1. The movie was originally to be called Eaters of the Dead, which is the name of the novel it was based on. The title was changed when author Michael Crichton had a conversation with a neighbor who said the title was too scary. 2. The original cut of the movie from John McTiernan was 127 minutes long but did poor in test screenings. Author Michael Crichton did a bunch of reshoots uncredited and cut the film down to 102 minutes. 3. The original cut of the movie was scored by composer Graeme Revell with over an hour of score but when Crichton took over directing duties he replaced the score with one by Jerry Goldsmith 4. The movie is known as one of the biggest flops in film history. Reshoots and marketing cost the production over $160 million and only earned $61 million worldwide. Over time however, it has gained a cult following. 5. Actor Omar Sharif temporarily quit acting due to this movie. He is quoted saying "After my small role in The 13th Warrior, I said to myself, 'Let us stop this nonsense, these meal tickets that we do because it pays well.' I thought, 'Unless I find a stupendous film that I love and that makes me want to leave home to do, I will stop.”