Count Laszlo de Almásy was based on a real man. Although most of the movie is highly fictionalized, Almásy did assist the Germans during the war, helping them across the dangerous Sahara desert. However even the love story is complete fiction. In real life, Almásy was actually homosexual, and in love with a male German soldier.
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The Cave of Swimmers is also a real place. When he discovered it in 1926, Almásy speculated that the region used to have an abundance of water, hence the art of "swimmers" on the cave walls.
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"It sucks." "I hate it!" "It's too long." "Quit telling your stupid story, about the stupid desert, and just die already! Die!" These aren't snippets of reviews from movie critics, but various outbursts by Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis Dreyfus, on Seinfeld)who would rather starve to death in a cave herself than have to watch this movie again. Seinfeld centered its 151st episode around this movie in 1997.
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