Taxi to the Toilet

Frank Ripploh wrote, directed and stars in this autobiographical movie. He's a school teacher in Germany--he's also gay but keeps that a secret from work. He's constantly on the prowl for sex (this was pre-AIDS) and finally meet Bernd. They fall in love...but Ripploh can't stop looking for sex. Will this relationship survive?

Ahead of its time. I'm surprised this movie even got MADE let alone released in 1981. I saw it when I was a closeted college student at an art cinema (the movie had an X rating here). It floored me--it showed two men CAN have a loving relationship despite problems. Also it has some very explicit sex scenes which are presented with no apology or pulling back--these scenes put "Queer As Folk" to shame. Also there's one with a very handsome man called Peter Fahrni which might test the limit for some people (he likes "golden showers").

This is a fascinating look at an early gay relationship before AIDS changed everything. Highly recommended--but not for everyone.

"Taxi zum Klo" does not enjoy that great a reputation, due to its explicitness and "amoral" (some would say "immoral") values. Yet, I have the feeling that this film, while by no means great, is not all that bad either. The director-star chose to bare his sentiments in this public forum, and has done so with forthrightness. I picked this film in video form from the shelves of a public library. This suggests that given the passing of time, it will be even more readily available, and that viewers will take it all rather routinely. The film has a point of view and an honesty to it. The leading character may not be one's personal choice for a "hero," yet the fact that this is reportedly autobiographical allows the viewer individual options. As for the film's being "banned," this promises to be yet another futile effort in censorship, which seems largely based on the personal fears of the censors. One thing is for sure, once one sees "Taxi zum Ko," one never quite forgets it.

I just watched the DVD of Taxi Zum Klo, some 25+ years after seeing the original in first release. I had forgotten how graphic and explicit the movie is. I almost wonder if the version I first saw (in the U.S.) was released intact. I didn't remember gay sex scenes clearly showing b/j's and penetration. Maybe I blocked them out.

The overall quality of the DVD is lacking. It's definitely a transfer from video, fuzzy and jumpy. The dim, white subtitles are an exercise in frustration. This groundbreaking film deserves better. I wonder if Criterion would have the balls to tackle it?

It's a good movie, clearly autobiographical. The story is a gay relationship in late 1970s Berlin. The main character, a teacher, struggles to reconcile his political conviction of sexual liberty and promiscuity with the more traditional lifestyle of his lover.

The style of the film is Cassavetes-like. We get the sense that the director--who is also the lead actor-- used his friends and lovers from "true life" to act along with him. Transitions are abrupt, and not always logical. The cinematography is literal and conventional, if not downright crude, but somehow it still manages to yield a couple of shots that are beautiful. The ending feels hurried and unfinished. And it's hard to escape the suspicion that the explicit sex is used primarily for shock value.

Nevertheless, this is an important film in gay cinema and one that anyone interested in the genre's development and history should see. The story line is the essential, if now stereotypical, dilemma of the modern gay male: do we emulate hetero straight values, or invent a new socio-political lifestyle for ourselves? It is a theme repeated in countless other gay films, but never as directly or as raw as it was here, just as a gay cinema was beginning.

i watched this film on film4 after the customary warnings from the announcers and the person who introduced it (mark kermode) after listening to what he said i thought lets watch it anyway, thank god, a person who makes films with good content and not afraid to add in explicit content, as an adult i was glad that i had the choice to watch such a film and not have it cut by the censors. an excellent film, worth watching. anybody wanting to learn about the secret lives many gay men have to live to have their sexuality kept secret should watch this film, it is an eye opener, we now live in the 2000's and the world has to open up to different sexuality, and not keep denigrating it, watch this film with open eyes and open your heart to the guys in the film, not all gay men act like this but secrecy is always to the fore especially for people like teachers, who a lot of people would put down if they were found out to be gay.

I watched 'Taxi Zum Klo' in 1985, at my Uni times, at age of 18. That version was a wildly mutilated one, but I had the option of getting the complete version of it much later. Back in 1985, it was the first time I realized I could live a regular life being gay, enjoying it, sharing it. After watching it i told my friends, family and people I loved. Never regretted it. So, this film made a huge impact in my life. I guess there is a small chance of anybody who toke part in the making of this film to read this comment (sadly, not it's director) .If yes, thanks for this film. Twenty years later, I'm more a Frank than a Bernd (LOL), but... thanks anyway.