Trivia: The pivotal role of "Minnesota Ryan", the Private Ryan that Captain Miller mistakes for the Private Ryan for whom he is searching, is played by a very young and, at the time quasi-unknown, Nathan Fillion.
Trivia: To acquire the withdrawn, hollowed-out look of his character, Christopher Walken ate nothing but bananas and rice.
Trivia: According to veterans of the actual event, when the Rangers got the go-ahead for the mission and were getting their gear ready, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N Roses was playing on the base's loudspeakers. There were some half-serious comments among the men about the appropriateness of this song. However, the film's producers failed to secure the rights to use "Welcome to the Jungle," so they substituted Faith No More's "Falling to Pieces"--which is perhaps thematically in line with what happened on the raid. (00:27:28)
Trivia: Perhaps you're wondering what William Wallace shouts after delivering his speech just prior to the Battle of Stirling. It's "Alba gu brath," which means "Scotland forever."
Trivia: In one scene where Charlie sheen spins his plane, he says "I learnt this one from Paula Abdul". Paula Abdul was Charlie Sheen's then sister in law.
Trivia: Matthew Broderick is believed to be related to Robert Shaw, the character he played in the film.
Trivia: The scene with the hinge-maker almost getting shot has a hidden meaning, when several guns that are used misfire. The Nazis used forced labor to produce their wargoods, including officers' pistols. The prisoners manufacturing the guns were known to file down the hammer on the pistols so that they would not fire properly, in an effort to thwart the Nazi regime.
Trivia: As Patton and his convoy are coming into town, Patton's half-track mistakenly flattens a few live chickens. (00:16:55)
Trivia: Some weapons used by 300 are actually weapons from previous war epics like "Alexander" and "Troy." They were used in this film to cut costs.
Trivia: In the scene were Blondie is using the radio, the message he is intercepting is about the Battle of the Bulge.
Trivia: John Wayne had been wanting to do this picture for years but he could not get any backing. He finally used his own money and he felt the financial setback for years, because the picture did not do as well as expected. Duke would always say that he had to continue to work and make pictures to survive. He was nowhere near broke, but to keep up his lifestyle he worked almost to his death.
Trivia: Ewan McGregor asking "What is a Jedi Knight?" is especially ironic (and probably an "in joke") because he famously played Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel films.
Trivia: Vintage aircraft fans do not hold this film in very high regard. During filming a perfectly serviceable Mosquito was wrecked deliberately for a crash scene. Considering the scarcity of flying Mossies it's considered almost a criminal act in the vintage aviation world.
Trivia: The Caine's name was derived from the USS Zane, the Navy destroyer on which author Herman Wouk served during World War II.
Trivia: At the beginning of the movie when Benjamin is taking the children to Aunt Charlotte's house in Charleston, there is a woman on the street that does not move, and wearing a big hoop dress. She is there to hide the fire hydrant on the street underneath her dress.