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It was totally insane. We didn't need any speed in those days. All we needed was a dose of Fassbinder. – Harry Baer

After the social-realist Katzelmacher, Fassbinder returned to both the gangster genre and what he called his self-referential "cinema films" with this sequel to (and variation on) Love Is Colder Than Death. For the leading role of hardboiled ex-con Franz, Fassbinder reteamed with Harry Baer, whom he had tracked down at his job at a coal mine in order to cast him previously in Katzelmacher. The alias Baer (German for "bear") was affectionately conferred upon him by Fassbinder himself ("A Zöttl will never be a star!" Fassbinder told him). Opposite Baer, Fassbinder cast Günther Kaufmann, who would become a regular fixture in Fassbinder's work and a deep obsession of his. The result is an exploration of the subtly homoerotic relationship between Franz and the Gorilla (Kaufmann), the criminal responsible for the death of Franz's brother. After being released from prison, Franz quickly finds himself pulled back into the Munich underworld, planning a supermarket heist with the Gorilla and leaving a trail of jilted lovers in his wake.

R18+ | Brief images of actual sexual activity