Despite dubious advertising claims at the time, the film is not, and never was, hard-core.
Sylvester Stallone has previously said in interviews that he did this film out of desperation after being kicked out of his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days, sleeping in a New York City bus station in the middle of winter. In Stallone's words: "It was either do that movie or rob someone because I was at the end - at the very end - of my rope. Instead of doing something desperate, I worked two days for $200 and got myself out of the bus station". The actor also called the film "horrendous" and commented "By today's standards, the movie would almost qualify for a PG rating".
According to Sylvester Stallone, the film was financed by "a group of wealthy lawyers, very, very solid". He has stated that the film's owners later (during his post-Rocky fame) asked him for about $100,000 in exchange for the film not to be released, but the actor "wouldn't buy it for two bucks".
The film was distributed to movie theaters for $10,000 a night, about which Sylvester Stallone commented "Hell, for $10,000 forget the movie! I'll be there myself!"