According to the DVD documentary, included in the final cut of the film is a scene where Al Pacino's character gets rudely bumped into on 5th Avenue while trying to court Ellen Barkin's character. According to director Harold Becker, this was an unscripted moment caused by a real New Yorker, and not an extra. Pacino incorporates the moment into his performance, and continues without missing a beat.
The apprehension of criminals by arranging a "Meet the Yankees" breakfast was based on an actual event.
Scenes with Lorraine Bracco as Pacino's ex-wife were filmed, but cut from the final product. They've been restored for television viewings of this movie.
Novelist Richard Price originally wrote the screenplay for Dustin Hoffman, but he wanted too many re-writes, so Al Pacino took over the role.
Diane Keaton, with whom Al Pacino was living at the time, found the script for Sea of Love (1989) and convinced him to do the film. Pacino was still hurting from the disaster of Revolution (1985) and wasn't sure he wanted to return to films. Keaton told him he wasn't an "A-List" actor anymore and people weren't beating his door down with movie offers, and that the script for Sea of Love was what he was meant to do. Pacino was also going broke and had tax problems having not made a movie for four years and from financing the filming and post production of his own film, The Local Stigmatic (1990), with much his own money, so he finally agreed to do the film and made a triumphant return.