As explained in a section of the film DVD (in reference to the "The Absence of Pubic Hair in Art"), Peter Greenaway wanted the actresses in this movie have their pubes shaved for the nude scenes. Anne Louise Hassing said that showing her completely naked body wasn't that bad. "Of course, I had some concerns about the nude scenes, but my agent got some clauses posted and they were fully respected. And when I first started filming, I felt like nudity actually became my costume because Peter Greenaway's pictures are so beautiful," she said.
Talking about the sex scene between Amos, played by Lars Eidinger, and Isadora, played by Maaike Neuville, the German actor revealed his erection was spontaneous. He says that there was a moment when he was sitting in a closet, fully shaved, naked, with only a ribbon around his penis, waiting for his turn: "What are you doing here," he asks himself, and in the next breath reports how an Italian colleague envied his ability to spontaneously erect. "I'm just in the situation! And if there's anything arousing in it, it actually excites me. I can concentrate enough to understand why the character is sad, and then cry. There's nothing you can't play."