Charlton Heston inserted a small length of narrow clay piping in his nose to make it more resemble Michelangelo's broken one (Heston's nose actually had been broken years before, but he thought it insufficiently crooked for the role), but Rex Harrison steadfastly refused to grow a beard, even though the real-life Julius II had one during a short period of his papacy.

The mountain quarry to which Michelangelo flees after destroying his first ceiling-panel paintings was the actual Carrara, Massa-Carrara in Tuscany, source of marble for the real Michelangelo's sculptures and close by Michelangelo's home town.

Heston was asked in an interview, which of all the characters he'd portrayed would he like to have as a dinner guest. He said Michaelangelo, but acknowledged that, as the painter did in the film, Michaelangelo would certainly not show up.

The dark "paint" dripping into the mouth of Michelangelo as he lies on his back under the fresco was actually chocolate pudding.

Rex Harrison did not get along with Charlton Heston at all during filming, though not necessarily a bad thing for two actors playing antagonists. Twelve years later, while filming The Prince and the Pauper (1977), he avoided Heston completely.

In his 1995 autobiography "In the Arena" Charlton Heston denied that Michelangelo was a homosexual.

The film lost eight million dollars worldwide.

Irving Stone, the author of the book which this movie was based on, lived in Rome for about four years, traveling throughout Italy doing research, including periods working in quarries, even apprenticing to a sculptor.

Amazingly, the production came in under budget, at eight million dollars.

Because the production demanded that the Sistine Chapel be depicted in its earlier, rustic, incarnation, and then be filled with Michelangelo's scaffold, it obviously could not be used for filming, the structure was recreated on a sound stage at what was then called Dinocitta, the Rome studios of Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, who otherwise had no connection to the production.

Writer Irving Stone was able to gain access to some of Michelangelo's letters, which he had translated from Italian, and then had them published in 1962 as "I, Michelangelo, Sculptor".

The book on which this movie is based covers the entire life of Michaelangelo. This movie based on a single chapter. One of the shortest, if not the shortest, in the entire book.

The movie was originally supposed to have been filmed in 1961, starring Burt Lancaster, but production was delayed for three years.

Laurence Olivier was the studio's first choice to play Pope Julius, but was unavailable.

Adolfo Celi, who played Giovanni de Medici, was an Italian who spoke strongly accented English. His voice is dubbed by an uncredited English actor.

Pope Julius II was known as "The Warrior Pope" during his lifetime.

One of Michaelangelo's most celebrated sculptures is that of Prophet Moses. It was Charlton Heston's resemblance to that sculpture that persuaded director Cecil B. DeMille to overcome his initial reluctance to cast Heston as his cinematic Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956).

In his autobiography Rex Harrison admitted wearing lifts in the film so he would look more in line with Charlton Heston.

Though one might think that the first conversation Michaelangelo (Charlton Heston) has with Bramante (Harry Andrews), in which he discusses a large block of marble for the carving of his sculpture of Moses, is a sly reference to one of Heston's most famous roles, that of Moses, in The Ten Commandments (1956), it is, in fact historically correct for the period just before Michelangelo receives his commission to paint the Sistine ceiling, and appears in Irving Stone's book.

There is no on screen credit for any producer because, as the film's main title and advertising state, it was "A Carol Reed Production, meaning that the director also served as the film's producer (though, in fact, an uncredited "line producer" handled the film's day-to-day producing tasks).

Cardinal Giovanni de Medici succeeded to the papacy after the death of Julius II in 1513, becoming Pope Leo X, the first of four Medici popes.

Spencer Tracy was offered the role of Pope Julius.

Irving Stone was the recipient of several honorary awards from the Italian federal government and regional Italian authorities for cultural and literary achievements.

The final two minutes and forty seconds of the film's running time consists of the musical score over a black screen. This was a well known film convention, going back to the early days of sound, particularly for Fox (pre-20th Century-Fox) productions, but often mystifies modern day film enthusiasts who haven't done their homework.

Reputedly the favorite film of notorious British gangster Reggie Kray.

Alex North and Jerry Goldsmith co-wrote the film's score, but only North received screen credit and only North was subsequently Oscar-nominated for Best Score. Goldsmith wrote the music for the 12 1/2 minute documentary about Michelangelo's artwork that opens the film. The documentary was not included in the original roadshow presentation of the film.

Philip Dunne wrote the screenplay for this film in 1959, around the time the original book by Irving Stone was published. At one time, it was thought that Fred Zinnemann would direct and that Spencer Tracy would play Pope Julius II.

The on-screen title is actually "Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy," with 'The Agony and the Ectasy' in larger, more stylized typeface.

Average Shot Length = ~7.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~6.8 seconds.

In his published journals, Charlton Heston says that when he was first offered the role of Michelangelo, Fred Zinnemann was attached to direct.

The compact disc of this movie is available for purchase in the Vatican gift shop, alongside other Sistine Chapel mementos.