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Movies that feel like Badlands (1974)

If you loved Badlands, the closest films we have are Days of Heaven (1978), Pierrot le Fou (1965) and Days of Being Wild (1990). All three share Badlands' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Criterion Channel and MGM Plus and others, checked against today's data.

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.

πŸ… 97% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Terrence Malickcontemplativeromantictendergritty

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If Badlands hit the spot, these will too

Days of Heaven poster
Days of Heaven
1978 Β· dir. Terrence Malick
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7drama Β· romance

Both are Terrence Malick's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Not nearly as gritty as Badlands

In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer.

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Pierrot le Fou poster
Pierrot le Fou
1965 Β· dir. Jean-Luc Godard
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.4drama Β· romance Β· crime

Both are built on the same subject: fugitive lovers

Pierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.

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Days of Being Wild poster
Days of Being Wild
1990 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· romance

Both land stillness and romance at once

Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.

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As Tears Go By poster
As Tears Go By
1988 Β· dir. Wong Kar-Wai
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7drama Β· crime Β· romance

Tender where it counts, gritty underneath

Mid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.

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West Side Story poster
West Side Story
1961 Β· dir. Jerome Robbins
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.6crime Β· drama Β· romance

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall dangerously in love.

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On the Waterfront poster
On the Waterfront
1954 Β· dir. Elia Kazan
πŸ… 99%β˜… 8.1crime Β· drama Β· romance

Romantic romance in both cases

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1950s show

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

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3-Iron poster
3-Iron
2004 Β· dir. Kim Ki-duk
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance Β· crime

Tender crime, and it commits to that

A drifter lives in people's houses while they are away and repays them by doing chores for them. His life changes when he meets a beautiful woman who wants to escape her unhappy marriage.

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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul poster
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
1974 Β· dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8romance Β· drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

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Port of Shadows poster
Port of Shadows
1938 Β· dir. Marcel CarnΓ©
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.7romance Β· drama Β· crime

Romance built on grit, twice over

Down a foggy, desolate road to the port city of Le Havre travels Jean, an army deserter looking for another chance to make good on life. Fate, however, has a different plan for him, as acts of both revenge and kindness render him front-page news.

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner poster
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967 Β· dir. Stanley Kramer
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7.8drama Β· romance

Crime built on romance, twice over

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancΓ© who is black.

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Last Tango in Paris poster
Last Tango in Paris
1972 Β· dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
πŸ… 81%β˜… 6.8drama Β· romance

Drama built on tenderness, twice over

A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.

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A Man and a Woman poster
A Man and a Woman
1966 Β· dir. Claude Lelouch
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7.5drama Β· romance

The same romance instincts

A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their childrens' boarding school. Slowly, they reveal themselves to each other, finding that they have something deeply in common.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Badlands’ defining feeling.