Terrence Malick's second feature became an ordeal for producer Bert Schneider almost immediately. Filming began in Alberta in the late summer of 1976, where Malick demanded an unusually elusive visual style built around natural light and the brief period known as magic hour. The schedule was already punishing, but harvesting machines repeatedly broke down, delaying work until late afternoon and leaving the crew only a few minutes of usable light. After seeing disappointing dailies during the first two weeks, Malick reportedly abandoned much of his prepared script, deciding to shoot expansively—'wide instead of deep'—and gather miles of footage that he hoped could be shaped in the editing room.
The production's financial strain became severe. A day when Malick kept two helicopters waiting at considerable expense while he changed plans from a locust sequence to shots of period cars became emblematic of the disorder. The $3 million budget eventually ran about $800,000 over, and Schneider had already mortgaged his home to cover the excess. Crew members found Malick cold and distant, while some Hollywood technicians were frustrated by the director and cinematographer Néstor Almendros turning off the elaborate lighting they had prepared. Several crew members quit, and Schneider repeatedly confronted Malick over missed deadlines and broken promises. The film ultimately took more than two years to edit, leaving Schneider disappointed even though Paramount, impressed by a later presentation, granted Malick an unusually generous deal for future work. Exhausted by the experience, Malick moved to Paris and abandoned his next Paramount project, not directing another film until The Thin Red Line in 1998.
