José Ferrer found himself the object of a practical joke while making this film. Dustin Hoffman visited the set while made up as Dorothy Michaels in the film Tootsie (1982), and proceeded to make sexual advances on Ferrer, who politely refused--but was completely unaware that Hoffman was not in fact a woman.
Woody Allen has said of this film's setting and characters: "I thought it would be fun to get some people in a country house and just celebrate summer make it very beautiful, with butterfly nets and badminton courts and picnicking".
Woody Allen wrote the role of Ariel for Diane Keaton, but she couldn't take the part because she was busy promoting her film Reds (1981) and preparing for Alan Parker's Shoot the Moon (1982).
First of thirteen cinema movie collaborations of actress Mia Farrow and actor-writer-director Woody Allen.
The film features a score predominantly utilizing pieces of music from classical composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn's music was also used in Max Reinhardt's version of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).