Badlands is a 1973 film directed by Terrence Malick from his own script. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek star. Warren Oates and Ramon Bieri are also featured, and Malick has a small speaking part although he does not receive an acting credit.

The story, although fictional, is very loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1958.

Malick 's smart script and masterful compositions, Tak Fujimoto 's lush cinematography, and spellbinding performances by its two leads combine to elevate the film to a level of visual poetry that belies its sordid subject matter.

The film's score makes repeated use of a short composition from the didactic works of Carl Orff. The same piece was used to good effect in the film True Romance, which has some thematic similarities to Badlands.

The film is included in the National Film Registry.