The complete title of the film is one of the longest titles (if not the longest) in film history: "Fontane Effi Briest oder viele, die eine Ahnung haben von ihren Möglichkeiten und ihren Bedürfnissen und trotzdem das herrschende System in ihrem Kopf akzeptieren durch ihre Taten und es somit festigen und durchaus bestätigen"
Rainer Werner Fassbinder insisted that Kurt Raab have a bald patch shaved into his scalp for an important scene. Raab did what was asked of him only for Fassbinder to drop the scene altogether.
Hanna Schygulla was already 31 years old when she played this role of a 17 year old girl.
In an interview with Dutch magazine HP/De Tijd, 30 years later, Hanna Schygulla confessed she thought the way she played her part was terrible at the time. She had really wanted to star as Effi since she was young, but Rainer Werner Fassbinder gave her hardly any room to act. She felt Fassbinder forced her to just stare ahead of her, expressionless, like a marionette. Because of this, she stopped working for him for a number of years. Later on though, she understood that his interpretation was in line with the theme of the novel.
Ulli Lommel 's, who played Major Campas, voice was dubbed by Wolfgang Hess. Lommel was in Italy during post-production and wasn't able to participate.