Trivia
The desert scene in the opening credits uses the same stock footage of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona as Back to the Future Part III and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold.
Share this
Jump to:
Director Trademark (2)
To add authenticity, MGM bought some genuine WWII-vintage radios from Samuel M. Hevener, a collector from Ohio.
Share this
Naval Air Weapons Station, Point Mugu, was used to film the Camp Tarawa portion of the film, the Marines pre-battle embarkation point.
Share this
Weapons coordinator Robert 'Rock' Galotti amassed over 500 vintage WWII era firing weapons and 700 rubber replica weapons for the film from private collectors and prop houses. Also featured moving across battlefields are vintage Sherman tanks, their smaller Stuart brethren, and Japanese Hago tanks.
Share this
Originally slated for a fall 2001 release, but pushed back several months following the terrorist attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001.
Share this
When the film release was pushed back, many of the posters/cutouts/promotional items/etc. sent to theatres were recalled. As such, they have become collector items and fetch huge prices on auction sites like eBay.
Share this
Steve J. Termath was originally cast for the role of Pvt. Nellie. However, the role went to Martin Henderson when Termath took a brief hiatus from acting for actual military service, enlisting in the US Army Reserves.
Share this
Prior to filming, most of the principal cast joined a core group of 62 extras for boot camp, where they endured a week of rigorous military training as WWII Marines. The production received assistance from the Department of Defense, which made Kaneohe Marine Corps Base available for the actor's basic training. Under the tutelage of Sgt. Maj. James D. Dever (a retired 25-year veteran of the Marine Corps) and his active-duty Marine instructors, the cast learned how to walk, talk and think like Marines.
Share this
George Smith, one of the Navajo code talkers who helped the U.S. military outfox the Japanese during World War II by sending messages in their obscure language, has died, the president of the Navajo Nation said on 2 November 2012.
Share this
