The widow of Bertolt Brecht, Helene Weigel, was extremely unsatisfied with this adaptation. On her behalf, the film was removed from public release. Only in 2011 the granddaughter of Brecht allowed the film to be restored and publicly shown (the restored version was released in 2014).
This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #914.
Ethan Hawke asked Volker Schlöndorff about seeing Baal (1970) at the Cannes Film Festival, but Schlöndorff replied that he did not know where it was. Eventually the film was discovered in rusty, unmarked cans filed under 'S.' At that point, the film was restored. It was given its first home video release by Criterion in 2018. The film did not make the 1919 play a period piece, and some of the interiors featured intentionally over-the-top colors.
Baal (1970) is based on the 1923 play Baal by Bertolt Brecht. The film disappeared after Helene Weigel, Brecht's widow, saw it on television and demanded that it no longer be shown.