Badlands and Worse People: Auteurism in Malick's Badlands Anonymous College

Terrence Malick, who has been lauded as one of the greatest directors of the New American cinema, has only made seven films in the last forty-five years (with three more forthcoming this year), yet his status as an auteur was initially solidified through his breakthrough 1973 film, Badlands. This film’s use of mise-en-scene, pacing, and themes establishes his uniquely filmic style, which would be further refined in later films such as Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The Tree of Life (2011). This essay discusses Malick’s status as an auteur by examining the onset of his directorial style in Badlands in order to argue that while his filmography is relatively scant by Hollywood standards, Malick’s style is nonetheless highly apparent, even in his earlier work. The essay begins with a discussion and overview of the concept of auteurism, particularly as it relates to the academic study of film. Next, it applies these notions of auteurism to Badlands with respect to the visual style and narrative techniques of the film before offering some analysis of Malick both as an auteur and in his subsequent films.

First, it is important to discuss the concept of auteurism within the field of film theory. Auteurism is a...