The first Ingmar Bergman film to be made on the island of Fårö. Bergman would later buy a home on the island.
This film won Sweden its second consecutive Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The previous winner had also been directed by Ingmar Bergman, Die Jungfrauenquelle (1960). Also, this is one of the very few movies to receive nominations for Oscar in two different years - in 1962 when it actually took the Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and in 1963 when it was nominated in the category for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen.
Ingmar Bergman claimed the inspiration for the character of Karin was a woman he had lived with when he was younger. He reported she heard voices telling her to do things.
Only four people appear on screen throughout the entirety of the film.
The title is derived from a passage by Paul in The First Epistle to the Corinthians.