Peshwar, Pakistan, actually was the site of many refugee camps and Afghan rebel support, and American intelligence operated out of nearby Islamabad, and the muhajadeen operated principally in the supposed "50 miles over the border." Especially considering the movie was filmed in Israel, the geographical shots are also pretty accurate, with only one problem: when Rambo says "across the valley is the border," across a plain with mountains in the distance, they are supposed to be escaping into Pakistan. There is only one spot where they could be, and it's right in the middle of the Khyber Pass, inaccessible to Russian tanks and armoured vehicles. The Russians would be riding on donkeys, not tanks. The only such place near the Afghan border that such a battle could take place would have Rambo and Trautman escaping into Iran.

On one scene where Rambo is walking side by side with Col. Troutman you can see the wound in Rambo's side that he cauterized with gunpowder. (this shortly after Troutman was rescued from the Russian prison camp) The wound is about 1" in diameter and goes all the way through him. In other words you can see the background scenery right through the wound. Weird. Also, towards the end of the movie where Rambo is crawling on the ground with a Molotov cocktail in his hand right before he throws it at the tank, he gets shot in the leg. Same visual effect. Again the wound is about 1" in diameter and the background scenery is visible straight through the wound. Both of these instances are in a blink of an eye so you may have to go frame by frame to see them. Sounds like the special effects guys simply couldn't resist having some fun with this.

This was the first film to show in over 2000 cinemas in America.