The period of principal photography on this picture was a production shoot in the American fall season of 1983 in New York City that ran for about twenty nights over four weeks in October that year.
Amos Poe used to hate the score mainly because Nile Rodgers was hired on the film before Poe himself knew there was a film going on. At first he thought his music was not right, but he changed his mind in the following years.
Director Amos Poe had in mind a different ending which he was not allowed to shoot because it was deemed too "political" by the producers.
Project was originally supposed to be black and white because director Amos Poe's favorite film at the time was The Battle of Algiers (1966), so he wanted to make "The Battle of Algiers (1966) in the Lower East Side". The producers did not agree.
Star Johnny (Vincent Spano) took the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Daytona 500 for a joy-ride during a break in filming and got pulled over by the police.