terrence malick's BADLANDS (1973)

this is another one i'm hard-pressed to put my finger on, but during this viewing i did my damnedest to let Malick instruct me. his visuals aren't quite as far removed from the norm here as in the pure naturalism of his later films, but the writing ("what if i shot you? how'd that be?"), and Spacek's narration in particular, are every bit as focused on where he wanted to be; if you're wanting to make a filmic poem, i suppose, it's a good idea to fill it with such heart-rending poetry.

robert wise's THE HAUNTING (1963)

it's all too true that they don't make 'em like they used to, just as it's true that Robert Wise managed to make this one like they wouldn't for years to come. The Haunting drags a little towards the beginning, sure, and could use more showing and less telling where Eleanor is concerned, but there's no denying the film's creepy power over the audience, just as there's no underestimating the presence of mind in Wise's craft; though the genre today scrapes by on a much lower brow, horror's hacks and heroes are all still taking cues from The Haunting's accomplishments.