One of Raul Julia's final performances. For his role as Chico Mendes, he earned several posthumous awards (including Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG).
Robert Redford, a major environmentalist, tried to interest Steven Spielberg in directing this when it was first envisioned as a major theatrical release.
Tony Plana and Tomas Milian previously appeared in JFK (1991) and Havana (1990). The latter film has a supporting role by Raul Julia.
When this was set up at WB as a major prestige project, David Puttnam wanted Andy Garcia to play the lead.