Anthony LaPaglia had to work with a dialect coach to regain his native Australian accent. He had lost it from years of working on American movies.
The first film to win all of the top six categories of the Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards: best picture, best director, best actress, best actor, best supporting actress, best supporting actor. It also won for best adapted screenplay. This record remained unbroken until all 13 AFI categories were swept by Le saut périlleux (2004).
Glenn Robbins was considered for the lead role of Detective Leon Zat, but Anthony LaPaglia was eventually cast. Robbins was then cast as the role of Pete O'May.