The Saint

The poetry written by Simon Templar's long-haired artist character, Thomas Moore, was actually written by Val Kilmer.

The voice of the radio announcer at the end of this movie was Sir Roger Moore, who played The Saint (1962) on British television. The announcer mentions the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as one of the charities that have been given major donations. Moore was heavily involved with UNICEF.

Simon uses a Nokia 9000 Communicator cell phone. This phone was very cutting-edge when it was introduced in 1996, as it functioned as both a handheld phone and a clamshell pocket computer, complete with a mini-QWERTY keyboard, and several built-in apps.

While filming in Oxford, England, the producers had the Bodleian Library (the main library of The University of Oxford) closed to the public for several days. This caused much complaint in the University, as a large proportion of the students were studying for exams.

In the original version of this movie, Dr. Russell collapses while giving a lecture and dies in The Saint's arms. The Saint sees Tretiak, Jr. stabbing her in the leg with the tip of his cane. Thus the final half-hour has him set to destroy the villains' plans and avenge her death. With Dr. Botvin's help, he switches the formulas around and humiliates Tretiak during his show trial of the Russian President. The Saint battles Dr. Russell's killer on a stairwell as Russian tanks pound outside, exposing and setting fire to the vast stockpile of heating oil in the basement. With the stairwell disintegrating around them, the fight spills out on to the chandelier, suspended above the blazing oil. The Saint teases Tretiak, Jr. with the disc containing the formula for cold fusion. As he reaches out for it, The Saint cuts the rope and Tretiak, Jr. plummets to a fiery death. Returning to Dr. Russell's home, the Saint finds a letter from her, a tear fills his eye and he vows from now on to use his skills only for good. Test audiences didn't like the way Dr. Russell died three-quarters of the way into the movie. Footage from the original ending features prominently in the primary trailer. Director Phillip Noyce hopes one day to be able to restore the original version for a Director's Cut DVD.