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India Press Store - Taxi Zum Klo
![Taxi Zum Klo]()
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $129.99
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Manufacturer: Cinevista Inc.
Starring: Gregor Becker, Tabea Blumenschein, Bernd Broaderup, Millie Büttner, Marguerite Dupont
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301424646
Format: Color
ISBN: 6301424646
Label: Cinevista Inc.
Manufacturer: Cinevista Inc.
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Cinevista Inc.
Release Date: 1989-07-14
Running Time: 98
Studio: Cinevista Inc.
Theatrical Release Date: 1981
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Taxi zum Klo
Comment: This product was not worth the money and the quality was third rate. It would not recomend it to anyone
Customer Rating:
Summary: Alternately Amusing, Distasteful: Enter At Your Own Risk
Comment: If you rebell at even the mildest same-sex love scene, you'd do well to keep your distance from Frank Ripploh's autobiographical TAXI ZUM KLO. Not only is the film shot through with casual male nudity and film clips of vintage pornography, it also contains several extremely explicit sex scenes--including at least one that will cause even the most jaded viewer to wince.
Filmed in Germany in 1981, TAXI ZUM KLO (which translates as "Taxi to the Toilet") is the saga of Frank Ripploh himself--who finds that his job as a school teacher impinges upon his sexual escapades in an annoying sort of way. Pressed for a piece of paper, he writes the telephone number of a potential sexual partner in a student's theme book; determined not to miss a moment, he grades student papers while cruising a public bathroom frequented by like-minded homosexuals. But then Frank meets Bernd (real-life partner Bernd Broaderup), and a one-night stand turns into a relationship in which Frank seems to have it all: handsome, sexy Bernd has eyes for Frank only--and he can even cook.
Up to this point TAXI ZUM KLO maintains a certain eccentric humor that balances distaste with amusement; now, however, we begin to see that Frank is essentially a sex addict, a man who both desires and fears a permanent relationship. As the relationship intensifies, Frank begins to undermine it, turning to casual drug use that fuels an ever-escalating round of sexual extremes. Can Frank maintain his day-time facade as a school teacher? How much is Bernd willing to endure?
TAXI ZUM KLO is often described as "an erotic comedy," and when it first made the rounds of art house cinemas and film festivals in the early 1980s it proved an audience favorite and critical darling; even so, the words "erotic" and "comedy" are more than a little dicey. Heterosexuals will have to be incredibly broadminded to find the film erotic, and after a certain point the same becomes true of homosexuals as well, for the sexual escapades become increasingly dark, increasingly disasteful as the film progresses. Much the same is true of the comic elements, which very soon become dark and, by the end of the film, less funny than disturbing and bitter. This is particularly true when one considers that Ripploh's behavior--and the behavior of others like him--fueled the AIDS crisis that exploded in the 1980s not long after this film debuted.
The performances, generally consisting of actors playing themselves, are unstudied yet interesting, and the visual style of the film approximates documentary. Although I do not own the hard-to-find DVD, I have seen it; it has no extras and the picture quality is mediocre at best. I do own the VHS, and while I would not describe that as pristine, I consider it distinctly superior in picture quality. In both cases, however, the subtitles are rendered in white print--and this is unfortunate, for they are often shown against light backgrounds that make them difficult to read.
In closing, I find it difficult to make a recommendation on TAXI ZUM KLO. Over the years I have shown it and loaned it to various friends, and few were able to sit through it from start to finish. Heterosexual viewers who weathered the graphic nature of the film usually found the veneral disease clinic scene a turning point; homosexual viewers endured longer but generally found a urine-laced scene toward the end of the film so distasteful that they stopped the film. Those able to reach the end of the film seemed to feel that its interest was undercut by the very unsympathetic nature of the central character and a considerable "ick" factor.
Ultimately, it probably best to consider TAXI ZUM KLO as a historical portrait of a certain segment of Berlin's pre-AIDS gay community. If you have an interest in that place and time, you will find it worth the effort; if not, you are likely to think the hurdles involved aren't worth the effort. Final word: enter at your own risk.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Customer Rating:
Summary: A LOOK BACK
Comment: "TAXI ZUM KLO"
A Look Back
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
I have wanted to review "Taxi Zum Klo" (Taxi to the Toilet) released by Cinevista Vide for a long time but it has gone for long periods of being out of print or simply unattainable. I finally got a copy of it on DVD and it is everything I remembered it being. It is not a new film being 27 years old now but it an important film and considering its nature, it is a forerunner of the gay movies we have today and I would even go so far as t say that no modern movie has been able to approach its realism and grittiness. Made in Germany, it shows a side of gay life that many of us are unfamiliar with.
"Taxi Zum Klo" is the story of a pair of ill-matched lovers (that was the term used for artners back then). Bernd is a stay-at-home who prefers cooking and cleaning while Frank is outgoing and loves to explore the public toilets and leather bars of Berlin for cheap thrills and one time tricks. He is also an elementary school teacher and the movie shows his life in explicit yet non exploitive detail. It is depicted a different yet not perverse. This is an openly autobiographical film with the director playing himself with great irony and wit and a great deal of tackiness Just look at the title).
Frank is every bit a rascal, he has a beard and he is a school teacher. He is also very gay, very out and has a very active sex life and a penchant for public sex. He does manage to keep his life as a teacher secret from his life as a gay man and e does this by grading his students' papers in public toilets as he waits to score, He cruises all of the time and then one evening he meets Bernd and they become lovers. Bernd is affectionate and caring but Franks get bored for his old ways and continues them. Everything changes at the annual Berlin Queen's Ball and during the morning after.
This a refreshing film with nothing hidden. It isn't pretty but it is funny and sexy. It is a view of life and probably best appreciated by those who have an open relationship and an adventurous streak. It exposes how delightful it is to be selfish and how one who wants to have it all manages to live. Frank loves his boyfriend but he also loves anonymous sex. This is a pre -AIDs movie and it is way ahead of its time. There are some very explicit sex scenes and a lot of frontal nudity and the sex makes "Queer as Folk" look mild.
Ii is a fascinating look at early gay relationships before our lives were changed by AIDS. It is bold and it is a baring of the soul of the director who throws everything up at the screen with no apology It is an extremely honest film and I was absorbed by it completely. It is a semi-documentary approach to the life of Frank. It shows that you can live a regular life and be gay at the same time. The film has not been appreciated enough or seen enough and many have condemned it for being so straightforward and bold. It opens up the secret side of our lives as we open our hearts to the actors in the film. This is one to be relished and cherished and ever so thankful we have it--boldness and all. But this is a film to watch with open eyes and open minds. We are now living in the 2000s and the world is opening up to different sexuality o what was taboo in the 80s is more accepted now. We all know that not all men act like the guys in the film and secrecy about sex is usually desired for people in public positions who many would put down if their homosexuality was to be brought to the fore. Even with that, it is good that we have some people who are willing to be who and what they are all of the time and live in a society with others but march to their own music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Film, Terrible DVD
Comment: Don't buy this DVD! Very poor copy (fuzzy, weak color) of film (transfered from a VHS tape?). The subtitles (NOT removable) hard to read. No chapter stops. No extras except some equally fuzzy previews for other Cinevista products. Very disappointing cheap issue at a high price. Hopefully some other company will issue a proper version some day.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazingly graphic film blending fiction and reality
Comment: My motives for this review are selfish, since my life changed the day I saw this film (January 5th, 1984). Sitting in the theatre as an adolescent, enthralled by this film, I came out to myself and started the process of letting the rest of the world know who I am. I recently watched the film again, and realized that what is most amazing about this film is the blurring of the boundary between drama and documentary. We see Frank Ripploh enacting significant events in his life, even hooking up (and breaking it off again, this time for the camera) with his ex Bernd Broaderup for the sake of cinematic verissimilitude. It is sometimes harrowing, if not downright disturbing to watch, not because the sex scenes make most people (especially straight people) uncomfortable, but because the viewer feels like a voyeur. Everything about this film is "amateur," in the sense of being done for love instead of profit. We tend to disdain things "amateur" in our society, but a film about real people and the lives they lead cannot be "done" by professionals (Hollywood doesn't GET this). I think this is an amazing film, and none of the usual criteria for "reviewing" this film apply.
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