While shooting in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Michael Caine and crew members received death threats from Russian crime lords. Caine had to have two armed bodyguards with him at all times.
As Michael Caine was 61 at the time of filming, it was decided to make Harry Palmer a retired secret agent.
This movie was originally intended for a theatrical release, but allegedly it was not considered good enough, and therefore was released direct-to-video.
Although this movie is sometimes referred to as "Len Deighton's Bullet to Beijing", Deighton had no involvement in the production and, this movie was not based on one of his novels.
Michael Caine stated in his memoir that the making of this movie and the sequel, Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996), "was my worst professional experience ever" and that he decided to quit acting during the production. Jack Nicholson convinced Caine to come out of retirement to work on Blood and Wine (1996).