Trivia: Right when the Spartans start to push the Persians off of the cliff, you can hear the Wilhelm scream.
Trivia: High Road to China was a knockoff of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was orginally supposed to star Selleck. (The shooting schedule for Magnum, PI kept him from appearing in Raiders.)
Trivia: In one scene Paul is listening to the radio and a broadcast of the debate about whether what was happening in Rwanda was considered genocide. During the conflict there was a news conference that was very similar to the one on the radio. One of the reasons that the US and UN would not label (or appear to label) the situation as genocide was that under legal obligations they would have had to act to prevent and punish the perpetrators if they said what was happening in Rwanda was genocide.
Trivia: Just before the attack starts, there is a scene where the Navy are performing their start of day ceremony. Watch the sailor who rings the bell. After he has finished he walks backwards and stumbles as he walks into a small raised item.
Trivia: Stanley Kubrick's daughter has a cameo as the young girl sitting behind Lady Lyndon at the magic show.
Trivia: The script called for several Japanese-speaking officers and a company of Japanese troops to be on the island. There were no Japanese men on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, where the film was shot. A half-dozen who spoke the language were finally found in a Japanese emigrant community in Brazil and flown to the location to play the officers. For the non-speaking roles of Japanese troops, the company hired 50 Chinese who worked in the island's restaurants and laundries. This caused friction with the local islanders, who found it difficult if not impossible to get their clothes cleaned or to get a meal in a restaurant because most of the employees were working on the film.
Trivia: Director Oliver Stone can be seen briefly as a TV reporter.
Trivia: When the Christians fire their first volley at the Muslims, one of the guys screams a Wilhelm as he falls.
Trivia: The title refers to the fall from innocence. However the Swedish title, "Höstlegender", refers to the season (Legends of the Fall/Autumn).
Trivia: Dame Maggie Smith (Duchess of York) plays Sir Ian McKellen's (Richard III) mother in this movie - even though she is only five years older than him.
Trivia: When Captain Aubrey makes the toast 'To wives and sweethearts - may they never meet' he is following a custom in the Royal Navy called the toast of the day. There was a special toast for every day of the week. This one in particular was usually for Saturdays. There is a minor mistake, however: tradition dictated that the proposer (in this case, the captain) would say the first part 'to wives and sweethearts', to which the most junior officer present would reply 'may they never meet'. Here is the list that seems to be most commonly followed dates from before Trafalgar, courtesy of the Canadian Navy website: Monday - our ships at sea, Tuesday - our men, Wednesday - ourselves, because no one else is likely to both, Thursday - a bloody war or a sickly season (to ensure quicker promotion), Friday - a willing foe and sea room (The two preceding seem to be of historical interest only), Saturday - wives and sweethearts - may they never meet (reply is made by the youngest officer present) Sunday - absent friends.
Trivia: When the scene where the cow is blown up was threatened to be cut due to money constrictions George Clooney paid for the effect out of his own pocket feeling it important to the scene. He was right, the scene was wildly popular with audiences. (Source George Clooney Biography at http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/george_clooney_biog/5).
Trivia: Even though Greer Garson plays Richard Ney's mother in the movie, she was only 12 years older than him.
Trivia: There is not a single speaking role for a woman in the entire film.
Trivia: U-571 cause quite a stir in England especially in the small northern town of Horsforth (where I actually live), because we felt the movie 'Hollywood-ised' a British victory. The people of Horsforth raised an astonishing £241,000 in one week (about £4million today) to fund the building of the HMS Aubretia, the ship that captured the first enigma machine when it depth charged U-110. It caused so much upset amongst people that President Bill Clinton wrote a letter to the people of Horsforth praising the town for their part in the war effort. The letter is now on display in the local museum.