Was the second film to be Rated PG-13 under then new MPAA ratings guidelines following Red Dawn (1984), which had come out weeks prior to this film's release.
One of three movies to come out within a year of each dealing with dream manipulation and its potential consequences. The other two were Brainstorm (1983), released a year earlier, and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), released 3 months later.
Dennis Quaid was the first and only choice for Alex Gardner, after the producers loved his dedication for the role and the project during its pre-production stage.
Originally during the love scene involving Alex and Jane that takes place in the middle of the film there was supposed to be sexualized nudity in the scene, but it was deleted in order quality under the MPAA's new PG-13 rating guidelines which does not permit nudity that is sexualized. The nudity in the scene is featured in the European theatrical and video releases, but has never been included in American releases.
Originally the producers wanted Maurice Jarre to write the music for the film orchestrally, but Jarre insisted on scoring the film electronically because he felt that it was the right approach for the material and also sets the tone of the film.