The idea behind making the film actually came about when Lawrence Bender was scouting locations for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). Bender found a great bank in downtown Los Angeles and informed Tarantino, who said that although the location was no good for Dogs, it would be good for a film set in a bank. Bender called every screenwriter he knew, asking if they had any scripts set in a bank. Roger Avary lied and said he did, then furiously wrote the first draft in under two weeks
Tom Savini did the makeup effects as a favor to Roger Avary. The burn effects on the bank guard done using only Vaseline, paint, and toilet paper.
Although the film's set is suposed to be Paris, it was entirely shot in L.A. The crew just shot the first and the final road sequences in the city of Paris.
The animated musical notes were drawn by an old Looney Tunes artist.
The stunt men who performed all the falls and punches during the climactic fight were instructed to perform "very sloppy." The director didn't want Hollywood-style, choreographed, smooth fighting. "Real fights," he explained, "aren't blocked. They're goofy and ugly and people do as much damage to themselves as their opponent."