Michael Chrichton gave up studying English at Harvard University, having become disillusioned with the teaching standards--the final straw came when he submitted an essay by George Orwell that was given a "B-." After giving up English and spending a year in Europe, Michael returned to Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Havard Medical School to train as a doctor. Several times, he was persuaded not to quit the course but did so after qualifying in 1969.
During his medical-student days, he wrote novels secretly mainly under the pseudonym of John Lange in reference to his almost 6ft 9 height. (Lange in German means long) One novel, "A Case of Need," written under the pseudonym Jeffery Hudson, (Sir Jeffrey Hudson was a famous 17th century dwarf) contained references to people at Harvard Medical School, but he couldn't hide his identity when the novel won an award that had to be collected in person. After giving up medicine, Michael moved to Hollywood, California, in the early 1970s and began directing movies based on his books, his first big break being "Westworld" (1973).
Crichton became inspired to write this film after a trip to Disneyland, where he saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and was impressed by the animatronic characters. Furthermore, the ride is mentioned in Chrichton's "Jurassic Park" (1993), when Malcolm says "When the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists," unlike what happens in this film.
The first use of computer digitized images as part of a feature film (not merely monitor graphics) was the Gunslinger's point of view in this film. After the process was finally developed enough to produce satisfactory results, it took eight hours to produce each ten seconds of footage for the Gunslinger's pixelated POV.
Yul Brynner was suffering from financial difficulties by the early 1970s and in desperate need of money. With no other movie work on offer to him at the time he reluctantly agreed to play his role as the Gunslinger in this film for $75,000. Director John Carpenter based the "indestructable" nature of his killer Michael Myers in "Halloween" (1978) on Brynner's character. Similarly, Arnold Schwarzenegger used Brynner's performance as the basis of his performance in "The Terminator" (1984). (IMDb)