Donald Sutherland had previously portrayed Dr. Norman Bethune in "Bethune" (1977).
Writer Ted Allan first attempted to sell this movie to Twentieth Century Fox in 1942.
The poem Bethune recites to his wife ("Buffalo Bill's defunct") is by e.e. cummings.
First major co-venture between Canada and China.
Star Donald Sutherland and Writer Ted Allan locked heads during filming over the interpretation of Dr. Bethune's legacy.