Writing and casting
Sheen was chosen for the role of Kit Carruther, based on his immediate chemistry with co-star Spacek.Malick, a protégé of Arthur Penn (whom he thanked in the film's end credits),[7] began work on Badlands after his second year attending the American Film Institute.[8] In 1970, Malick, at age 27, began working on the screenplay during a road trip.[9] "I wrote and, at the same time, developed a kind of sales kit with slides and video tape of actors, all with a view to presenting investors with something that would look ready to shoot," Malick said. "To my surprise, they didn't pay too much attention to it; they invested on faith. I raised about half the money and executive producer Edward Pressman the other half."[8] Malick paid $25,000 of his own funds. The remainder of his share was raised from professionals such as doctors and dentists. Badlands was the first feature film that Malick had written for himself to direct.[9]
Sissy Spacek, in only her second film, was the first actor cast. Malick found her small-town Texas roots and accent were perfect for the part of the naive impressionable high school girl. The director included her in his creative process, asking questions about her life "as if he were mining for gold." When he found out she had been a majorette, he worked a twirling routine into the script.[10] Several up-and-coming actors were auditioned for the part of Kit Carruthers. When Martin Sheen was suggested by the casting director, Malick was hesitant, thinking he was too old for the role. Spacek wrote in her autobiography that "the chemistry was immediate. He was Kit. And with him, I was Holly."[11] Sheen based his characterization of Kit on the actor James Dean.[12]
Filming and set design
Principal photography took place in Colorado starting in July 1972, with a non-union crew and a low budget of $300,000 (excluding some deferments to film labs and actors).[8] The film had a somewhat troubled production history: several members of the crew clashed with Malick, and another was severely injured when an explosion occurred while filming the fire scene.[13][14] The Frank G. Bloom House in Trinidad was used for the rich man's house. Malick himself had an uncredited cameo after the actor hired to play 'Caller at Rich Man's House' failed to show up.[15] The script's beginning was mostly filmed in the southeastern Colorado towns of La Junta and Las Animas, including the scene in which Holly runs out of the latter town's Columbian Elementary School.[16] The closing credits thank the people of Otero County, Colorado, "for their help and cooperation."
Jack Fisk served as art director for the film in his first of several collaborations with the director. During production, Sissy Spacek and Fisk fell in love[17] and were married on April 12, 1974. The film was originally set to be edited by Robert Estrin. When Malick saw Estrin's cut of the film, he disliked it and removed him from the production. Malick and Billy Weber recut the movie. Estrin remains credited as the sole editor, however, with Weber credited as associate editor.[13] Both Weber and art designer Jack Fisk worked on all of Malick's subsequent features through 2016 (The Tree of Life, To the Wonder, Knight of Cups).[18]
Though Malick paid close attention to period detail, he did not want it to overwhelm the picture. "I tried to keep the 1950s to a bare minimum," he said. "Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything. I wanted the picture to set up like a fairy tale, outside time."[8] At a news conference coinciding with the film's festival debut, Malick called Kit "so desensitized that [he] can regard the gun with which he shoots people as a kind of magic wand that eliminates small nuisances."[3] Malick also pointed out that "Kit and Holly even think of themselves as living in a fairy tale", and he felt was appropriate since "children's books like Treasure Island were often filled with violence." He also hoped a fairy tale tone would "take a little of the sharpness out of the violence but still keep its dreamy quality."[8]
Soundtrack
The film makes repeated use of the short composition Gassenhauer from Carl Orff's and Gunild Keetman's Schulwerk, and also uses other tunes by Erik Satie, Nat "King" Cole, Mickey & Sylvia and James Taylor.[19]
