Trivia: Robert Shaw's character is based on Kampfgruppe Jochim Peiper of 1st SS Leibstandart Adolph Hitler, Panzer Division. Peiper was a ruthless but extremely effective officer who had learnt his trade in death on the Russian front. Peiper survived the battle and the war and although he was initially sentenced to death for his part in the Malmedy massacre his sentence was commuted. He was killed in France in 1976 when his house was firebombed in a revenge attack.
Trivia: In the scene where Saffron is teaching Dougray how to dance at her favorite dance hall, there is a shot of some of the customers sitting and drinking. You'll see Mick Jagger talking to a girl at a table.
Trivia: This film was filmed back-to-back with Flags of Our Fathers, a movie from the American perspective of the battle of Iwo Jima.
Trivia: The crewmembers of the Memphis Belle are not based on actual crewmembers. They are fictitious characters.
Trivia: The ship used for the exterior close-up scenes was the Royal Navy frigate HMS Wizard. Some of the crew were used as extras in the film.
Trivia: Although the carrier used in the movie was the U.S.S. Oriskany, for the film it was given the fictitious name of U.S.S. Savo. I do not know why that name was chosen or by whom, but it was a very ironic choice. Although many U.S. carriers have been named after famous battles that were American victories (including Oriskany), the Battle of Savo, early in WWII, was one of the worst defeats in the history of the U.S. Navy.
Trivia: Brendan Fraser once again reprises his role as Encino Man in this film, as the soldier who tells Bones "don't eat the chicken, it tastes just like frog," and then eats something off Bones' tray.
Trivia: All the extras (there were rather a lot of them) were made up of Soviet soldiers.
Trivia: After the execution of Charles I / Alec Guiness, Oliver Cromwell / Richard Harris returns to his home. Sitting by the fire, he is consoled by his wife: he can now put the cares and worries of war and politics behind him, and enjoy a quiet life as a country gentleman. This cosy domesticity is rudely interrupted when some of his old colleagues arrive to tell him tell him that he is now needed to run the country. He protests that, as a country gentleman he would be unfit for such a role, but he reluctantly assumes power. In fact, by the time of Charles I's execution Oliver Cromwell was one of the most powerful political figures and military commanders in Britain, and actively continued commanding armies in Ireland, Scotland and England, and involving himself in government. Although rejecting a suggestion that he should be crowned king (after much deliberation), he was quite willing to take the title of 'Lord Protector' and govern England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales until his death in 1658.
Trivia: The Chetniks were not one coherent group, as portrayed in the movie. There were in fact two opposing fractions: the first fought alongside the partisans, the others - founded by Kosta Pecanac (the featured group) cooperated with the Germans. Despite their public enmity, though, they still maintained good relations with each other, one of the facts which led to great confusion about the Chetniks among the Allies - probably the reason why they are portrayed here solely as 'bad guys'.
Trivia: This was Charlie Chaplin's first feature film with full sound.
Trivia: Sylvester Stallone broke one of his fingers in an attempt to save a penalty from Pele.
Trivia: Kenneth Connor's line, "I've been regular for eighteen years", is an in-joke about his time in the "Carry On" films. He made his debut in 1958, and when the film was released in 1976, he was in the films for eighteen years.
Trivia: In the DVD commentary, Director Joe Wright reveals a lucky fluke that got caught on camera during the scene just before Robbie (James McAvoy) discovers the school girls massacre. At the point where he removes his helmet, the weather was cloudy. As he looks up the sky, the sun started shining, and then got cloudy again the moment he put his head down.
Trivia: The first foreign language film to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.
Trivia: Director George Marshall has a cameo as Pierre the chef.
