Remo - Unbewaffnet und gefährlich (1985) Online

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Fred Ward	-	Remo Williams
	Joel Grey	-	Chiun
	Wilford Brimley	-	Harold Smith
	J.A. Preston	-	Conn MacCleary
	George Coe	-	Gen. Scott Watson
	Charles Cioffi	-	George Grove
	Kate Mulgrew	-	Maj. Rayner Fleming
	Patrick Kilpatrick	-	Stone
	Michael Pataki	-	Jim Wilson
	Davenia McFadden	-	N.Y. Traffic Control Cop
	Cosie Costa	-	Pvt. Damico
	J.P. Romano	-	Boomer #1
	Joel Kramer	-	Boomer #2 (as Joel J. Kramer)
	Frank Ferrara	-	Boomer #3
	Marv Albert	-	Sports Announcer (voice)

Some of the actors who auditioned for the part of Remo Williams claimed to be proficient in the martial art of Sinanju, not realizing it was a fiction derived from "The Destroyer" novels on which the movie was based.

Although the Statue of Liberty was undergoing renovation in preparation for its centennial when the film was made, the filmmakers shot on and around the actual statue and its scaffolding as well as on a full-sized replica (from just below Liberty's book to the top of her torch) which was constructed in Mexico City. Because of weather and scheduling, the sequence required additional photography during the summer following the original mid-December (New York) and late-February (Mexico) shoots. Two different locations photographed during three separate time periods illustrates the value of storyboards and thorough pre-visualization.

Joel Grey was offered the role of Chiun several times before accepting it. He kept turning it down because he didn't think he was the right kind of actor for the part, and he had no previous martial arts experience (and received none once he was cast). What changed Grey's mind was a meeting with Carl Fullerton, the film's make-up artist. Grey said he would take the part if Fullerton could successfully make Grey look like an 80-year-old Korean. Fullerton gave it his best shot. He got an Oscar nomination for his work.

A TV pilot was made and aired, but never went to series. Jeffrey Meek was cast as Remo Williams and Roddy McDowall as Chiun. Craig Safan remained as the series composer.

The producers were hoping to create a James Bond-style franchise by adapting "The Destroyer" novels by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, and therefore hired Bond screenwriter Christopher Wood to pen the script. Bond director Guy Hamilton was hired to direct. Remo was considered a "blue-collar James Bond".

Bruce Willis, a young unknown at the time, was considered for the lead male title character role of Remo Williams, which in the end was cast with actor Fred Ward.

Even though Christopher Wood was credited with writing the screenplay, director Guy Hamilton admitted in an interview with American Cinematographer magazine that he rewrote the screenplay when he was hired to direct the picture. He also came up with the Statue of Liberty chase when he saw the statue undergoing renovation and realized the potential of the location.

The Destroyer name was not used in the title because Marvel Comics owns a character called the Mighty Destroyer.

Nominated in 1986 for an Academy Award, in the Best Makeup category for Carl Fullerton, but lost out to the Cher movie Mask (1985).

First of two "Remo Williams" movies with the second being made-for-television and first broadcast around three years after this picture [See: Remo Williams: The Prophecy (1988)].

Ed Harris was considered for the role of the title character of Remo Williams which in the end was cast with actor Fred Ward.

Charitable organizations to which George S. Grove has donated, according to his tax return in the movie: The Boy Scouts of America, Maryknoll Missions, The Campfire Girls, The Policeman's Benevolent Fund, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The movie was nominated in 1986 for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Golden Globe for Joel Grey, who had earlier won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe in the same category for Cabaret (1972), but lost out this time to Klaus Maria Brandauer for Out of Africa (1985).

The full name of the military facility was the "Mount Promise Proving Grounds United States Army Weapons Testing and Evaluation Command".

The fictional "AR-60" rifles are Steyr AUG bullpups with custom flash hiders.

The movie was inspired by the James Bond film franchise. The character of Major Rayner Fleming portrayed by actress Kate Mulgrew in the movie had the same "Fleming" last name as James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Moreover, the film's screenplay was penned by a Bond series screenwriter, Christopher Wood (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979)), and directed by a Bond film director, Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)). The writer and director however had never really worked on the actual same Bond movie at the same time except Hamilton though was the original movie director on The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) during its development / pre-production but left the picture.

The movie was considered to have been influenced by the Karate Kid film franchise due to the Asian fight mentor trainer character Chiun played by Joel Grey. The Karate Kid (1984), the first film in the Karate Kid series, had been a big hit the year before.

Remo's pleased reaction to Chiun calling him "my son," and responding in kind by calling him "little father," is based in part on an earlier scene that was cut from the film in which Remo calls Chiun "little father" for the first time, provoking a strong negative reaction from Chiun. At that point, Remo was still unaware that Chiun was contractually obligated to kill him if CURE were ever in danger of being exposed.