One of the films that Diego Montes is masturbating to in the Opening Sequence is Mario Bava's Six femmes pour l'assassin (1964).
The film that Maria and Diego stand watching at the cinema is King Vidor's Duel au soleil (1946), an equal lurid tale of wayward passion.
Pedro Almodóvar said the opening sex scene between Assumpta Serna and Jesús Ruyman was unsimulated. In Serna's biography by Nuria Vidal, the actress recalled that at the end of the sequence, Almodovar came to her side and said, "Thank you for your generosity."
First film in Pedro Almodóvar's career that tackles the world of bullfighting (the second being Parle avec elle (2002), although to a lesser degree).