George Sluizer offered the lead role to Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine and Ellen Burstyn, but all of them were afraid the lesbian aspects of the role might do harm to their careers. The part went to Bibi Andersson.
Some years earlier, producer Matthijs van Heijningen attempted to adapt Harry Mulisch' 1975 novel into a film starring Glenda Jackson and Sylvia Kristel and directed by Frans Weisz
Director George Sluizer insisted on shooting the film in English, aiming for an international release. Thys Ockersen oversaw the dubbing of the film into Dutch, but this version has never been shown. Dutch theater owners were allowed to choose which version they would put into theaters and none of them picked the dubbed version.
Anthony Perkins's first explicit nude lovemaking scene, with nubile model turned actress Sandra Dumas, wasn't easy. "Just baring his shoulders was dangerous for him because he was rather skinny and looked bony," director Sluizer recalled. "Americans are very body conscious. His T-shirts were reinforced, he had pads under them." Adding to Perkins's panic was the fact that the shapely Dumas was anxious to get the scene over with. Too young to be awed by his past career, she embarrassed him in front of the entire company, impatiently urging him on.
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