- published: 16 Apr 2014
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Terrence Frederick Malick (/ˈmælɪk/; born November 30, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. In a career spanning over four decades, he has directed eight feature films, with an additional film currently in post-production. Malick has received consistent praise for his work and is regarded as one of the greatest living filmmakers, with particular praise usually directed toward his imagery and philosophical themes.
Malick made his directorial debut with the drama Badlands (1973), about a young couple on a crime spree in the 1950s Midwest, loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather. His second film, Days of Heaven (1978), set in 1916 in the Texas Panhandle, follows a farm laborer who becomes caught in a love triangle. Days of Heaven went on to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and Best Director, at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. Both films are often ranked among the best of the 1970s, with Badlands considered one of the best directorial debuts since Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). After the release of Days of Heaven, Malick took a long hiatus from filmmaking.