Richard Burton met with the real Josip Broz Tito, whom he greatly admired, and agreed to play him in a favorable light in this film.
All of Richard Burton's scenes were filmed in the summer and autumn of 1971, although he was required to film some additional scenes in January 1972.
Hardy Krüger filmed scenes but does not appear in the final cut. Richard Burton's diary (a hostile source, as Burton vocally disliked his German colleague) records Krüger's clashes with script doctor Wolf Mankowitz to enlarge his part, and a frustrated Mankowitz calling him "the Nazi Tab Hunter". Krüger had been drafted into the SS when he was 16, but after World War II was a dedicated anti-fascist.
Richard Burton's voice was dubbed by Serbian famous actor Petar Banicevic (Peter Banichevich)
Between his 2 marriages to Elizabeth Taylor, Burton was briefly engaged to Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia.