Klaus Kinski Movies
Though he invariably looked sickly and tubercular, Polish/German actor Klaus Kinski rose to fame in roles calling for near-manic aggressiveness. His war career consisted primarily of a year and a half in a British POW camp. After this experience, Kinski took to the theater, where he rapidly built a reputation for on-stage brilliance and off-stage emotional instability. He made his first German film, Morituri, in 1948; three years later, he made his English-language movie debut with a fleeting bit in Decision Before Dawn (1951). Villainy was Kinski's film stock in trade during the 1950s and '60s, with several appearances in Germany's Edgar Wallace second-feature series and in such Italian spaghetti Westerns as For a Few Dollars More (1965). International stardom came Kinski's way via his off-the-beam appearances in the films of director Werner Herzog, notably Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1973), Woyzeck (1978), Nosferatu (1979), and Fitzcarraldo (1982). With 1989's Paganini, Kinski proved to be as colorful and chaotic a director as he was an actor. Kinski was the father of actress Nastassja Kinski, though the two seldom saw each other and were never close. He died in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add The Best of TromaDance Film Festival, Vol. 1 to QueueAdd The Best of TromaDance Film Festival, Vol. 1 to top of Queue
Troma Team Pictures, the independent production company who've taken a brave stand for creative tastelessness with such films as The Toxic Avenger, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., and Terror Firmer, launched their own film festival to provide a showcase for real independent filmmakers in the midst of the annual Utah chaos that is the Sundance, Slamdance, Slamdunk, Nodance, and other film festivals. Best of Tromadance Film Festival, Vol. 1 collects three hours worth of short films screened at the Troma-sponsored festival, which charges no entry fee to filmmakers and offers free admissions to all their screenings. Highlights include Deadbeats, which marked the first screen appearance of wrestling star Mick Foley; Kill Mr. Kinski, a short based on a number of strange stories about working with the brilliant but notoriously difficult actor Klaus Kinski; Psychotic Odyssey, a dramatization of the grim career of a real-life serial career, re-enacted using hand puppets; purposefully rancid children's show parody H.R. Pukenshette; and Los Vampirios Moronious, featuring Karen Black. The video also includes a documentary on the festival produced for the British television series Edge TV. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In his last film, actor Klaus Kinski directs himself in this story of notorious 18th-century composer/violinst Niccolo Paganini. Mainly because of the emphasis on Paganini's sex life, the film's producers called the film "pornographic" (although there are no graphic sex scenes) and sued Kinski. The film had a very spotty release, Kinski never acted again, and he died three years later. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski
Director Werner Herzog, as usual, has spared no one -- especially himself -- in bringing this story of 19th-century African slave trading to the screen. Klaus Kinski plays an enterprising young Brazilian who after impregnating the three daughters of his plantation-owning employer, is sent to West Africa to round up slaves. Kinski goes to great lengths to befriend the very people he hopes to enslave and he eventually manages to overthrow a mad monarch and set himself up as king. As the years pass, Kinski grows wealthy -- and careless. However, despite enslaving the tribe, he does show some signs of humanitarian benevolence. This fifth and final collaboration between director Herzog and Kinski is considered the weakest of the five features. Though the title translates literally as Green Cobra, Cobra Verde was released in the U.S. as Slave Coast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, (more)
- 1987
In this spaghetti western, Klaus Kinski appears as a lustful gunman who's after three murderers. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
The "history is inviolate" theory so chillingly elucidated in Ray Bradbury's The Sound of Thunder is recycled for the made-for-TV Timestalkers. William Devane plays a genially eccentric professor who teams with time traveller Lauren Hutton to prevent the course of history from being disastrously altered. In a manner slightly reminiscent of the 1984 movie hit The Terminator, Devane and Hutton must deal with Klaus Kinski, a mad scientist from the 26th century, who plans to hopscotch through time, spreading death and destruction wherever he goes. The odyssey takes the main characters to all manner of locales, including the Old West. Veteran actor Forrest Tucker made his final screen appearance in Timestalkers, which originally aired March 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Devane, Lauren Hutton, (more)
- 1986
In this sequel to 1987's Nosferatu the Vampire, Nosferatu (Klaus Kinski) is brought back to life by gypsies and shows his thanks by pushing an old lady out of a window onto a row of spikes. He seduces a local princess and battles a professor (Christopher Plummer) who is out to destroy him. Director Luigi Cozzi was brought in to finish the film when Kinski violently disagreed with original director Augustino Caminito and refused to be directed by him. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Barbara de Rossi, (more)
Among the first original anthology series to be produced for cable television, The Hitchhiker was a collection of tales of the supernatural and bizarre. The title character, played during the first season by Nicholas Campbell and thereafter by Page Fletcher, was an unnamed drifter who wandered ubiquitously from story to story, sometimes briefly commiserated with the main characters, sometimes acting as a disinterested observer, but always ready with a few pithy and occasional chilling comments of the events which had transpired. Inasmuch as the series carried on pay cable and not "mainstream" commercial TV, the stories contained an abundance of nudity, profanity, and violence. Even so, in most of the half-hour playlets, Evil was severely punished (usually in an ironic "postman always rings twice" fashion) and Virtue more or less triumphed. After 39 episodes on HBO, the series moved to a basic-cable channel, USA, for 46 additional installments. While censorship was somewhat more stringent on USA, The Hitchhiker still managed to serve up rawer and meatier fare than was customary on over-the-air TV of the period. The series was first-run on HBO from November 23, 1983, to May 12, 1987, and on USA from January 4, 1989, to February 22, 1991. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this atmospheric, somewhat eerie retelling of the classic story, a young woman named Beauty (Susan Sarandon) is forced to leave her father's home and go to live in the castle of a frightening Beast Klaus Kinski. The reason for this demand is that Beauty's father, on his travels, had stolen a rose from the Beast's estate, to bring home as a gift for his beloved daughter. Now the Beast has demanded Beauty's presence, and going to live with him is the only way she can save her father's life. Beauty's sister (Anjelica Huston), jealous of her pretty and kindly sister, isn't sorry to see her go. Beauty, afraid and homesick at first, is surprised to find that the Beast treats her kindly. He asks every day if she will marry him, but Beauty refuses until something happens to help her see inside the Beast's true heart. One volume in the highly praised Faerie Tale Theatre series, created by Shelley Duvall. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
A compelling but very strange relationship between a young and lonely fourteen-year-old girl and a mute peasant farmer is at the core of this curious film by Raphaele Billetdoux. Elisabeth (Penelope Palmer) has reason to be unhappy at home so when she meets Marcel (Klaus Kinski), a farmer who indulges her, the two enjoy many an innocent moment together every morning before she leaves for school. Eventually, Elisabeth's parents send her off to study the organ because of her musical talent. As a result, she begins to develop her abilities and grow beyond the relationship she once had with Marcel. But the mute farmer does not necessarily see this change from Elisabeth's perspective. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penelope Palmer, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1980
When Dr. Peter Fales's (Klaus Kinski) patients start getting annhilated by an unknown serial killer, he and his daughter Alison (Donna Wilkes) both come under suspicion. Part slasher film and part psychological thriller, Schizoid co-stars Marianna Hill as Julie, a syndicated "Dear Abby"-style columnist who also happens to be in one of Dr. Fales's therapy groups. After she receives several ominous letters she not only wonders if Dr. Fales might be behind the killings, she also starts to suspect her estranged husband. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Marianna Hill, (more)
- 1979
Klaus Kinski plays a motorcycle rider whose bike breaks down in a small French village. He is helped by Madeleine (Maria Schneider), a young woman who is a social outcast from having a child out of wedlock. When news spreads that a little girl was run down by a cyclist, locals focus their blame on Kinski. A lynch mob is formed by a truckdriver (Patrice Melennes) who seeks revenge on the stranger accused of the hit-and-run accident. Kinski does well in an uncharacteristic role evoking sympathy from the viewer. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Maria Schneider, (more)
Controversial German director Werner Herzog helmed this cinematization of Woyzeck, playwright Georg Büchner's anti-military tale of depersonalization run amok. Utilizing the more grotesque elements of German expressionism, combined with his own sense of the outrageous, Herzog plunges us directly into the middle of his story of a soldier (Klaus Kinski) who is conditioned to be an unthinking killing machine through lab experimentation. His one vestige of humanity is his love for the beautiful Marie (Eva Mattes), but even this is corrupted when he is goaded into murdering the girl. An earlier film version of Woyzeck, filmed in 1947, was released in the U.S. in 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Eva Mattes, (more)
- 1977
Xavier Marechal (Alain Delon) is a businessman whose long-time business partner and friend is Philippe Dubaye (Maurice Ronet) a member of the French parliamentary assembly. In the film, Philippe has just killed Cerrano, a fellow assemblyman who threatened to disclose Philippe's involvement in political corruption. After killing the man, he steals his notebook which contains blackmail information implicating many members of the government. Philippe comes to Xavier afterward for help but only has time to tell him where the notebook is hidden before he is killed. Xavier and Philippe's girlfriend Valerie (Ornella Muti) become the objects of a manhunt by the worried politicians and their henchmen. Mort d'Un Pourri was basically an Alain Delon project; he funded the production of this action thriller, lent his name to it, and invited well-known action- and comedy-director Georges Lautner to direct it. This virtually guaranteed enough money for a polished production, with an all-star cast. Alain Delon here remains faithful to his image as a lone wolf, proud warrior and "samurai" devoted to friendship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Ornella Muti, (more)
This thrill-packed fact-based action-adventure from Israel chronicles the daring rescue of 104 passengers from a hijacked plane in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 4, 1976. The film is also known as Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yehoram Gaon, Ori Levy, (more)
Klaus Kinski is the leading man of The Liberators. But, Kinski being Kinski, we'd hesitate to call him the hero. He's a crooked World War 2 soldier with no friends at all. He butts heads with the Germans, the Americans and his own partners in crime. The film's title, need we add, is meant to be ironic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
In this crime thriller, Morelli (Mel Ferrer) is a writer whose books no longer sell well, at least in part because of his slavish worship of "the classics." His response to this insult to his pride is to kill young women in a horrific manner; he calls it "revolutionary disgust." Bossi (Klaus Kinski) is a newspaper reporter who convinces Morelli to write his memoirs, and he engineers certain of his own affairs to coincide with those of the murdering writer. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Ferrer, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1976
This Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast stars George C. Scott and his wife Trish Van Devere in the title roles -- and it should not take a rocket scientist to determine who plays what role. It all begins when Edward Beaumont (Bernard Lee) makes the fatal error of offending a bestial nobleman (Scott), whose ugly, boarlike countenance seemingly reflects a malevolent personality. To save her father from harm, Edward's gorgeous daughter, Belle (Van Devere), agrees to live as a permanent guest in the beast's huge, forboding mansion. Although he has all the resources of magic and mysticism at his beck and call, the Beast comes to the melancholy conclusion that the otherwise dutiful Belle will never consent to become his bride. But miracles do happen, and the virtuous Belle is able to burrow through the Beast's hideous façade and reveal the kindly, fragile soul within -- and in so doing, she herself grows and matures as a human being. Filmed in England, this production originally aired December 3, 1976, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Trish VanDevere, (more)
- 1976
After his family tries to kill him and he has been pronounced dead, Michel (Klaus Kinski) returns to vex them. He presents each one with a voodoo doll, warning of their fate. Wandering over the streets of Paris, Michel is the haunted and hunted, as he himself hunts his villainous kin. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Blier, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1975
After one of his peers apparently commits suicide, a doctor (Hiram Keller) discovers that the dead man had developed a drug which halts the aging process. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiram Keller, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1975
Freelance photographer Servais (Fabio Testi) meets luckless Nadine Chevalier (Romy Schneider) an aging, world-weary, would-be movie star who thus far has only been able to find work in cheap exploitation movies. Trying to win her affection, Servais borrows the money from his underworld employers to launch a theatrical production of Richard III starring Nadine as Lady Anne. Though cold and skeptical at first, Nadine gradually falls in love with Servais, and eventually finds herself torn between him and her husband Jacques (Jacques Dutronc), to whom she feels morally obligated. Set in a world of losers and futile talents, this dark and moody drama depicts love as the only source of salvation. Memorable performances and skillful direction make this film a powerful experience. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider, Fabio Testi, (more)
- 1975
An amiable con man sets out to land a big score from a man even less honorable than himself in this comic spaghetti western. Joe Thanks (Terence Hill) is a swindler and quick-draw artist who wanders into a dusty little town after literally falling out of a stagecoach while asleep. After besting card-sharp Doc Foster (Klaus Kinski) in a public shootout, Joe reconnects with his old friend Steam Engine Bill (Robert Charlebois), who is traveling with his beautiful but dizzy-headed girlfriend Lucy (Miou-Miou). Joe has learned that Major Cabot (Patrick McGoohan), an officer in the U.S. Cavalry, is escorting a $300,000 fortune that's been earmarked for Indian relief efforts; however, Cabot has no intention of actually delivering the cash, so Joe hatches a scheme to take it for himself. Bill, who bears a slight resemblance to Cabot, will pose as the officer and intercept the money, but when Bill and Lucy are found out and jailed, Joe must come to their rescue. While his name does not appear in the credits, Sergio Leone is said to have co-produced Un Genio, Due Compari, Un Pollo (aka A Genius, Two Partners, and a Dupe) and directed the pre-credit sequence, with Damiano Damiani helming the rest of the picture and receiving screen credit. In Germany, the film was released as Nobody ist der Grosste (aka Nobody is the Greatest) and marketed as an unofficial sequel to Il Mio Nome e Nessuno (aka My Name Is Nobody). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miou-Miou, Robert Charlebois, (more)
- 1974
In this sci-fi chiller, a young woman's peace is shattered when she begins hearing loud screams in her head. They are the agonized wailings of an astronaut deliberately marooned upon the moon by a double-crossing experimenter. Soon the woman becomes possessed by the astronaut. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
