Sidney Lumet used three wide-angle lenses: a 24mm, a 21mm, and an 18mm. He deliberately wanted distortion in the faces, even the close-ups.
In Sidney Lumet's autobiography "Making Movies", the director recalled suffering through the horrendous heat of the location and asking Sean Connery if he was urinating at all, to which Connery's reply was "Only in the morning".
In Robert Kahn's book, The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Cinema's Hidden Gems, and in the 3 August 2001 New York Times article, "Watching Movies With: Woody Allen," Allen said he regarded Sidney Lumet's "The Hill", along with "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "White Heat", "The Informer", "Double Indemnity", and "Shane", as being among the best American movies.