Terrence Malick’s second film (after 1973’s Badlands) was this 1978 endeavor that, even more than his debut, set the template for the type of thematically pensive, beautifully photographed mood piece that would define his career throughout the ensuing decades. Set on a Texas farm, the film centers on a particularly fraught love triangle between a laborer (Richard Gere), his boss (Sam Shepard) and the woman (Brooke Adams) they both love. Nestor Almendros’ cinematography is the stuff of legend and earned the Academy Award, but Ennio Morricone’s score is also noteworthy. (Matt Brunson)