Yûsaku Matsuda's last film role. Matsuda knew he had bladder cancer and that his condition would be aggravated by acting in the movie. He elected to do so anyway, unbeknownst to director Sir Ridley Scott, reportedly saying, "This way, I will live forever." On November 6, 1989, less than seven weeks after the film's American premiere, Matsudo died of his bladder cancer at the age of 40. The film is dedicated to his memory.
When the crew ran even a few minutes over their allotted filming time at any given location in Japan, not only were they told to leave, a man physically walked in front of the camera and forbade them from continuing filming.
In Japanese cinema, Ken Takakura was well known for regularly playing Yakuza gangsters, while Yûsaku Matsuda was well known for regularly playing detectives. In Black Rain (1989) though, Takakura plays a cop and Matsuda plays a Yakuza.
The winery where the final battle takes place is not in Japan, but in Napa County, California. The filmmakers' visa had run out, so final filming was shifted to the United States.
The plot of Black Rain was originally supposed to be the plot for Beverly Hills Cop II.