Trivia / The Mission

• Breakaway Pop Hit: While describing it as "pop" feels almost sacrilegious, Ennio Morricone's score for this film has become so iconic that it has rung in people's ears decades after the film has been largely forgotten.
• California Doubling: Colombia doubled for the colonial province of La Plata in some parts of the film.
• Creator's Favorite Episode: This was Ennio Morricone's favorite among his own movie scores.
• Fake Nationality: The Guarani featured in the movie are Waunana people from Colombia.
• Self-Adaptation: The screenplay is based on a novel by Bolt which was first published in 1986, shortly before the movie came out. Or vice versa, the novel may be a much expanded version of the screenplay, if they were being gestated at the same time.
• Troubled Production:
  • Moving the equipment around the unsteady terrain of the Iguazú Falls was no easy feat.
  • Most of the crew contracted dysentery from not eating well.
  • They were at the mercy of the elements, so they often had to contend with floods, heavy rain and high temperatures.
  • The places they filmed in in Colombia happened to be drug cartel territory, which led to frequent confrontation with drug dealers.
• Uncredited Role: According to a 2016 interview with AV Club, Fred Melamed dubbed the voice of Cabeza — originally portrayed by Chuck Low —. Melamed states that he was going to be the villain in the film but they didn't specify that it was going to be recorded as a voice over until the last minute. When he sees the film every time, he thinks that his voice work "hurts the film" and that he wishes he could "redo it".
• What Could Have Been:
  • Dirk Bogarde was offered the role of Gabriel.
  • Roland Joffe wanted to cast real Guarani people as the Guarani community in the movie, but they lived in such poor conditions there was really no way to employ them in a movie. That's why he instead opted for the Waunana, a community in Colombia of around 300 people.

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