Trivia

Has one of the longest continuous sequences in cinematic history (at the time of release) at 7 mins 28 secs (the beach scene).

Roman Polanski claimed that he had such a hard time making the film - what with the inhospitable location, bad weather, constant quarrels with his actors and difficulties in communicating with his crew because of his then-poor grasp of English - that he considered giving up film-making altogether. However, he was pleased with the end result, which he called "an addition to the poetic language of the cinema".

Roman Polanski shot 16 takes of the scene in which Lionel Stander drinks a pint of milk.

Relationships between Roman Polanski and the cast and crew during filming were so fraught that Donald Pleasence was elected the head of a delegation who went to Polanski and told him to cut out his egocentric behaviour. Pleasence later said, "It had to be done. Polanski was the only prima donna on that film."

Jack Nicholson claimed in an interview in 2007 that this is his favorite film.