Wim Wenders originally wanted Peter Handke to collaborate on the script. Handke declined to work on the script as a whole but agreed to write a set number of important scenes which Wenders could then work around.
All of the black & white sequences were shot through a one-of-a-kind filter made from a stocking that belonged to cinematographer Henri Alekan's grandmother.
Circus Alekan is named after cinematographer Henri Alekan.
The scene where Otto Sander is shown riding a bus looking morose, with his head in his hands, was shot that way because the actor had developed a large bald spot on the day of shooting and makeup couldn't hide it.
The photograph on the cover of the book that the old man opens in the library is "Young farmers" taken by August Sander.
Filming the actual Berlin Wall was prohibited, so a replica of the wall twice had to be built close to the original. The first fake wall warped in the rain because the contractor cheated the producers and built it from wood.
During the scene in the Berlin Library, Damiel leans over a young man who reads: "Ha'Aretz haita tohu-va-vohu". This is the second verse of the book of Genesis in Biblical Hebrew, and basically means "the land was in chaos".
Director Cameo: [Wim Wenders] a film-crew member in the scene where Otto Sander observes a movie set.