He is known for directing the 1969 Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern (Hunting Scenes from Bavaria), but he produced films of many genres.

[2] He had contact with representatives of the French Nouvelle Vague movement, and became a friend of Jean-Claude Carrière, with whom he later wrote screenplays.

The film reflects critically how a Bavarian village deals with outsiders, especially the homosexual character played by Sperr.

In Das Unheil (Havoc), with a script by Fleischmann and Martin Walser, he criticised in 1972 the provincial attitude of a Hessian small town and pollution of the environment.

[9] Fleischmann's films were often critically acclaimed, but not successful at the box office, which reduced the potential for projects in the 1980s.

In 1990, he created Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein (Hard to Be a God),[10] an elaborate film after a science-fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.