Dakota to the titular badlands of Montana in a spectacularly controlled fashion. Though Kit (Sheen) is one of a long line of killers turned celebrities, the casual way he goes about his business, and the ultimate reaction to his deeds, is as shocking now as it was then.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh