Laura Dern had been cast as Andy Huben but pulled out due to having to swim in a parasite-filled river as part of the role. Daryl Hannah replaced her.
The town of Mae de Deus was constructed on a large piece of land owned by Pirelli. After filming, the set was distributed to the locals as firewood.
To study for his role as a Christian missionary, Aidan Quinn went undercover with the Wycliffe Bible Translator group in Belem, Brazil, passing himself off as a born again Christian from the American Midwest.
Producer Saul Zaentz first tried to make this film in 1965, only to find that MGM owned the rights. He kept trying to buy them every time there was an administrative change at MGM up until 1989 when new studio heads Jay Kanter and Alan Ladd Jr. decided that MGM would not be making the film. Zaentz still had to pay $1.4 million for the rights.