The Nomi Song (2004)

Director:

Andrew Horn

Writer:

Andrew Horn (writer)

Release Date:

24 March 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

He came from outer space to save the human race.

Plot:

Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of the 1980s' most profoundly bizarre characters...

Plot Keywords:

AIDS | Gay Interest | Performer | 1970s | 1980s

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Klaus Nomi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ann Magnuson	...	Herself
Gabriele Lafari	...	Herself
David McDermott	...	Himself
Page Wood	...	Himself
Tony Frere	...	Himself
Man Parrish	...	Himself
Kristian Hoffman	...	Himself
Ron Johnsen	...	Himself
Kenny Scharf	...	Himself
Anthony Scibelli	...	Himself
Alan Platt	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adrian	...	Himself
Joseph Arias	...	Himself
Calvin Churchman	...	Himself
Jay Jay French	...	Himself
Michael Halsband	...	Himself
Janus	...	Herself
Pamela Rosenthal	...	Herself
Ira Siff	...	Himself
Trude Sperber	...	Herself (voice)
David Bowie	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jon Cobert	...	Himself (Nomi's Band) (uncredited)
Thomas Gottschalk	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Martin Sheen	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew Horn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Andrew Horn		writer

Produced by
Anne Even	....	producer: Arte
Andrew Horn	....	producer
Thomas Mertens	....	producer
Lucia Palacios	....	line producer: USA
Annette Pisacane	....	producer
Dietmar Post	....	line producer: USA
Dietmar Post	....	service producer: USA

Cinematography by
Mark Daniels

Film Editing by
Angela Christlieb
Guido Krajewski
Eric Schefter

Art Direction by
Ruth Peyser

Production Management
Ole Landsjöaasen	....	post-production manager
Lucia Palacios	....	production manager

Other crew
Pimes Doerfler	....	production accountant

Thanks
Lothar Lambert	....	thanks
Michael Schmid-Ospach	....	thanks
Dee Snider	....	special thanks
Jimmy Somerville	....	thanks (as Jimmy Sommerville)

Production Companies

• Arte
• CV Films
• Cameo Filmproduktion
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Distributors

• Arsenal (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Media Luna Entertainment (2004) (worldwide) (all media)
• Elephant Picture (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Palm Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Palm Pictures (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Avex Entertainment (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• National Film Network (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Media Luna Entertainment  worldwide sales

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:96 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (archive footage) | Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Arte

Movie Connections:

Features "Saturday Night Live" (1975)

Soundtrack:

Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt/Falling in Love Again

'Nomi Song'

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...