Nosferatu à Venise

I recently watched the Italian film 🇮🇹 Nosferatu in Venice (1985) on Prime. The storyline follows a man tracking down Nosferatu and arriving in Venice, where he believes the vampire is hiding. He hears tales that Nosferatu wishes to die, and the man is willing to help him achieve that goal.

The film is co-directed by Augusto Caminito (White Hunter) and Klaus Kinski (Paganini), who also stars in the film. It also features performances from Barbara De Rossi (Blood Ties), Yorgo Voyagis (Frantic), Elvire Audray (Ironmaster), Christopher Plummer (12 Monkeys), and Donald Pleasence (Halloween).

Overall, this is a very average movie, but there were some elements that I enjoyed. The opening arrival sequence and overall cinematography are gorgeous, with the beautiful settings in Venice adding a lot to the visuals. The storyline is fairly straightforward and not overly imaginative. The kills are average, and the horror elements rely more on setting and atmosphere, though there is a fun fall scene. The background music does a solid job of establishing the mood. The female lead is stunning, and there's some classic Italian nudity. While the poetic ending didn't quite land for me as intended, there was a fun twist that I appreciated.

In conclusion, Nosferatu in Venice is an average addition to the horror genre but might be worth watching for horror enthusiasts looking for something different. I'd give this a 5/10 and recommend it only with the appropriate expectations.

In VAMPIRE IN VENICE, Professor Paris Catalano (Christopher Plummer) is obsessed with tracking down the infamous blood-drinker of the title (Klaus Kinski). When Catalano finds a strange family in Venice, who were originally from Transylvania, he believes he's hit pay dirt.

This leads to the backstory being told, while Donald Pleasence makes an appearance.

When a medium is called in, resulting in a seance, the so-called "Prince of Putridity" returns! Death and doom are the result!

Kinski is quite convincing and threatening in his undead role. His interesting facial features have always made him the perfect villain, whether in horror or crime thrillers. He pulls off being pure eeevil with ease! Plummer is doggedly heroic as the Van Helsing-like Catalano.

While not a bad movie, it does tend to drag on interminably in spots...

Don't really know if this movie can be regarded as an official sequel to the 1979 Werner Herzog movie "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht". Yes, it has Klaus Kinski again in it as the Nosferatu character but that is basically all that these two movies have in common. This movie got made by an entirely different production crew and even in an entirely different country.

5 directors later this is the end result. This movie was a real troubled production, that suffered from multiple delays during production, due to the falling out of directors and cast members, which resulted in the end that 5 different directors at certain points worked on the movie. The movie is a bit of a mess but at least its still an good looking mess.

Don't even really know what is the story in all of this. We have Nosferatu walking around in Venice and Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence but what they are doing in this movie, I still can't really tell. It has a pretty much non-existent story and it pretty much only relies on its dark eerie atmosphere and presence of once again Klaus Kinski as the immortal blood sucking vampire.

Kinski himself refused to wear the heavy make up he wore in "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht" and even didn't wanted to cut his hair for the role. So his look in this movie is very different from "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht". It's also definitely less scary looking all and it seems that they thought it would be enough to let the character stare a lot to make him work out as a scary or mysterious one. No, it just doesn't ever work, which makes his character a disappointing one and also makes it all seem quite pointless that Klaus Kinski after 9 years reprises his acclaimed role again. It was also one of the last movies he ever did, I wish I could say it also was an impressive and worthy one.

But it's just not a movie that you'll hate watching. I liked its style and atmosphere, that at times even became somewhat close to that of "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht". The movie is certainly a joy to watch for the eyes but then again which Venice based movie isn't?

Too bad that the movie just isn't ever really going anywhere. The movie makes some weird choices and the story just doesn't provide anything interesting enough. Not that you'll be bored with it but it's also far from a satisfying movie. It's a pretty pointless movie once you start thinking about it and is one you can really easily do without.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Intended as an unofficial sequel to Werner Herzogs' 1979 rethink of the silent classic from 1922, this decent horror film does manage to get some things right, even if it's not completely satisfying. A professor named Catalano (a very earnest Christopher Plummer) is called to modern-day Venice to investigate the last known appearance of the title fiend (Klaus Kinski, reprising his role in his next-to-last performance) at a local carnival in the 18th century. After he and others hold a seance, they come to learn what Nosferatu really desires most, but it remains to be seen if they're up to the task of defying him - much less destroying him.

The script here is not always terribly coherent in terms of explaining character stories and motivations, but this picture still contains plenty of potent atmosphere. The change of setting works to its advantage, and overall the story is taken QUITE seriously, with little to no humour to speak of. Interestingly, our heroes are portrayed as rather weak, making the haunted, sad-eyed antagonist a more compelling character. And Kinski is able to deliver one of his lower-key performances. That doesn't mean, however, that Nosferatu doesn't have his bestial, savage moments. And for a character who supposedly would welcome his own demise, he is always able to successfully thwart his nemeses' efforts.

One major asset is the lovely music score, partially composed by Luigi Ceccarelli and partially derived from Vangelis' album "Mask". The use of imagery is excellent, and the picture does have arty inclinations although it also takes the time to include some female nudity. The cast, also including such names as Greek actor Yorgo Voyagis ("Jesus of Nazareth") and Donald Pleasence ("Halloween"), is variable, but Pleasence himself can be quite amusing, especially when he's hamming it up near the end.

Worth a look for Kinski fans, and especially people desiring an atypical vampire saga, this reportedly employed several directors, including the credited one (Augusto Caminito), Luigi Cozzi, and even Kinski himself.

Seven out of 10.

Nosferatu (dir. F. W. Murnau, 1922) is regarded as a masterpiece. To be honest, I enjoyed Werner Herzog's remake (1979) far more - Klaus Kinski's performance in the title role was perfect; repellent and charismatic in equal measure. So I've been looking forward to seeing this hard-to-get-hold-of "sequel" for years.

Oh dear, what a disappointment. This film is a confused mess.

If "Vampire in Venice" were less conventional, it could be Art-house or Surrealist Cinema. And then its fogginess might be to its advantage. But... it just isn't.

Whereas its' predecessors were directed with a spark of genius, "Vampire in Venice" had a history of directorial dithering - and boy does it show. Despite some excellent cinematography, great sets and a (potentially) strong cast, the film is so weakly directed that it falls apart almost immediately. The cast is wasted. The plot is incongruous. The characters are under-developed and their motivations are anyones' guess. The whole is deeply unsatisfying. Of course, Barabara De Rossi is utterly gorgeous, Plummer has some gravitas and Kinski is OK, but without a firm hand at the rudder, we are on a gondola to nowhere.

Only the film's few saving graces allowed me to watch to the end. One for the curious only, I fear.