First Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie featuring a top-billed renowned international star, which was Sir Dirk Bogarde.
This movie was dedicated to Antonin Artaud, Vincent van Gogh, and Unica Zürn. According to "Senses of Cinema", these were "each a romantic archetype of the artist as mad-person."
Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder once said of this movie: "Despair comes from the awareness that in everyone's life there comes a point where not only the mind, but the body, too, understands that it's over. I want to go on with my life, but there will be no new feelings or experiences for me. At this point, people start to rearrange their lives."