Trivia / Gorky Park

• California Doubling:
  • Helsinki stood in for Moscow in the movie, due to similar architecture. Finns weren't exactly happy about it.
  • The interiors of the Kremlin were shot at the Glasgow City Chambers.
  • The bathhouse was a health club (partially owned by ABBA) in Stockholm.
• Fake Russian: Only a single cast member (Anatoli Davydov) is actually Russian.
• Hostility on the Set: Lee Marvin was so disgusted with William Hurt's drunkenness at one point that he punched him out in front of the entire crew.
• Star-Making Role: Joanna Pacuła first gained prominence through her work with the Warsaw Dramatic Theatre, but it was her role as Irina that gained her international attention.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Lindsay Anderson was offered to direct, but turned the job down due to disliking the script.
  • Burt Lancaster was due to appear in the film in the part of Jack Osborne but had to withdraw due to illness and the role was cast with Lee Marvin.
  • Patrick Stewart auditioned for the role of Pascha.
  • Producer Hawk Koch attempted to acquire filming permits to shoot in Moscow, traveling to the city on a tourist visa and visiting the real Gorky Park, but his efforts were quickly shot down by local authorities. The Russian government had taken offense to the source material, claiming that no crime of the nature depicted in the book and film would ever take place on Russian soil. Director Michael Apted claimed this hurt the film, since he had wanted to make a big deal of shooting in such unusual locations.

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