Filming was immensely problematic. Director Tony Richardson fired a stunt coordinator whose manic swordplay killed several horses. An earthquake destroyed the hotel used by the production. David Hemmings was extremely temperamental on-set. The crew and extras, many of whom were Turkish soldiers, fought verbally and physically with local villagers who resented their incursion into the area. Richardson's strange mixture of perfectionism and historical flippancy grated on both his crew and advisers. While filming the final battle, the soldiers were called away for a NATO war exercise, forcing Richardson to shoot the scene with only a few dozen stuntmen.
By the time production finished, this was one of the most expensive British movies ever, and its tumultuous production generated a great deal of press coverage, some of it unflattering. Tony Richardson's refusal to screen the movie for critics (a rarity in that time), and insulting them in print as "intellectual eunuchs", seemed likely to ensure a poor reception, but, in fact, a great many critics paid to see the film and wrote about it, often favorably. It is thought that Richardson was being deliberately provocative so that some critics would write approvingly of the film to show they were not influenced by his rudeness, and so that he could dismiss any bad reviews as "sour grapes". The drama critic Bernard Levin, an old enemy of Richardson's, wrote that, whilst it might normally seem gravely insulting to be called a 'eunuch', the remark, when coming from someone of Richardson's general demeanor and disposition, could "occasion no response stronger than a quizzically-raised eyebrow".
In his memoirs, Tony Richardson mentions approaching Sir Rex Harrison to play Lord Cardigan. However, a newspaper erroneously reported that George C. Scott was being cast in the role. This news infuriated Harrison and he dropped out of the project, leaving Trevor Howard to be cast.
To preserve authenticity, no male actors used make-up, and actresses only used make-up that was available during the mid 19th century.
Tony Richardson was a notoriously difficult director. At one point, he wanted the Guardsmen at the Battle of the Alma to wear blue tunics, which he thought would look better on-screen than the authentic scarlet. He only relented when John Mollo, his military and historical adviser, threatened to resign.