What can I say about Terence Malick except that he's done the most with the least. Only three films, but he's a legend.

He seems to break every rule. He uses voice-over narration, which is a no-no by conventional screen-writing rules. He loves showing nature and never met a leaf he didn't adore. His films have a low-key tone and are never fast-paced. His characters are stoic and don't show a lot of emotion.

But his movies are brilliant. He mixes violence with vapidity in a way that is uncomfortably American. In Badlands, Kit and Holly kill. Then they dance in the dirt to "Love is Strange." Then they discuss Hollywood gossip. Then they kill again. At one point, Kit tells Holly he has fatally shot a man who has sat down in his house to await death. Holly's question: "Is he upset?" They don't even get what sex is about.

Their invasion of the rich man's house is a stunning set piece in tension. It's clear Kit and Holly may kill. Or, they may not. There is absolutely no way of knowing because they don't know themselves what they are going to do. It seems to depend not on them, but how the mood is in the house. There's real terror in that.

Martin Sheen turns in his greatest performance as Kit. Sissy Spacek's Holly is chilling in its bland naivete.

The story of Kit and Holly is loosely based on the killing spree in 1958 by 19-year-old Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate.

Badlands is a uniquely American film ... and an American masterpiece.