Ellen Burstyn's Oscar was delivered to her in a liquor box by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau at the stage door of the Broadway theater where she was working. She asked Matthau what an Oscar really meant, and he told her, "Let's put it this way, Ellen. When you die, the newspapers will say, 'The Academy Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn died today.'"
Hot off her success with The Exorcist (1973), the studio granted Ellen Burstyn total creative control over this project. She had two goals: to make a movie about woman with real-life problems, and to secure an up-and-coming filmmaker as the director. Upon selecting the script, Brian De Palma brought Francis Ford Coppola to Burstyn's attention, who suggested she consider Martin Scorsese. While impressed with Scorsese's talent after viewing Mean Streets (1973), Burstyn still hesitated to hire the director, fearing he could only direct men. When she asked Scorsese what he knew about women, Scorsese replied, "Nothing, but I'd like to learn." Satisfied with his enthusiasm, Burstyn immediately hired Scorsese.
According to Martin Scorsese, the shot of Alice and Tommy walking off together with a big sign saying "Monterey" ahead of them was not planned. It was only when cinematographer Kent L. Wakeford alerted him that it was in the shot that Scorsese became aware of it and very excited by it, instructing Wakeford not to crop it out of the frame.
Ellen Burstyn said she was not prepared for how frightening Harvey Keitel became in the scene where Ben threatens his wife and Alice. "I had a meltdown after shooting and cried for an hour", she said. Martin Scorsese, even as well as he knew Keitel, said the actor terrified him from the moment he began his very intense and rather demonic preparations for the scene.
Martin Scorsese: At roughly 73 minutes into the film, just as Kris Kristofferson is entering the diner, sitting at a table in the rear.