The screenplay was obtained in January of 1973.
Production started on 22nd of July,1974.
Filming started on 29th of September,1974 and ended on the 14th of January, 1975.This motion picture was filmed in 41 days.
Romania's rich oil fields have been coveted by many including foreign oil corporations, Hitler's armies during world war two and the post-world war two Communist authorities.
Before the Communist takeover of Romania of 1947 it was common practice for Romanian locals living in oil rich regions of Romania to illegally dig for oil in their own backyards.