Trivia / Black Rain

• Actor-Inspired Element: The scene where Charlie sings on stage at the night-club with Masahiro was not in the script. Andy García conceived the scene to add extra emotional involvement to his character, before he is brutally murdered in the following scene.
• California Doubling: Because the production's work visa in Japan ran out, the climactic farm scenes were filmed in Napa Valley, California. According to Ridley Scott, the work visa complications came about due to Japanese bureaucracy. As a result of these experiences, Scott has refused to make any further films in Japan to date.
  • Three other scenes had to be shot in Los Angeles: the airport sequence, the nightclub, and Charlie's death scene.
• Foiler Footage: At the end of the movie Nick apprehends Sato, although there is a moment when he is torn between arresting and killing him. Ridley Scott also shot an alternative ending where Nick impales Sato on the spike.
• Hey, It's That Place!: Sugai's house was the Ennis-Brown House, which is situated at 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Feliz in Los Angeles, California. Ridley Scott had previously used the dwelling for Deckard's apartment complex in Blade Runner.
• In Memoriam: The film is dedicated to Japanese actor Yusaku Matsuda, who refused treatment for his bladder cancer to play Sato. He died just weeks after the film's North American premiere.
• Inspiration for the Work: Screenwriter Craig Boloting got the idea for the film while visiting a friend in Japan. While standing on a street corner, he saw big American cars pass by. His friend told him that they belonged to the Yakuza.
• Multiple Languages, Same Voice Actor: In the Japanese dub:
  • Guts Ishimatsu reprised his role as Katayama for the Fuji TV broadcast.
  • Shigeru Kamiyama voiced Ohashi for the home media release as well as the Fuji TV broadcast.
• Playing Against Type:
  • In Japanese cinema, Ken Takakura was well known for regularly playing Yakuzas, while Yûsaku Matsuda was well known for regularly playing detectives. Here, Takakura plays a cop and Matsuda plays a Yakuza.
  • Yuya Uchida, who plays Sato's Affably Evil right-hand man, was a pop crooner likened to a Japanese John Lennon.
• Release Date Change: Originally touted for an August 1989 theatrical release, Paramount pushed the release date back to early fall, on September 22, to avoid that year's crowded summer season.
• Swan Song: This was Yûsaku Matsuda's last film role. He knew he had bladder cancer and that his condition would be aggravated by acting in the movie, but he elected to do so anyway, unbeknownst to Ridley Scott, reportedly saying, "This way, I will live forever."
• What Could Have Been:
  • Paul Verhoeven was originally going to direct, but he dropped out in favour of Total Recall (1990).
  • Jeff Bridges, Kevin Costner, Willem Dafoe, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Rutger Hauer, Michael Keaton, Michael Nouri, Ron Perlman, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, Peter Weller and Bruce Willis were considered for Nick Conklin.
  • Jackie Chan was first approached to choreograph action scenes and play Koji Sato, but declined the role because he didn't think audiences would want to see him play a villain.

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