John Schlesinger originally delivered the film at a length of around 165 minutes. He was forced to cut the film by approximately 25 minutes before the film's premiere engagement. The film stayed at this length and the 165-minute director's cut has never been seen. Among the victims of the cuts was Bill Nighy, whose character Tom was deleted.
The film is celebrated every year in August in one of its filming locations in Saddleworth, Lancashire, England, where people dress up in authentic WW2 uniforms and a parade of war vehicles and planes takes place.
The movie's opening image is of a war memorial which is actually located in the town centre of Stalybridge, Lancashire, England.
US actress Lisa Eichhorn, who studied in Oxford and trained in London, got her lead role after deceiving John Schlesinger about her nationality: "I've never lied about anything like that. I said I was British, and there was a pause, and then I said, well, half British... my mother was an American or some such thing, so that if he detected a tiny American accent there would be an explanation for it."