: The film implies Bumpy Johnson orchestrated the murder of Dutch Schultz, but in reality, Schultz's death was ordered by a national crime syndicate after he threatened to assassinate special prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

: Despite being a period piece set in the 1930s, the film’s soundtrack features modern 1990s hip-hop and R&B artists like Mobb Deep , Rakim , Wu-Tang Clan , and Erykah Badu .

: Actor Andy García , who portrays Lucky Luciano, was allowed by a friend of the real Luciano to wear the mobster's actual pinkie ring for a scene. It is visible when his character gives a bribe to Thomas Dewey.

: This was the second time Laurence Fishburne played "Bumpy" Johnson; he first appeared as a version of the character (named "Bumpy Jackson") in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club .

: In close-ups of Lucky Luciano, García's right eye is partially closed. This mimics the real Luciano, whose eye was permanently damaged during a 1929 abduction.