From Badlands to Tree of Life

[chickenhead]

I saw Terrence Malick is coming out with a new movie, I'm a fan of a few of his films. I noticed from the casting of this new one an interesting little slice of odd pop culture connection....I don't know if this is degrees of Terrence Malick or degrees of the Starkweather killings...

walk with me....

1973 -- Badlands is released, written and directed by fresh outta school Terrence Malick. The story is based on the Starkweather killings of the 50's, and is released to widespread critical acclaim.

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1982 -- Bruce Springsteen releases his sparse acoustic album "Nebraska". Title song is written about the Starkweather killings of the 50's (and/or based on the film, Badlands).

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1991 -- Sean Penn makes his directorial debut with "The Indian Runner", a film based on the song "Highway Patrolman" from the Springsteen album "Nebraska".

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1993 -- Quentin Tarrantino releases True Romance, (amongst other things, but unmistakably) an homage to Terrence Malicks "Badlands", borrowing heavily from the earlier work -- the theme, narration style, music, etc. Brad Pitt has a small but memorable scene (primarily due to his home-made HoneyBear bong and useful driving tips) as stoned out roomy "Floyd".

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2011 -- Terrance Malick is releasing The Tree of Life. Brad Pitt plays the 50's era father of the modern day son, Sean Penn. If Springsteen had a song in the soundtrack the circle would be complete.


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I come into this as an aunt of my girlfriends mom was killed by Starkweather in Lincoln...and as a fan of Tarantino, Malick, and Springsteens Nebraska.

This concludes our little journey down this odd pop culture alleyway. :)

[JustRalph]

Nebraska is my fav Springsteen album.

Don't forget " State Trooper" and "Open All Night" "Used Cars" is great.

I used to do a bluesy version of Open All Night (12 bar without the thumping guitar) and toss in a few Chuck Berry verses that worked perfect. It was the only really decent thing I did when I played in with a band a few times.

Bruce actually recorded some of this in his bedroom with a 4 track while his wife Julianne Phillips slept nearby.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_(album)

[bigmack]

True Romance is a bit tangential to fit into your sequence there, Chicky.

I bought a Tascam PortaStudio shortly after BS released Nebraska.

I wish I still had the recording Geno & I made of Costello's Girls Talk.

There are some things you can't cover up with lipstick and powder

We killed it.

[chickenhead]

True Romance is a bit tangential to fit into your sequence there, Chicky.

The scene I chose specifically is tangential, but not the movie -- True Romance wouldn't exist without Badlands, they are linked at the hip as tightly as two (seemingly unrelated :p ) movies can be. Like most of Quentins work -- he borrowed quite a lot, he just chooses obscure things to steal.

It's a solid enough link from Badlands to Pitt to Tree of Life.

To go even deeper down the rabbit hole -- Natural Born Killers, which was penned by Quentin -- is also about a similiar duo. Rumor has it that Natural Born Killers originally existed as a script being written by the character Clarence in True Romance. But Quentin decided that the idea for that script was actually solid enough as a real script -- so it was plucked from the movie, from Clarence -- and make into a real life script -- Natural Born Killers.

True Romance is inarguably inspired by Badlands -- and tangentially, as a spin off from True Romance, comes Natural Born Killers. Which is again nothing but the Starkweather story, updated, and slightly more aggressive.

Kapow.

[Robert Goren]

In 1957, I was 9 yo living on farm in Eastern Nebraska. Everybody was scared sh*tless at the time. They electrocuted him in June of 1959. If it had happened in 1997, he still be alive. They will be lucky to even get the Gabby Giffords shooter to trial in 2 years.
Caril Fugate the 13 yo girl friend served 17 years in prision and was paroled. I believe she is still alive. Her part in the killings has always been of great debate. These days no 13 yo is going to serve 17 years for anything.