When Donald Wodds goes to tell Steve Biko that he is to be criminally prosecuted for withholding the witness name, he founds him playing rugby with his friends. During apartheid period, rugby was considered primarily a "white" sport, soccer being the one played by the Black majority. So there is no way a black person would play, take part, watch or attend a rugby match at the time the action takes place (late '70s).
When the Woods family are on the beach planning their getaway (supposedly the beach close to East London, South Africa) the "sea" has vegetation growing out of it (trees, branches etc.). No filming could take place in South Africa at the time, so this scene was filmed at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe.
An extra that played a heavily wounded protester (shot in the back during the revolts) in Soweto jumped out of his lying position in a lively fashion when other extras (that were supposed to carry him off) started lifting him off the ground.
During the opening sequence, actual photos from the contemporary ghetto, and a few of actual police action in the ghettos, are shown interspersed with recreations for the film. While very accurate, there are a number of small inconsistencies that reveal the disparity.
Most notable are newspaper clippings and posters on walls behind characters (such as the clipping behind the studying girl) which are similar though clearly different, and the police vehicles; the mine-protected vehicles in the stills were not available outside South Africa at the time of filming, so are replaced with Land Rovers and cargo trucks.
Most notable are newspaper clippings and posters on walls behind characters (such as the clipping behind the studying girl) which are similar though clearly different, and the police vehicles; the mine-protected vehicles in the stills were not available outside South Africa at the time of filming, so are replaced with Land Rovers and cargo trucks.
When dressed as a priest, Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is wearing a wedding ring.
Tires screeching on dusty dirt road.
When Steve rings the doorbell of Donald's house (59 minutes in) it does the two-tone "ding-dong" chime, however above the front door is a single-gong doorbell.
Although the film is set in South Africa, circa 1977, one of the buses arriving at Steve Biko's funeral plainly bears advertising for Charon's - a Zimbabwean brand of sweets not known in South Africa.
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