Trivia: John Cusack's real-life sister, Joan Cusack, is wearing a neck brace on the bus at the beginning of the film.
Trivia: Most of Prince's dance moves are his own personal tribute to the "Godfather Of Soul" James Brown.
Trivia: The film's soundtrack album knocked Michael Jackson's "Thriller" off the top of the U.S. album charts, where it had ranked for more than a year.
Trivia: Just in case some people don't know, most of the "German" in this movie is total gibberish. Some sentences are perfectly correct and properly spoken, as with the welcoming speech, the German soldiers and platform announces at the station, the "Ich liebe dich, mein Schatz", etc. But the learning tape, the conversations at the Culture Hall during dinner and the East Germany Anthem are just a bunch of "German-dutch sounding noises." Of course, it's even funnier to know that there are subtitles for all these with content that has nothing to do with it.
Trivia: The film was written by Diane Thomas. Thomas was a struggling waitress and actress, and had been working odd jobs to make ends meet when she wrote the script. While there is some dispute over how it happened, eventually the script made its way to actor Michael Douglas, who championed Thomas and helped get the movie made. The script was so well-liked, she ended up getting numerous offers, and at one point was even attached to help write one of the "Indiana Jones" sequels. Sadly, she was killed in a car accident only a year after this movie's release, and it remains the only film she was credited for writing.
Trivia: In the final scene, when Winston and Julia are playing chess, Winston uses a tactic of going around and hitting from behind. Only minutes later, the news report that Oceanarian forcer defeated Eurasian forces in Africa by using the same tactic. Nothing major but it makes a good point about the rate of citizen monitoring and news manipulation in Oceanaria.
Trivia: Michelle Johnson was only 17 when she did her nude scenes for this film.
Trivia: The angry customer who is screaming to Allen about his cherries is director Ron Howard's real-life father, Rance.
Trivia: The domed city seen in a few shots is the same model city used in Logan's Run.
Trivia: Jim Henson's daughter, Heather, has a cameo as the girl serving drinks at the Bavarian Festival.
Trivia: When Kelly Lebrock is on the subway grate getting her dress blown up, it's a nod to Marilyn Monroe's movie " The Seven Year Itch."
Trivia: Ralph Richardson, who played the Sixth Earl of Greystoke, died shortly after filming had ended, and he received a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film was dedicated to his memory.
Trivia: The Grand National sequence towards the end of the film combines filmed footage with real footage of the 1983 Grand National.