Nico Movies
In her prime, model, actress, and singer Nico was an extraordinarily beautiful woman who despite her notorious heroin addiction, exquisitely bored demeanor, and self-destructive tendencies, was a popular cult figure during the late '60s and early '70s when she was involved with the Andy Warhol "superstar" crowd and singing leads (though she couldn't carry a tune) opposite Lou Reed with the Velvet Underground. Born Christa Paffgen in Cologne, she became a French Vogue model in the 1950s. She stood over six feet tall and had an exquisite face. Despite her erratic behavior, she was a bright woman and spoke several languages. In 1960, she made her feature film debut appearing in Fellini's La Dolce Vita. It was later that year that she met Andy Warhol through her friend Bob Dylan. Warhol put her in a few of his avant garde films of which Chelsea Girls is her best-known. Warhol then got her involved with Reed (one of her many illustrious lovers) and his band, the Velvet Underground. Audiences did not seem to mind that she was tone deaf; they liked her deep, flat voice, so perfectly bored with it all. Later in the '70s, Nico returned to Europe to continue performing. A more detailed account of Nico's life can be found in the acclaimed 1995 documentary Nico Icon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1988
The sad and diverse romantic lives of the people who come to a ballroom named Ballhaus Barmbek are closely followed in this drama. Each table in the ballroom has a telephone on it so as to speed up the mating process. Some of those who come to the ballroom are pathetic, like the overweight Elvis fan whose makes a shrine to his idol. Others are simply hard-pressed to remain polite, like the studly Axel, whom all the dance-hall's unattached women (and many of those who are attached) want to dance with. One of the patrons is a crazed old man who rails out against the world in his own poetic language. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jorg Pfenningwerth, Ulrich Tukur, (more)
- 1972
This is a highly experimental French film consisting of no more than 23 camera shots, total. It resembles nothing so much as one of Warhol's earlier films, except that it is more episodic. Nico of the Velvet Underground portrays a different woman in each of the episodes. The first three concern her "rescues" from Death Valley, Egypt and Iceland by a young man to whom she eventually says "stay away from me." Following that, she recites from various texts in German, French and English, makes various gnomic observations and encounters various men in various guises. All the men are played either by director Philippe Garrel or Pierre Clementi. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nico, Pierre Clémenti, (more)
- 1970
In 1970, Warhol starlet Viva released her first book, Viva Superstar, and husband and experimental video diarist Michel Auder was there for every minute of it. Planting his camera at the bookstore, Auder looks on as Nico, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jonas Mekas and many others stop by to congratulate her on her accomplishment. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Underground filmmaker Jonas Mekas presents a collection of home movies, outtakes and unfinished projects. A picnic in Central Park with friends is shown, as are Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer in an anti-war protest march. John Lennon and Yoko Ono are shown in their celebrated honeymoon where they answer questions from the media in a Toronto hotel room to promote peace. Timothy Leary, Andy Warhol and Nico also appear. Color process is not credited. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dr. Timothy Leary
- 1967
The medieval writings of Thomas a Kempis supposedly are the inspiration behind this Andy Warhol film. A young son reflects on his place in the world. Brigid Polk is the young boy's mother, with Ondine as his father. Nico plays the maid and Taylor Mead place a homeless man in this lifeless feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brigid Polk, Ondine, (more)
- 1967
One of the first "underground" films of the 1960's to achieve a degree of mainstream acceptance (it was an actual hit in New York City, was well-received in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and was banned in Chicago and Boston), Andy Warhol's The Chelsea Girls offered a long, unblinking look into the lives of Warhol's retinue of "superstars" as they showed off for the camera in their various rooms in the notorious Chelsea Hotel, long a favored New York hangout for writers, artists and bohemians. Along with such notables of the moment as Eric Emerson, Brigid Polk, Ondine, and Mario Montez, one of the "girls" was Mary Woronov, years before she gained a cult following for her work in Rock 'n' Roll High School and Eating Raoul. The three-and-a-half hour film consisted of two series of images shown simultaneously, though only one soundtrack was audible; in 1995, Warhol associate Paul Morrissey prepared a video edition for broadcast on British television, though the film has yet to be broadcast in the United States and there is no authorized video release as yet in North America. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ondine, Mary Might, (more)
- 1966
Andy Warhol's short experimental feature Closet (1966) stars Nico and Randy Bourscheidt as a couple who live, full-time, in the titular location. The film opens outside of the closet, with the couple off-camera -- the muffled voices provide the only indication of their presence behind the door. As director Warhol charts the interior and the exterior surfaces of the closet with his lens, the couple discuss their turn-ons, their pet peeves, and the option of leaving the compartmentalized space once and for all. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nico
- 1966
This Andy Warhol art film was first released in 1966. It is his chronicle of the Velvet Underground jamming while blonde German model Nico sits on a stool. Unlike other Warhol art films, the camera becomes an active participant in the film as it zooms in, pans, and moves chaotically around the performers Lou Reed, John Cale and other Undergrounders. The film is not really edited and includes a scene where the police burst in to stop the noise. Warhol himself also appears briefly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this sometimes hilarious color film directed by Andy Warhol, the German-born rock singer Nico hires drag queen Mario Montez to baby-sit her three-year-old son Ari. Dressed in a pale blue lounging outfit and adorned with a lot of makeup and costume jewelry, Mario runs into endless difficulties trying to distract this lively little boy, who, for some reason, has almost no interest in watching Mario sing and dance. ("Ten Little Indians" is one of his tunes of choice.) Warhol can be heard offering numerous comments from behind the camera, all designed to incite Ari to even more rambunctious behavior, much to the put-upon Mario's dismay. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Montez, Nico, (more)
In one of the most widely seen and acclaimed European movies of the 1960s, Federico Fellini featured Marcello Mastrioanni as gossip columnist Marcello Rubini. Having left his dreary provincial existence behind, Marcello wanders through an ultra-modern, ultra-sophisticated, ultra-decadent Rome. He yearns to write seriously, but his inconsequential newspaper pieces bring in more money, and he's too lazy to argue with this setup. He attaches himself to a bored socialite (Anouk Aimée), whose search for thrills brings them in contact with a bisexual prostitute. The next day, Marcello juggles a personal tragedy (the attempted suicide of his mistress (Yvonne Furneaux)) with the demands of his profession (an interview with none-too-deep film star Anita Ekberg). Throughout his adventures, Marcello's dreams, fantasies, and nightmares are mirrored by the hedonism around him. With a shrug, he concludes that, while his lifestyle is shallow and ultimately pointless, there's nothing he can do to change it and so he might as well enjoy it. Fellini's hallucinatory, circus-like depictions of modern life first earned the adjective "Felliniesque" in this celebrated movie, which also traded on the idea of Rome as a hotbed of sex and decadence. A huge worldwide success, La Dolce Vita won several awards, including a New York Film Critics CIrcle award for Best Foreign Film and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Yvonne Furneaux, (more)
