According to producer Irwin Winkler, this movie was the main factor in his decision to invite director Philip Kaufman to direct Os Eleitos: Onde o Futuro Começa (1983). Portions of Henry Mancini's score for this film can be heard in the later film.
Henry Mancini was very proud of his music for this film and sometimes said he thought it might be his best score.
Although the opening sequence states, "This story is based on true accounts and was filmed entirely where it happened - on Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada in the Arctic Archipelago", the screenplay is from a work of fiction by novelist James Houston.