Although he is wears an AIF uniform, Colonel Robinson is often mistaken for an Englishman because he has a clipped Anglo-Australian accent, typical of the time.
Producers advertised for 400 skilled male horse riders for the movie, but only 200 turned up for shooting. The other 200 horse riders in the movie were women dressed to look like men.
Due to the popularity of the Gallipoli battlefields as a tourist destination, this film is shown nightly in several hostels and hotels in several towns on the peninsula.
Director Peter Weir was inspired to make the film after visiting a World War I battle site. Originally, he and screenwriter David Williamson planned to encompass the entire Gallipoli campaign from all sides, but instead opted to focus on one small group of characters who would be able to humanize the whole tragedy.
Introducing his song "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", Australian singer and songwriter Eric Bogle mentioned that while the battle was at its worst, Australia was considering adopting conscription to meet manpower needs. There was a vote, and the plan was rejected. Soldiers were allowed to vote, and, although it would possibly have reduced their own load and risks, the soldiers at Gallipoli rejected the plan by double the margin of the civilian vote. MB: the conscription question came later in the war, not during the Gallipoli campaign.
David Williamson: The screenwriter is the tall, dark-haired football player who gets tackled hard when the soldiers play football in Egypt.