During the opening sequence, Bresson's 1977 film is shown on a television set in the office in which Fassbinder's film opens. Fassbinder was a great admirer of Bresson's film, saying: "Robert Bresson's Le Diable probablement . . . is the most shattering film I've seen this Berlin Festival. I think it's a major film [...]. n the future---and this world will probably last for another few thousand years---this film will be more important than all the rubbish which is now considered important but which never really goes deep enough[.] The questions Bresson asks will never be unimportant."
