The Nomi Song (2004)

Having failed to break into professional opera in his native Germany (where, as an usher in West Berlin's Deutsche Oper, he would serenade the staff after the 'real' performances were over)... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew Horn

Writer:

Andrew Horn

Stars:

Klaus Nomi, Ann Magnuson, David Bowie

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited 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 (as Boy Adrian)
Joseph Arias	...	Himself (as Joey Arias)
Calvin Churchman	...	Himself

Storyline

Having failed to break into professional opera in his native Germany (where, as an usher in West Berlin's Deutsche Oper, he would serenade the staff after the 'real' performances were over) the diminutive Klaus Nomi headed for NYC in 1972. The vibrant New Wave/avant-garde gestalt of the mid/late '70's East Village proved to be fertile ground for the development of his unique talents. Working by day as a high-end pastry chef, Nomi began to stage his outlandish performances, first launching himself upon an unsuspecting public at the New Wave Vaudeville in 1978. The hip and cynical young audience was stunned by this weird combination of falsetto arias, booming classical orchestration, Kraftwerk-style electronica, futuristic costumes and outer space imagery. An odd assortment of artists, choreographers, designers, songwriters and musicians jumped on to the Nomi bandwagon and the phenomenon began to take off - first attracting thousands to South Manhattan events (including performances at ...

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Plot Keywords:

opera | song | new wave | death | rock star | 

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Taglines:

He came from outer space to save the human race.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

24 March 2005 (Germany)

Also Known As:

A Canção de Nomi

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,510, 6 February 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$74,216, 3 April 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte,CV Films,Cameo Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (archive footage) Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Writing on the Wall (2011)

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Soundtracks

Part 2
Music by Evan France & Patrick Petzold
Performed by Evan France & Patrick Petzold
© Evan France & Patrick Petzold 2003

User Reviews

'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...