Trivia: Paul Jesson and Timothy Spall play father and son in this film. In real life, Jesson is only ten years older than Spall.
Trivia: When the destroyer is bombed next to the mole, the shots of it sinking are of the corvette Compass Rose from The Cruel Sea.
Trivia: The characters John Blackthorne and Toranaga are based upon two historical figures: Togukawa Ieyasu and William Adams, an Englishman who both became a samurai and a close advisor to Ieyasu in the 1600s.
Trivia: The film was to have run six hours with two intermissions, but it was cut down to four with one.
Trivia: Ava Gardner plays Empress Elizabeth, the mother of Archduke Rudolf (Omar Sharif). In real life, Gardner was only ten years older than Sharif.
Trivia: During filming, the relationship between Alec Guinness and David Lean deteriorated. The final straw came for Guinness when he realised that a large chunk of his scenes had been left on the cutting floor by Lean. After filming was complete, the two never met or spoke to each other again.
Trivia: When the screenwriter was pitching the film back in the 90's, reportedly at one meeting an executive suggested in all seriousness that Julia Roberts should play Harriet Tubman. When another person in the room mentioned that it wouldn't make any sense for the (very white) Roberts to play the role of Tubman, he responded "It was so long ago! Nobody would know the difference!"
Trivia: The Chinese extras cast in this film were almost all Spanish residents, especially in Madrid. This was done to such an extreme extent that some Chinese restaurants and other Chinese-Spanish-owned businesses in the Madrid area especially were forced to close for a few days due to lack of personnel.
Trivia: The reconstruction of the Roman Forum at Las Matas for this film holds the record for the largest outdoor film set ever constructed. The various ancient Rome settings covered 55 acres.
Trivia: In real life, Mary secretly married her second husband, William Stafford, while Anne was still Queen. Henry and Anne did not approve because Stafford had a low social rank and little money. Mary was banished from court, and her parents and uncle disowned her. Her final interaction with Anne was probably when Anne sent her a golden cup and some money, but still would not allow her at court. She was probably not present at the execution of Anne, like in this movie.
Trivia: Although Lionel Jeffries and John Fraser play father and son in this film, Jeffries was only five years older than Fraser.
Trivia: Christian Bale nearly played George W. Bush in the Oliver Stone-directed film W, but left the project because he didn't like the prosthetics he had to wear.
Trivia: Eddie is given a heartfelt pep talk by his idol Matti Nykänen, the Finnish ski jumper. Nykänen actually spoke no English at all.
Trivia: Although Adrian Brody was officially the star of "Hollywoodland," his character (private detective Louis Simo) was a completely fictional role in the movie. Virtually all of the other characters in the film are based on real people, but there never was a Louis Simo, and he's not based on any actual person (s). George Reeves' mother did hire an attorney and a detective agency in real life; however, "Hollywoodland" director Allen Coulter said that the character of Louis Simo wasn't even partially based on anyone in real life.
Trivia: Although the post script states Dora Block was killed in the raid, she had been taken to hospital a few days earlier and wasn't present. She was murdered by the Ugandan Secret Police in reprisal a few days after the raid.