During the scene where Tony and Elvira are sitting in the Cadillac at the car dealership, Al Pacino surreptitiously slips on the hat that Michelle Pfeiffer was wearing while she was looking away, which was not scripted. When she turns back and sees him wearing it, her amused reaction was genuine and to her credit, she stayed in character and ad-libbed a line. Brian De Palma decided to keep that unscripted exchange in the movie to show Elvira's gradual warming up to Montana.
When director Brian De Palma submitted the film to the MPAA, they gave it an "X" rating. He then made some cuts and resubmitted it a second time; again the film was given an "X" rating (one of the reasons apparently being that Octavio the Clown was shot too many times). He yet again made some further cuts and submitted it a third time; yet again it was given an "X". De Palma refused to cut the film any further to qualify it for an R. He and producer Martin Bregman arranged a hearing with the MPAA. They brought in a panel of experts, including real narcotics officers, who stated that not only was the film an accurate portrayal of real life in the drug underworld, but ultimately it was an anti-drug film and should be widely seen. This convinced the arbitrators that the third submitted cut of the film deserved an "R rating" by a vote of 18-2. However, De Palma surmised that if the third cut of the film was judged an "R", then the very first cut should have been an "R" as well, to which the MPAA disagreed. However, since he believed the studio execs wouldn't know the differences between the different cuts that had been submitted, De Palma released the first cut of the film to cinemas anyway, confessing to the fact only after its home video release several months later.
Tony Montana uses "yeyo" as slang for cocaine. Al Pacino learned the word while learning the Cuban accent, and ad-libbed it during the chainsaw scene. Brian De Palma liked it enough to keep using it throughout the film.
Steven Bauer got his role without even auditioning. During the audition process, casting director Alixe Gordin saw Bauer and instantly noted that he was right for the role of Manny, a judgment with which both Brian De Palma and Martin Bregman agreed.
When El precio del poder (1983) was re-released in cinemas in 2003, the studio wanted Brian De Palma to change the soundtrack so that rap songs inspired by the film could be used. De Palma refused.