Olivia D'Abo said in an interview in 1986 that she matured physically at age 13, a year before making this movie. In fact she said director John Derek thought she had breast implants until she took her clothes off on set the first time and he saw her breasts were natural.
This film was the final nail in the coffin of The Cannon Group, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer deal that saw MGM distribute all of Cannon's films in the U.S.
Rather than allow the film to be released with an X-rating, John Derek chose to release the film unrated instead. According to Wikipedia, "Bolero (1984) was released with no MPAA rating. Its nudity and sexual content disqualified it from an R rating. At the time of release, the NC-17 rating had not yet been established and the only higher rating being X, John Derek decided to release the film unrated." In December 1984, the film was rated "R" uncut.
It was widely rumored in the media at the time of the film's release that the final love scene wasn't simulated.