Nadja (1994)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Michael Almereyda

Writer:

Michael Almereyda (writer)

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Unseen. Unforgiving. Undead.

Plot:

This ultra-hip, post-modern vampire tale is set in contemporary New York City. Members of a dysfunctional...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Lesbian Vampire | Dracula | Lesbianism | Lesbian

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Elina Löwensohn	...	Nadja
Nic Ratner	...	Bar Victim
Karl Geary	...	Renfield
Peter Fonda	...	Dracula / Dr. Van Helsing
Martin Donovan	...	Jim
Jack Lotz	...	Boxing Coach
Galaxy Craze	...	Lucy
David Lynch	...	Morgue Receptionist
Isabel Gillies	...	Waitress
José Zúñiga	...	Bartender
Bernadette Jurkowski	...	Dracula's Bride
Jeff Winner	...	Young Dracula
Sean	...	Bela
Suzy Amis	...	Cassandra
Jared Harris	...	Edgar
Bob Gosse	...	Garage Mechanic
Rome Neal	...	Garage Mechanic
Giancarlo Roma	...	Romanian Kid
Anna Roma	...	Romanian Mother
Thomas Roma	...	Romanian Policeman
Aleksander Rasic	...	Romanian Policeman
Miranda Russell	...	Lucy's Baby

Directed by
Michael Almereyda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Almereyda		writer

Produced by
Andrew Fierberg	....	associate producer
Amy Hobby	....	producer
David Lynch	....	executive producer
Mary Sweeney	....	producer

Original Music by
Simon Fisher-Turner

Cinematography by
Jim Denault

Film Editing by
David Leonard

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Billy Hopkins
Suzanne Smith

Production Design by
Kurt Ossenfort

Costume Design by
Prudence Moriarty

Makeup Department
Dina Doll	....	hair stylist
Dina Doll	....	makeup artist
John Sahag	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ingrid Breyer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sonia Bhalla	....	additional second second assistant director
Alex Corven Caronia	....	first assistant director
Adam Ben Frank	....	second second assistant director
Takahide Kawakami	....	second second assistant director
Brent Tinter	....	additional second second director

Art Department
J. Todd Anderson	....	storyboard artist
Jamie Bishop	....	on-set props
Christopher Dettwiller	....	on-set props
Billy Jarecki	....	additional set dresser
Ondine Karady	....	props
Joan Lucke Jr.	....	head set dresser
John Nelson	....	head scenic
Carol O'Neil	....	props
Philippe Richard	....	lucy's paintings
George Roach	....	swing
Michael Sadov	....	swing
Peter Soriano	....	jim's paintings
Marla Weinhoff	....	additional set dresser

Sound Department
John Gutierrez	....	boom operator
Gary Hokanson	....	boom operator
Kenton Jakub	....	adr editor
William Kozy	....	sound mixer
Stuart Levy	....	sound
Art Polemis	....	sound recording engineer
Melanie Ryder	....	dialogue editor
Dominick Tavella	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Arthur M. Jolly	....	special effects
Josh Turi	....	special effects props

Visual Effects by
William Lappe	....	castle miniature
Anthony Munroe	....	optical supervisor

Stunts
Arthur M. Jolly	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
David T. Anderson	....	gaffer
Lenny Bass	....	additional electrician
Axel Baumann	....	second assistant camera
Kelly Beaton	....	additional electrician
Sally Bonython	....	second assistant camera
Steve Calalang	....	first assistant camera
Anthony Caronia	....	still photographer
Tim Davis	....	still photographer
Ned Farr	....	additional electrician
Rob Featherstone	....	second assistant camera
Jason C. Fitzgerald	....	additional electrician
Vadim Frumin	....	best boy
Ian Nichol	....	Steadicam operator
Kate Phelan	....	best boy grip
Joseph Quirk	....	additional electrician
Dave Samuel	....	additional electrician
Susan Shacter	....	still photographer
Ed Talavera	....	camera operator: second unit
Richard Wuest	....	key grip (as Dexter Weust)
Raphaelle Gosse-Gardet	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Byron Crystal	....	extras casting
Laura Ekstrand	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Libby Villanova	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Yasmine Amitai	....	first assistant editor
Beatrice Sisul	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Royston Langdon	....	music recording engineer
Rick Rowe	....	music recording engineers
Thomas Ulrich	....	musician: cello solos

Other crew
Gilbert Carreras	....	b&w timer
Jody Hanson	....	title designer
Carolina Adriana Herrera	....	location scout (as Carolina Herrera)
Lee Petersen	....	production assistant
Dina Waxman	....	location scout
Dina Waxman	....	script supervisor
Jeff Winner	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Kino Link Company

Distributors

• Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (Germany)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• October Films (1995) (USA)
• Pioneer Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated R for some scenes of bizarre vampire sexuality and gore, and for some language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Kino Link Company

Trivia:

A clip of Bela Lugosi in White Zombie (1932) is included to show the face of the father of the vampire family, Count Dracula. In other scenes not showing his face, Peter Fonda plays the Count, as well his main role as Van Helsing.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening dialog between Nadja and the man at the bar, Nadja is initially wearing a scarf over her hair. At one point the camera cuts to the man's face and we see the back of Nadja's head, but now suddenly and inexplicably, the scarf has disappeared and remains absent for the rest of the scene.

Quotes:

Nadja: As you get older, you begin to realise that family is all that really matters.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Soon

Subtle, noir-esque reworking of the Dracula theme

A striking departure from the Wes Craven/Tarantino vampire treatment of vampirism of late, Almereyda's artful black and white piece gives us intimate psychological portraits of the count's wayward son and daughter, and their sexual exploits - specifically as they involve a married couple whose terminal ennui is exploded by the entrance of Nadja - dracula's twin daughter, who falls in love with Galaxy Craze's (am I the only one who finds this name a little disturbing, and slightly reminiscent of porn-names)character and abducts her to Transylvania.

Peter Fonda does a brilliantly and comically paranoid Van Helsing and Dracula himself. David Lynch, whose wife Mary Sweeney produced the film, has a cameo and much of the film's heady cutting and profusion of cigarette-smoke seems to echo Lynch's work - definitely qualifies for an amazon.com-style "Customers who bought "Blue Velvet" also bought "Nadja".

Criticisms would include a slight over-reliance on fairly blatant visual puns (Martin Donovan's character is asked "can you picture that" and responds "yes, I can picture that" to visual accompaniment, and this device is repeated), and perhaps gratuitous use of smoke machine technology, but on the whole a fresh, artful evocation of one of the more encrusted thematic territories in film.