Terrence Malick is back, although it will be awhile before we finally see Knight of Cups. The Berlin Film Festival announced yesterday that the film will have its world premiere there in February and FilmNation released the first trailer.

With that in mind, now is as good a time as any to look at the six previous films Malick has completed. While Paul Thomas Anderson also has now has seven films on his resume, his were made over an 18-year span. Malick has been working since 1973, when he burst onto the scene with Badlands.

After 1978’s Days of Heaven, which famously took years to edit, Malick took 20 years to complete his next film, The Thin Red Line.

Since 1998, though, Malick has been working steadily. And since 2011, he has been working quicker than ever. Since the release of The Tree of Life, Malick has made three films, only one of which has been released.

Malick’s films are decisive. You either find him a pretentious showboat who makes slow, plodding movies or you are in awe of his philosophical, unique use of the film medium. So, keep that in mind while going through the following ranking.

[new page = The New World]

Released in 2005, Malick’s follow-up to The Thin Red Line was bound to disappoint. The New World is a unique film in Malick’s filmography, since it actually has a coherent plot. The film follows John Smith (Colin Farrell) landing in Virginia, where he meets Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher). It’s much more interesting than Disney’s version of the Pocahontas story and does feature some unique performances from its cast. The film is a bit on the long side, especially the extended cut, which runs 150 minutes.

[new page = To The Wonder]

To The Wonder will always be The Tree of Live’s little cousin. It’s a small movie, which was dumped by Magnolia Pictures without much fanfare in 2012, despite starring Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams. It’s a beautiful-looking film, which centers on Neil (Affleck) and Marina’s (Kurylenko) love affair, which they take from Paris to his hometown in Oklahoma. Once they get back though, Neil begins seeing his old flame, Jane (McAdams). Considering the film’s small-town location, it feels like a mix of The Tree of Life and Days of Heaven, or better yet, Days of Heaven if Javier Bardem was around to do narration about religion.

[new page = Badlands]

Now, this is where it gets tricky because the other four films in Malick’s filmography are masterpieces. Badlands tells the story of Kit (Martin Sheen) and Holly (Sissy Spacek), who fall in love and go on a murder spree through the Midwest. It’s a tale as old as Bonnie & Clyde, but Malick introduces all of his trademarks. There’s narration from Holly that doesn’t quite understand the gravity of the situation. And it’s a small, personal drama that plays out on a large canvas.

[new page = The Tree of Life]

Malick returned in 2011 with a bang. The Tree of Life feels like his personal statement, a thesis on how he thinks films should be made and what they can do for an audience. They don’t have to tell a story, but can instead travel through the thoughts of one man. In this case, the audience travels the thoughts of Jack (Sean Penn), who recalls his life with his parents (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain), but also ponders the very existence of life on earth.

[new page = The Thin Red Line]

The Thin Red Line proved that Malick still had a few things to say, two decades after Days of Heaven. Based on James Jones’ novel, the film shows the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II in the Pacific Theater, through the eyes of Pvt. Witt (Jim Caviezel). War is not pretty, but John Toll’s breathtaking cinematography shows off the beautiful terrain that is soiled by war. It is also a rare travel inside the mind of a regular soldier during the war, since so many tend to focus on commanders.

[new page = Days of Heaven]

It took awhile to be released, but when Days of Heaven finally came out, it showed the best Malick had to offer to cinema. Here again, he takes a small human drama - a love triangle between Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard - and puts it in front of a grandiose setting. The wheat fields are gorgeous and the fire that destroys them is terrifying.

Also like in Badlands and the later films, Malick uses narration in a way that few others ever have. In Days, the film is told from the perspective of Linda Manz, who plays Adams’ younger sister.

Who knows where Knight of Cups will land on this list, but if it turns out to stink, we can always wait until his next one. Malick also completed a film with Ryan Gosling that should be released... eventually.