Paganini (1989)

Director:

Klaus Kinski

Writer:

Klaus Kinski (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1990 (Italy)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Klaus Kinski believed that he lived through the same experiences as the legendary "devil violinist" Niccolo Paganini...

Plot Keywords:

Violinist | Paganini | Classical Music | Egomaniac | Female Nudity

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Nicolo Paganini
Debora Caprioglio	...	Antonia Bianchi (as Debora Kinski)
Nikolai Kinski	...	Achille Paganini
Dalila Di Lazzaro	...	Helene von Feuerbach
Tosca D'Aquino	...	Angiolina Cavanna
Eva Grimaldi	...	Marie Anna Elise Bonaparte
Beba Balteano	...	Carol Watson
Fabio Carfora	...	Mr. Watson
Donatella Rettore	...	Miss Wells
Bernard Blier	...	Pater Caffarelli
André Thorent	...	Galvano
Marcel Marceau	...	Pantomime
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.
Vittorio Ciorcalo
Niels Gullov
Luigi Leoni
Hermann Weisskopf

Directed by
Klaus Kinski

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Klaus Kinski		writer

Produced by
Carlo Alberto Alfieri	....	executive producer
Augusto Caminito	....	producer

Original Music by
Salvatore Accardo

Cinematography by
Pier Luigi Santi

Film Editing by
Klaus Kinski

Production Design by
Massimo Lentini

Set Decoration by
Titus Vossberg		(as Dieter Titus Vossberg)

Costume Design by
Bernadette de Cayeux

Production Management
Stefano Spadoni	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Salvatore Basile	....	assistant director
Catherine Joubé	....	first assistant director
Philippe Rostan	....	trainee assistant director

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound mixer
Edmondo Gintili	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Dominique Colladant	....	special effects
Reiko Kruk	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Valérie Blier	....	still photographer
Roberto Di Coste	....	grip

Production Companies

• Scena Film
• Reteitalia
• Président Films

Distributors

• Medusa Distribuzione (1989) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Carsten Frank Filmverleih (Germany)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

81 min | 95 min (director's cut)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:16 | Italy:VM18

Company:

Scena Film

Trivia:

Klaus Kinski wanted Werner Herzog to direct, but he turned it down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Synergia (2011)

Celluloid madness

Klaus Kinski, full-time actor and madman, takes on the character of Paganini in this painterly tableau of the artist's obsessions and world.

Kinski assumes the role of star, director, occasional cameraman and places family members in prominent parts. The film is heavy on symbolism and sparse in the storytelling department. It is basically a series of meditations and the artist at rest before he goes on rampages of sex, as frenetic as his violin playing. The film is full of often beautiful photography (mostly using natural light or candles) and the distorted vision of the period comes to life in a staggering way. In terms of narrative, it is a complete fiasco, but Kinski does not give a damn about the story. He cares about the character and the moment. As such, character and moment are as intense and vibrant as any Kinski performance.

Kinski as an actor always seemed to burn through the screen. This film is 100% Kinski. Therefore, predictably, it is completely overwhelming, unbearable one might say, even if one overlooks the manic sex scenes (a heroic feat): a woman touches herself to the sound of Paganini's playing, while horses fornicate; the camera whirls savagely about as Paganini dives hungrily into an admirer's skirt, etc. Frankly these scenes would be out of place in any other movie. What unsettles here is the fact that they seem entirely at home in this crazed psychopath of a film.

Kinski Paganini is impossible to rate. You will very likely hate it (all the more so if you see it in the company of other people). As a window into Klaus Kinski's mind, it is essential. And, since it is a completely personal work featuring the creator's obsessions and themes, under his complete control, it fits the dictionary definition of art. Art is in the eye of the beholder (so no one need feel personally insulted), and for better or worse, this is one of the rare times I have seen its kind on a screen. You get it or you don't, and on a visceral level since narrative or sense is not the issue (in fact the only similar film is Luis Bunuel's "Un Chien Andalou", where you just follow a train of thought...).

A train-wreck of a film. Filmed with bewildering sensitivity and and fueled by intimidating passion, this is the cinematic expression of a man's soul.