In the documentary De Palma (2015), Brian De Palma recounts that Cliff Robertson would deliberately deliver poor performances and line readings when shooting reverse shots for Geneviève Bujold. He also insisted on dark tanning makeup, which made lighting him so difficult that at one point cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond shoved him against a wood wall and shouted "You! You are the same color as this wall!"
Composer Bernard Herrmann became infatuated with Geneviève Bujold after seeing her performance in an early cut of this film. Bujold's surprise visit to the soundtrack recording sessions in London in July 1975, the only time the two met in person, heightened those feelings. Herrmann's friend Charles Gerhardt recalled, "As she spoke to Benny in a heavy French accent I could tell he was about to get the hanky out. She told him of all the trouble she'd had with Cliff Robertson because he spent all his time in makeup and didn't make their love scenes meaningful. She said, 'Mr. Herrmann, he wouldn't make love to me - but you made love to me with your music'. And Benny started to cry. He would tell that story over and over at dinner, and start crying again every time". After Herrmann's death five months later, his widow found a photo of Bujold in his wallet.
Geneviève Bujold has no dialogue when playing Elizabeth Courtland, to cover her French accent. When playing Sandra, her accent is passable as Italian.
This is the second and final Brian De Palma film with music by Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann was slated to score "Carrie" (1976), but died before production started.
The church at the beginning of the film, Church of San Miniato, is different from the one Michael enters when he sees Sandra. The priests of the Church of San Miniato would not allow De Palma and his crew to film inside the church, because of a previous film crew that turned out to be making a porn film. The collegiate church in the town of San Gimignano was used for the interior shots.