Tobin Bell lay on the bathroom floor, perfectly still, for six days. He was not replaced with a dummy because the filmmakers could not afford one.
(51 votes)
2
Leigh Whannell mentions in the DVD commentary that the scene were his character plunges his hand down a filthy toilet is a tribute to Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996).
(39 votes)
3
The MPAA originally rated the film NC-17, due to the film's tone which director James Wan had to remove some content to secure an R rating.
Director James Wan took a gamble and took no "up front" salary for the movie and opted for a percentage instead.
(37 votes)
4
Shot in 18 days.
All of the bathroom scenes were shot in six days.
Film's pre-production was only five days.
The actors had absolutely no rehearsals. The rehearsal takes were actual footage for the film.
Film was shot and cut at the same time.
Originally intended for a straight-to-video release. After positive screenings, it was given the nod to become a premier movie.
(40 votes)
5
The sequel Saw 2 (2005) was approved for production the weekend this film opened.
(16 votes)
6
Shots cut in the R-rated version, according to director James Wan and screen-writer/actor Leigh Whannell, included ones of Amanda sifting through the intestines, the fat guy struggle through the barb wire just to shorten the scene, and some forensic ones. The color was made more even and the sound was altered because the MPAA had problems with the tone of the original cut shown in Sundance.
The "guts" that Shawnee Smith's character searches through were pig uterus.
7
The detectives track down a fire alarm to a warehouse in "Stygian Street". "Stygian" is the name of director James Wan's first film, which also stars "Saw" co-writer/actor Leigh Whannell.
8
The car chase was filmed in the garage of the warehouse by turning off the lights, adding some fog, and shaking the cars while filming from the front.
9
In the demo DVD James Wan and Leigh Whannell made to present to Hollywood produces, the bear trap was made by their industrial designer friend. To make it rusted, he placed it in salted water and left it on his roof for a week. Whannell, who acted in the demo scene, had to put the rust trap in his mouth with all the rust. In the movie, the trap worn by Amanda was professionally made with rust painted on.
The demo scene James Wan and Leigh Whannell shot to present to Hollywood producers was the "reverse bear trap" scene, with Leigh in Shawnee Smith's place. The trap used in the demo scene was made by Wan's industrial designer friend and would have actually been functional and able to tear a person's jaw off if manipulated correctly
10
James Wan cast several of the actors based on their voices. No distortion effects were used for the voice of the Jigsaw killer on the video and audio tapes.
11
The scene in which Gordon turns off the lights and whispers to Adam was written differently in the script. The characters were to cut open opposite ends of a long pipe with their hacksaws and speak through it. This sequence was actually shot, but later cut because director James Wan decided that the characters being able to cut through a pipe made no sense if they couldn't cut through their chains.
12
The whole film was essentially shot in one location, a converted warehouse, where the bathroom set was built. All the other locations were made from existing rooms and dressed them.
Principal photography was done in a converted warehouse. The bathroom set was built while the other locations were existing rooms redecorated.
13
IN THEATRES: OCTOBER 29, 2004
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