The director claims he based the movie on a situation which happened to him as a youth.
When the film came out, 40% of Israel's population went to see it.
The movie's huge success in Germany was the main reason for shooting the sequels. It also became a box office success in Japan.
Some including cameraman Adam Greenberg claim that producers Globus and Golam were basically broke after completing the movie and only its huge success kept them in business making it possible for them to found "Canon Films" in the U.S. However, Yoram Globus has stated that this wasn't true.
It's commonly believed that the movie is set in the 1950s. Although in the movie never is mentioned the year in which is set, and actually is irrelevant, photos of Cleopatra (1963) in the wall of Benzi's room make that is set at least in 1963.