Trivia: A (corrected) entry states that a USAAF B-17 'Flying Fortress' bomber is visible in the film. In fact in some prints produced for release in the US irrelevant stock footage of a B17 was randomly cut into the film to make it more acceptable to American audiences. This was a deliberate alteration of the film done very much against the wishes of the producer and director, and it explains the 'error' - the contributor has seen one of the non-canon US prints.
Trivia: Daniel Day-Lewis is Arthur Miller's son-in-law.
Trivia: The film is based on the real-life events of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which members of the Chicago White Sox were charged with "throwing" the World Series (i.e. losing on purpose). Even though many people believe he wasn't involved, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was banned from baseball and hasn't been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of that.
Trivia: When Vincent Price, "The King of Hams", once got into an argument with the very promising 25-year-old British director Michael Reeves during this film's shooting, he said: "I've made eighty-seven movies." Reeves responded: "I've made three good ones."
Trivia: The film was a favorite of President Woodrow Wilson, a Southerner who was alleged to be a racist, evident through his purging of blacks working in the federal government during the first presidential term.
Trivia: Ian McShane was originally down to play the part of Jesus, and ended up being cast as Judas.
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: For his role as Whitey Ford, rather than having to learn to pitch left-handed, right-handed Anthony Michael Hall wore his uniform number and logo backwards; the image was then flipped.
Trivia: This particular biblical epic proved to be so expensive to make and did so badly at the box office, the film company went bankrupt.
Trivia: All the extras (there were rather a lot of them) were made up of Soviet soldiers.
Trivia: In reality, Adolf Hitler ordered his commanders and troops to stand down and allow Allied forces to escape at Dunkirk. The German General von Blumentritt is quoted as saying "He (Hitler) then astonished us by speaking with admiration of the British Empire, of the necessity for its existence, and of the civilisation that Britain had brought into the world...He said that all he wanted from Britain was that she should acknowledge Germany's position on the Continent." But the exact reason for the order remains unknown.
Suggested correction: Hitler's controversial 'halt' order at Dunkirk had nothing to do with chivalry. The most widely accepted reason for the order is that the Wehrmacht Panzer units had been fighting continuously for two weeks, and badly needed some rest in preparation for Fall rot, phase two of the invasion of France. Infantry and air power continued to attack the Dunkirk pocket throughout the evacuation while the armoured units rested.
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 last film to date to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and no other Oscars.
Trivia: The Hindenburg explosion and fire towards the end of the movie combines filmed footage with actual newsreel footage of the disaster.
Trivia: During the filming of one scene in a native village, Klaus Kinski hit one of the extras over the head with his sword, almost killing him. The man survived because he had a helmet on.