The background instrumental music in the movie is the same as the theme song from the movie Zulu (1964).
The first feature film shot on-location in post-Apartheid South Africa, after Nelson Mandela was elected President in 1994. Composer John Barry dedicated the score to Mandela in the end credits.
Richard Harris was also happy to be a part of Os Deserdados (1995). "I think the script was absolutely wonderful," he said during filming. "It was one of the most beautiful scripts I'd ever read. And the part, though not an enormous part, it was a key part, and I thought it would have to be played well for the picture to work." In a 1996 interview Harris added, "When I found out James Earl Jones was going to be in the movie, I was pleased. I can see no one else in the world who could play the role of Stephen Kumalo. He is so saintly and dignified...What we did with Cry was play alongside a fantastic cast, work with a gifted director, from a magnificent script. What more could an actor ask for?"
Absalom's name is an allusion to Absalom, wayward son of the Biblical King David.