After the arrival at the airport in Rome and inside the terminal, the speaker announces the arrival of Scandinavian Airlines flight SK681 from Moscow and Copenhagen. SK681 still operates from Copenhagen in 2011, leaving at 11:15 and arriving at 13:50.
Alex North reused the opening fanfare he wrote for 2001: A Space Odyssey but which had been rejected by Stanley Kubrick, as one of the main themes in his score.
Although it is never mentioned or indicated at any point in the film, the story is actually set 20 years in the future.
Despite being listed in the main credits of the film George Pravda is nowhere to be seen.
In the scene where Pope Kiril prays over the body of the Jewish man, he recites the Shema. However, rather than say "Adonai", he says, "Hashem." This is because "Adonai" is traditionally only said when one is actually at prayer, and not simply reciting a prayer in a secular context, as in during a performance (specifically, in a movie).
Reference is made to Kiril being the first non-Italian pope to be elected since Adrian VI 400 years earlier. In real life, this happened 10 years after this film was released with the election of Pope John Paul II.
The coronation tiara worn by the new pope in this movie, is actually a copy of the actual coronation tiara worn by Pope Paul VI.
The footage showing the arrival of the Cardinals and the crowds gathering in St. Peter's Square is taken from news reels and other archive films that documented the events between the death of Pope John XXIII and the election of Pope Paul VI in 1963.
The plane shown on arrival at the airport in Rome is a DC 8-33, named "Rurik Viking", registration SE-DBA, that was operated by Scandinavian Airlines from May 1960 until April 1970.