Explicit, Landmark Queer Film 'Taxi zum Klo' Gets 4K Restoration & Theatrical Release

In a press release, the film distribution outlet Altered Innocence announced the release of the theatrical trailer for the new restoration of Frank Ripploh's landmark queer debut feature "Taxi zum Klo," returning to theaters for its 45th anniversary. The restoration will open at the Metrograph theater in New York City on Friday, August 1, with more cities to be announced.

It's launch at the Metrograph is part of a program entitled "The Many Faces of Frank Ripploh," which is described on its website this way: "A gadfly of the 1970s and '80s West Berlin gay scene who at various times was close to – and occasionally appeared in the films of – major players of the New German Cinema including Rosa von Praunheim, Monika Treut, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Ulrike Ottinger, Frank Ripploh, who occasionally worked under the name Peggy von Schnottgenberg, ignited a firestorm of controversy with his sexually explicit, dazzlingly vital 1980 feature debut 'Taxi zum Klo,' a queer cult classic that faced protests and film board ukases wherever it went. Accompanying Metrograph's run of Ripploh's zesty, lusty, glory-holes-and-all signature film, we'll be screening films inspired by Ripploh (Gus van Sant's 'Mala Noche'; Ira Sachs's 'Passages'), inspirational to Ripploh (von Praunheim's 'It Is Not the Homosexual Who is Perverse, but the Society in Which He Lives'), or featuring his acting talents (Fassbinder's 'Querelle,' Ottinger's 'Madame X: An Absolute Ruler,' which 'von Schnottgenberg' also co-wrote)."

A success in West Germany upon its initial release, "Taxi zum Klo" premiered in the US at the New York Film Festival in 1981 and opened theatrically stateside that same year. Achieving cult status across every release, the transgressive semi-autobiographical feature was simultaneously a hit with audiences and a lightning rod for controversy and attempted censorship. Produced on a shoestring budget, "Taxi zum Klo" has cemented its place in queer canon and been hailed as an important influence on filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, John Cameron Mitchell, Ira Sachs – most notably in 2023's critically acclaimed "Passages" – and Bruce LaBruce, who has called it "one of the best gay movies ever made" and "an essential document of the sensibility of the newly liberated gay male of the '70s."

Ripploh would direct two subsequent features – "Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars" and "Taxi nach Kairo," a sequel to "Taxi zum Klo" – before passing in 2002. He was also known for his acting, including roles in Ulrike Ottinger's "Madame X: An Absolute Ruler" and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Querelle."

In the film, Ripploh plays Frank, who by day is a dedicated schoolteacher. By night, he embraces the sexual freedoms of the city's underground scene – navigating a double life in public restrooms, cinemas, and cruising spots. When he meets Bernd, a sweet and steady museum worker, Frank finds himself torn between the comfort of domestic partnership and the allure of anonymous desire.

Unapologetically explicit and deeply personal, "Taxi zum Klo" shattered taboos upon its release and remains a landmark of queer cinema. Shot with unfiltered candor and infused with a distinctively wry humor, Ripploh's film continues to resonate for its fearless exploration of identity, intimacy, and freedom.