Taxi Zum Klo [VHS]

I first saw this movie when it was released in Germany, a looooong time ago, and I was just a tween... actually, this was my first exposure to homosexual intimacy... and it left a remarkable imprint on my mind: in essence, what I took away from this story was: Love is human, no matter what the configuration is. All human emotions are the same, no matter who loves whom. Relationships follow the same patterns, regardless of the gender configuration of the partners involved. Love and intimacy are beautiful, no matter who the people involved might be...I will never forget this story! It is honest to the max, no sugar coating, no excuses, no hiding!The director, Frank Ripploh, who made this movie to tell us about his own ordeal in real life, did a wonderful job of letting us into his life, and telling us his side of the story.However, if you are very tight-wound in matters of the body, and if you cannot accept that humans can have all kinds of love relationships, and that it is OK!!!, stay away from this movie, it will upset you!In St. Louis, about 20 years ago, only one rental place had one copy of it. This was a small company specializing in foreign movies only. I found out about it and went to rent it, in order to share it with my husband. I never got to rent it, because I was told one customer had taken it and refused to return it.Well, not for the reason I assumed (he loved it so much he did not want to part with it)...No, he had confiscated it because he considered it sinful and obscene, and took matters in his own hands to "protect the decent citizens" from "scum"!!! This just to show you how this movie churns up deep reactions in different folks!I am very happy that we now get to buy it here, and in DVD format, too! For the longest time, it was only available in VHS.So, if you have an open mind, if you believe in the human right to be whatever you want to be or are made to be by Mother Nature herself, this is a must-have addition to your collection!Maybe it is not as intense (but don't ask me, I am biased, lol) if you don't understand German (you'll have to read the dialog, which is always a little inconvenient, I think), but watch it more than once, and you'll be able to focus on the story better once you know what the dialog is).And, in the matter of German movies on Gaydom, here is one that I love just as much, but is very different in nature (a re-enacted documentary of a real life and still living person): The title: "Ich bin meine eigene Frau"("I am my own woman")... I am not sure if you can find it here, though... you can always try!

Frank Ripploh's largely autobiographical film takes two fairly schematic themes -- boy meets boy and all that that entails; and man deals with utter dislocation between job and private life -- and turns them into a fascinating look at a modern Germany that just as easily could be Taipei (think Ang Lee) or Rome (think Vittorio de Sica).Frank is an elementary school teacher by day, and a sexual adventurer any time he is NOT at school. On one of his forays into the demimonde, he meets Bernd (played by the very appealing Bernd Broaderup) and falls in love. What follows is fairly typical of any love story, but it is in the details that Ripploh takes his audience into another world. Frank's love story is punctuated by sexual escapades that would have horrified Jane Austen. Added to this, Frank must come to terms with the increasing tension between his respectable job and his not so respectable but very exciting sex life. How Frank resolves this tension is simultaneously amusing and horrifying.This film is not for prudes or the squeamish. The sex scenes are graphic and sometimes hard to watch. Also, it is obvious that the film was cheaply made, with gritty camera work and spotty sound quality. Still, the details draw the viewer in; you actually see how these people live (and where else do you see an old Karmann Ghia these days?). It is also eerie to see such lack of sexual restraint in a world on the brink of the HIV horror (Taxi zum Klo was released in 1981).I was fascinated with this film in 1981 and I remain so in 2003. The only reason I gave this movie 3 stars instead of 4 is that the subtitles have an annoying tendency to disappear into the scenery. A passing familiarity with German would help fill in some of the gaps in legibility, but you will probably need several viewings to get all the plot points.One comes away from this movie with feelings that only foreign films can provide. While Ripploh is no Kurosawa, de Sica, or Inagaki, he equals them in taking you to another world.

I'm amazed, after first seeing this almost 30 years ago, how fresh and relevant Ripploh's film really is. It's stood the test of time, and has now relegated itself to cult-classic status, though there are many things about the film that are admirable, most of all, Ripploh's self-depricating humor and honesty. When I first saw it, I thought it might be another "Pink Flamingos", loaded with sensationalist laffs and trashy humor. There is definitely humor, and most will think it trashy, but the honesty resonates. It's also a very upsetting film, regarding the trials of a very lonely gay man who doesn't really know how to love completely. The gay lifestyle is often bashed for such behavior, and Herr Ripploh makes no bones about his association to this idea. Gay life is not simple, often painful, paranoia and all.The first time I saw the film, I was admittedly shocked and surprised. This time, I was overwhelmed with the humor and free-spirited feeling that was being presented. The honesty is unabashed and courageous, and I give it 5 stars for it's sheer audacity.The film is not presented well, certainly not "preserved"; often grainy and unclear, and subtitles are quite difficult to read.It's fun to have this in my "eclectic" collection.This is a ground-breaker, not to be criticized for its subject matter; rather for it's profound introduction to the gay lifestyle. This 30th anniversary edition has some extras that are quite instructive, especially the clips about its winning the '81 Max Ophuls Award, and ensuing outrage. I just wish they would've taken more care to present it better. Admittedly, it's very low budget ($500K) so I suppose the prints weren't so good at the start...

It was a frank examination of the challenges confronting gay men in the 1970s and 1980s.

This film has to have five stars for its historical importance. I watched it in a cinema club in the early 1980s (and was unaware until seeing the extras on this that I was very lucky to have caught it before its long absence from the UK) and found it fascinating and disturbing then. Seeing it again I find it an extraordinary but also highly negative and depressing document. It shows a 'relationship' between a couple of gay men which is in effect little more than abuse of one by the other, thinly veiled in a kind of 'this is how it has to be' sort of way. I think we know better now, but in terms of accurately reflecting what life was like for some people at the time I think this is astonishingly accurate (I was never like either of these characters but knew many people who were). It's brilliantly and vividly made, a masterpiece and a depressingly accurate depiction of a dysfunctional relationship.

A period piece to be sure, but Taxi Zum Klo should not be forgotten. See some of the other Amazon reviews for a good decription of the plot, but the importance of this film in the (pre-AIDS) time it was released cannot be underestimated. Its a film about relationships, and whether one can settle down to monogamy with that one special person and give up playing the field, but from a gay angle rather than a straight one. As one of the commentators in the excellent brace of extras (nearly an hours worth) says, it was refreshing fo see a film in which the gay character wasnt unhappy or went on to kill themselves. Its authentic, moving and, at times, extremely graphic, which led to it originally being shown only in UK cinema clubs such as the ICA when it opened here in 1981. How nice then, thanks to Film4, to get the original version released on DVD. Sure, the continuity sucks at times (just follow the movements of the guys in the toilet early on in the film) and we are never really sure how long Frank's relationship with Bernt has gone on for as the film appears to have been shot in deepest winter, but its as raw and honest a piece of low-budget, autobiographical filmmaking as you will find.

A gay teacher is having a bad time with his partner and spends most of his nights looking for pick-ups in local lavatories as a result he looses his job as a teacher.This film was made on the eve of the AIDS scare and mostly shows a positive view of homosexual life.What is interesting in the `Extras` on the disc is the B.B.F.C. wanted to make various cuts but the U.K. distributors rejected this as it would spoil the content of the film, we now have want is called an uncut version at long last.Film and sound quality is excellent on this restored version considering the age of the film

Watch out as this film is very explicit. I like this however, as it facilitates the Raw feelings it invokes. I f it were cut in any way, it would not be worth it. The Characters are very "down to earth and their situation feels very "Working Man's Social Club". The dialect is, in some places, harsh and I love it, as it depicts German as it is spoken in every day use.I love the ambiance or, "stime", of Taxi Zum Klo, and would recommend it, to any one who is wanting an insight into harsh gay lifestyles.

Excellent experience. I am fully satisfied with the seller but I would like Amazon to improve their record on ethical issues such as staff management, tax contribution and environment-friendly conditioning. As a customer, I am ready to pay a bit more for that to happen.