The normally overweight Rainer Werner Fassbinder dieted strenuously to lose weight in order to play the role of Fox, which included a full-frontal nude scene.
Inspired by the films of Douglas Sirk. Sirk had this to say of Fassbinder: "There is a certain kind of artist--the reckless genius. He just shrugs all setbacks off, he is so ultimately convinced that he is bound to succeed. Now Fassbinder has that. I'm not necessarily saying he's a genius--but I personally think he is--but he has that kind of confidence in his own talent. And in Germany, he needs it."
Numbered, on the initial credits, as "Tango Film Produktion fünf ein halb", that is: "Tango film production five and a half".
This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #851.