Klaus
Kinski's Stately-Yet-Sleazy
Tale of a Vampire In Venice
director:
Augusto Caminito (Klaus Kinski, Luigi Cozzi and Maurizio Lucidi)
starring: Klaus Kinski · Christopher Plummer · Donald Pleasence
· Barbara DeRossi · Anne Knecht
Mystery
and speculation has surrounded this film for years. Producer Augusto Caminito
signed it as director even though - according to all sources - he never
actually sat in that chair. Reportedly, it was the work of three (maybe
four) different directors, with the first-unit work done by Klaus Kinski
and the rest by either Luigi Cozzi or Maurizio Lucidi. Some years prior,
producer Caminito had given Kinski a bag of money to go to Venice and
make his dream project PAGANINI. But after years of severe difficulties,
it started to look as if that film would never get off the ground. Caminito
hired director Mario Caiano to make the most of a bad situation and use
Kinski (and the Venetian sets) to make a different film which would capitalize
on Kinski's Nosferatu mystic. The script was lazy and Kinski was impossible,
resulting in Caiano getting fired within a few weeks. Eventually Kinski
agreed to work on this Nosferatu film if he could helm the project with
his own choice of second unit directors. He picked two filmmakers from
his Spaghetti Western days, Luigi Cozzi (who happened to be in Venice
making PAGANINI HORROR) and Maurizio Lucidi.
Kinski
in long white hair (he refused to shave his head this time since he was
alternating schedules between this film and his own PAGANINI) plays Nosferatu,
a vampire revived by a seance after 200 years in a tomb. Once back from
the dead, he slinks around Venice preying on young aristocratic ladies
in his search for the descendant of a woman he once contaminated. In the
meantime, neurotic vampire hunter Paris Catalano (played by vet actor
Christopher Plummer) is trying to stop Nosferatu for good. The ending
is both surprising and a bit disconcerting, unquestionably the brainchild
of Klaus Kinski.
An
Italian film in English language; widescreen format, uncut version (96
min.), DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT, playable on any American
machine. Extras include theatrical trailer.
Graphic
Violence/Nudity/Drugs/Adult Material:
Intended for Mature Audiences
Mystery
and speculation has surrounded this film for years. Producer Augusto Caminito
signed it as director even though - according to all sources - he never
actually sat in that chair. Reportedly, it was the work of three (maybe
four) different directors, with the first-unit work done by Klaus Kinski
and the rest by either Luigi Cozzi or Maurizio Lucidi. Some years prior,
producer Caminito had given Kinski a bag of money to go to Venice and
make his dream project PAGANINI. But after years of severe difficulties,
it started to look as if that film would never get off the ground. Caminito
hired director Mario Caiano to make the most of a bad situation and use
Kinski (and the Venetian sets) to make a different film which would capitalize
on Kinski's Nosferatu mystic. The script was lazy and Kinski was impossible,
resulting in Caiano getting fired within a few weeks. Eventually Kinski
agreed to work on this Nosferatu film if he could helm the project with
his own choice of second unit directors. He picked two filmmakers from
his Spaghetti Western days, Luigi Cozzi (who happened to be in Venice
making PAGANINI HORROR) and Maurizio Lucidi. 
