Jeanne Dielman's obsessive and exacting ritualistic behavior was inspired by director Chantal Akerman's mother, Natalia Akerman.
Shooting the film took five weeks. It depicts the life of the main character, Jeanne Dielman, in real time, which director Chantal Akerman said "was the only way to shoot the film--to avoid cutting the action in a hundred pieces."
The film was shot with an almost all-female crew.
The soundtrack to this film is entirely diegetic (the source of every sound is visible, or occurs on screen).
During morning shopping on Day 2, passersby were not extras but townspeople. They would notice the camera and look briefly at it. In one instance, someone spun around to see who was behind them and what was being filmed (it was "Dielman").