The entire crew disliked the last sequence so much that director Werner Herzog had to shoot it by himself. Incidentally, he considers this scene the best he has filmed.
Werner Herzog invited editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus to the set to oversee continuity. Known to highly dislike Herzog's movies (with the exception of Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)), she was so disgusted by the scenes that she started to signal the camera operator to stop shooting. Infuriated by this, Herzog threatened to hit her with a shovel.
It is claimed that the late post-punk vocalist Ian Curtis (of Joy Division) watched this film just before his suicide. It can be seen before Curtis' suicide scenes in the movies 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007). The musician Elliott Smith (1969-2003) described himself as a fan of Bruno S. and Stroszek (1977), too. Just like Ian Curtis, he committed suicide later.
Stroszek is also the name of the leading character in Herzog's Signs of Life (1968). Herzog got the name Stroszek from one of his former classmates who once helped him cheat on a test and used his name as a tribute to him.
David Lynch is an admirer of the film, and has called it his favorite work of Herzog's. Incidentally, he first saw the film on the same BBC broadcast in 1980 (while in England shooting The Elephant Man (1980)) which Ian Curtis watched shortly before committing suicide. Lynch would later become friends with Herzog and even serve as producer for My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009)
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