The Nomi Song

My husband and I were eagerly anticipating THE NOMI SONG, Andrew Horn's by-turns witty and poignant documentary about Klaus Nomi, the German singer/performance artist with the multi-octave range who took New York and then the world by storm for a brief, exciting period in the 1980s. Nomi, with his outer space alien persona, was so avant-garde even the avant-garde set wasn't quite sure what to make of him, but loved him all the same before his tragic death from AIDS (this was back when AIDS was still new and scary and known as "gay cancer"). Our 8-year-old daughter liked Nomi's "high, high voice" and kooky costumes. We adults liked the interviews with Ann Magnuson and other scene-makers from the era, as well as the chance to see such rarities as Nomi's performance with David Bowie on a 1979 SNL episode (which I remember seeing during its live broadcast back in the day). THE NOMI SONG also sports a treasure trove of DVD extras, including full-length musical performances, an Easter Egg feature for part-time pastry chef Nomi's lime tart recipe, and Lou Christie talking enthusiastically about Nomi's cover of his classic "Lightning Strikes Again" (Christie kinda starts talking about himself, too, but it's interesting and endearing). If you like 1980s New Wave music and all things offbeat, THE NOMI SONG is well worth seeking out!

Before I saw this documentary, I'd never heard of Klaus Nomi--even though I lived through the time period in which he gained underground fame in New York and abroad. What I remember instead are the New Wave acts that followed in his footsteps--groups that imitated his weird stage routine, makeup and costumes. Probably the closest to Nomi that I remember was Grace Jones, though the hair and costumes of A Flock of Seagulls also had to have been influenced by Nomi as well. As for David Bowie, it's hard to tell how much Nomi influenced him or vice-versa as both had a rather similar "other-worldliness" about them in the 1970s.

What completely set this man apart, including from the people listed above, was his bizarre singing. Having had aspirations to do opera and having a very, very high-pitched voice (almost like one of the castrati), his singing was something unmatched then or today. Some of this could be because few could imitate the style and some because it was so strange and outside the mainstream you wonder if there'd even be a market for this sort of music. It was interesting and wild--though, to me, not especially something I would like to listen to for long.

This documentary is about his life--particularly after he came to America in the early 70s. His life in Greenwich Village among the artsy crowd, his rise to prominence in what was to be termed the "New Wave" and his ultimate fall when he just started to achieve fame are all chronicled here. A sad piece, but I also appreciated how the film makers didn't just whitewash the man--giving a hint to the darker aspects of this strange man (such as the repeated theft of his friend's music).

How the story was told was done well, though there were limits since the video recordings of Nomi were often of poor quality due to the technology of the time. Also, in a VERY strange move, old audio interviews with his aunt were used but in an odd way. Since they had no video, they created sets and used a large cut-out of her! Weird, but considering Nomi's legacy, probably appropriate.

Considering that I didn't know about Nomi and was not so taken by his music, you'd expect I wouldn't really care for the film, but this would be mistaken. It was nice from a nostalgic point of view for this 40-something guy and the film was well-constructed. Well worth a look if you like documentaries AND want something different....VERY different.

This is a personal vision from a filmmaker who obviously knows what he's talking about when he approaches music, show business and the 70-80s. He succeeds in delivering a film hovering between fiction and documentary, respecting the original character, Klaus Nomi, all along, while offering a personal perspective on the man and his era. Because he interviews actual witnesses of the time, the result is a realistic and phantasmagoria dive into the life and death of a charismatic individual with the destiny of a shooting star. This film has all the potential of a cult movie.

This is a remarkable compilation of interviews, live shows, home videos, and more all bringing together the short but phenomenal career of Klaus Nomi.

Though it seems blatantly low-budget, it keeps in vein with the atmosphere of the time and the storyline falls into place artfully but logically. I was very impressed by the vast amount of material that was found to put into this documentary; being a Klaus Nomi fan myself I know it's extremely hard to get your hands on this sort of thing... well, here it is!

The only thing I could've asked to improve as far as this movie goes was a better remaster of the audio - a lot of it was out of sync, a common problem that is easily fixed. Maybe we can look forward to that on later releases or perhaps the DVD? In any case, I still love it, 9 out of 10 stars.

Andrew Horn's 'Nomi Song' is not a 'film' as such, but rather an extended television documentary shot on videotape.

The archive footage is a treat and includes unseen home video, rare performance footage and obscure TV appearances. It's fascinating to see videotape as the primary archive source in a documentary of this kind - so crude, so unstable, so immediate. The sourcing of this material is Andrew Horn's principle achievement.

But 'Nomi Song' is crude in other less interesting ways - as though a few more days in the edit might have helped. The interviews are unimaginatively staged and shot and some of the junctions between scenes jar.

The first hand accounts are illuminating, but sometimes petty and it would have been useful to hear some contemporary artists and more objective commentators weigh Klaus's achievement and influence to provide some perspective.

That said, this the only Nomi documentary available and we should be grateful for it. If you're curious to know more about this wonderful artist, this is a good place to start...