Franco Zeffirelli had been trying to film "La Dame aux Camelias" as a starring vehicle for Olivia Hussey but had trouble getting funding for it (she turned down multiple roles to keep herself available for it). While Hussey was away filming Lost Horizon (1973), he ended up casting Liza Minnelli, who had just won an Oscar for Cabaret (1972), but the project never materialized and was only relaunched in 1979 with Mauro Bolognini directing and producing it.
Italian censorship visa # 76237 delivered on 13 February 1981.