During the filming of "The Outsiders," Francis Ford Coppola and Hinton teamed up to adapt the script and decided to use the original cast, which was still filmed in Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Before the film started, Coppola organized the cast and crew to watch some old movies, including 1951's "Blood on the Rhine" which was the inspiration for the smoky film, and 1920's "Dr. Caligari's Cabin" for the film. The film provided stylistic archetypes, and 1924's "The Meanest Man" showed Matthew Raymond Dillon how to express emotion with body language in silence. To help Mickey Rourke get into the role, Coppola recommended Albert Camus' novel and Napoleon biography, and the "motorcyclist" shape was designed based on Camus's iconic move with a cigarette. Coppola made extensive use of shadows, oblique angles, exaggerated compositions and lots of smoke from German Expressionist films, and with the influence of Godfrey Reggio's "Life Out of Balance", Coppola decided to bring time-lapse photography to life Show the sky in the film
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