Alongside “Aguirre” is “Woyzeck” certainly his best job as an actor, and one can see from his face how much he suffered for that role. His interpretation of Nosferatu is also brilliant, and comes close to Max Schreck´s performance, though trying to give the character a more emotional note. His “Paganini” is strange and unbalanced just like he himself, but should be watched in order to get to know his most personal project. I also liked his performance in Terayama´s weird erotical “Les fruits de la passion”, but haven´t seen “Love and Money”. In case that you speak German would I recommend you to check out “Klaus Kinski spricht Werke der Weltliteratur” which makes it clear that he was one of the most gifted voice actors of the XX. century.
I second Woyzeck. It’s one of the most brilliant performances.
He’s also good in Il grande silenzio (1968).
+ You have to see Jesus Christus Erlöser (it’s available on DVD with English subs)!
It’s his masterpiece.
I love the great silence and I would recommend, Cobra Verde I love it! I would also recommend the great spagehtti cowboy western A Bullet for the General or Quien Sabe?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHmiD8jFjXs
I’m now gonna check out Jesus Christus Erlöser, thanks Grey Daisies
Jesus Christus Erlöser, im intrigued about this tell me more!
Also, whats this Klaus Kinski movie that was featued in the Z Channel documentary by Zoe Cassavettes, where we see Klaus and he says Faggot.
For the longest time I was aware only of Venom.
He’s a real good villian in the Great Silence and is a good match for Jean-Louis Trintignant. There’s a good documentary about him and his relationship with Werner Herzog called My Best Fiend. Also, he’s played one of the bad guys in the Sergio Leone film For A Few Dollars More and makes a brief appearance in Dr. Zhivago, but that is only a brief scene where he is on a train.
His performance in Woyzeck is one of the greatest. The film itself is among my favorite Herzog and yet not many people seem to talk about it.
CREATURE is worth renting. Ridiculous ALIEN rip-off (with a great VHS video cover, all any exploitation flick from the early 80s really needed).
He was brilliant in Andrzej Zulawski’s Love: the Most Important Thing, a very good movie despite its rather lame title. Kinski is more of a supporting player there, but leaves quite an impression anyway.
Yeah, Kinski’s Paganini film is very non-linear, rather dream-like/nightmarish. I’d have to watch it again to decide whether I like it or not, but it’s certainly interesting.
What’s everyone’s take on Crawlspace then?
@Rudy Jesus Christus Erlöser, im intrigued about this tell me more!
At times, Klaus Kinski’s reputation as a provocateur seemed to overshadow his prowess as an actor. Peter Geyer’s new full-length documentary Jesus Christus Erlöser (Jesus Christ Saviour) seems to support the notion that prevarication was an integral and inseparable part of the actor’s work. Geyer’s film documents Klaus Kinski’s November 20th, 1971 theatrical reading at Deutschlandhalle in Berlin. It was on this evening that the golden-locked, hippy-garbed Kinski engaged an audience of thousands in a reading of a 30 plus page interpretation of the story of Jesus Christ.
The audience quickly took umbrage at Kinski’s readings, and the evening turned into a multiple-hour battle of heated words and raised fists. Scenes from this event were very briefly featured in Werner Herzog’s documentary Mein Liebster Feind (My Best Fiend) but Geyer reconstructs the evening’s events using extensive, previously unseen footage. What might Kinski have done to create such a scene? Transcription of brief German language clips available on the film’s web site indicate that Kinski did a lot.
His presentation and words struck many as an attempt to present himself as Christ. Instead of calmly responding to the audience, Kinski went on the offensive. For example, after someone stated that shouting down people who disagreed with him was unlike Christ, Kinski responded with a different take on how Christ might respond: “No, he didn’t say ‘shut your mouths’, he took a whip and beat them. That’s what he did, you stupid sow!" In another scene, he brow beats the audience by saying "can’t you see that when someone lectures thirty typewritten pages of text in this way, that you must shut your mouths? If you can’t see that, please let someone bang it into your brain with a hammer!” The evening’s festivities also turned physical as an audience member is shown getting bounced from the stage by a bodyguard. Someone responds that “Kinski just let his bodyguard push a peaceful guy, who only wanted to have a discussion, down the stairs! That is a fascist statement, Kinski is a fascist, a psychopath!”
Jesus Christus Erlöser is in the German language and is available with English subtitles. The film is currently playing festival dates throughout Europe. As of this date, there is no distribution in North America or the United Kingdom. One can hope that a thoughtful distributor will bring this film to a worldwide audience in the near future. Jesus Christus Erlöser looks to be an exciting, if not unnerving, glimpse into the bent personality of one of the 20th century’s greatest actors.
(http://twitchfilm.net/news/2008/07/klaus-kinski-jesus-christus-erloser.php)
NOSFERATU IN VENICE is terrible". It has some interesting moments and mood and music are good but it goes downhill very very fast. " He’s not even wearing the make up" , and the film changed directors. I heard Lamberto Bava finished the film. It ’s also starring Christopher Plumer and Donald Pleasence . He did JACK the RIPPER with Jess Franco. COBRA VERDE was another film he did with Herzog. THE GREAT SILENCE with Sergio Corbucci.
There’s too many titles to even think about trying to list, but Kinski did a raft of krimis and appearances in Jess Franco films. He’s often the only reason for watching some of them (particularly the Franco stuff like IL CONDE DRACULA).
In one of his many movies that I remember, Kinski is entertaining enough playing a mad scientist in “Lifespan” (1975). Not good mind you, but entertaining, in a Rod Steiger way.
I wouldn’t have even bothered with “Love and Money” except that Ornella Muti is in it. The movie seems to have been made in a hurry on a low budget, it’s one of James Toback’s worst films. It also happens to have the curio of King Vidor (!) playing an old man with Alzheimer’s.
The fact that it is a James Toback movie is enough for me to see it!
the fact that Kinski is in with his daughter is another reason
this Ornella Muti is another reason why I wanna see it, it seems everytime I bring the movie up she is mentioned for being some sexy siren.
King Vidor acting … I am there
Also Tomas Milan is in the movie! I dont care how bad it is I wanna see it! Tell me more about it Brain
Since it’s been brought up a couple times, here’s Crawlspace
free via Hulu. i can’t really recommend it as a good movie, but it’s great fun in the “Klaus carried away being Klaus in a sleazy b-movie” way.
I keep hearing from people who liked Great Silence, it seems to be picking up some kind of cult via dvd. This is a good thing.
I really want to get ahold of Jesus Christus Erloser, I’m going to have to keep an eye out, now that I know it’s out there.
has anyone read his autobiography? It may be out of print now, but it’s as full of crazy Klaus goodness as you would hope.
Rudy, if you are stargazing then you won’t mind how bad ‘Love & Money’ is. I’m sorry to say that in that film, Klaus Kinski is mainly a bad-tempered character without displaying any of the nutty tendancies he’s famous for. That’s why I like watching him go a little koo-koo in ‘Lifespan’. He’s also restrained in ‘Death of a Corrupt Man’ (1977) with its dream cast of Kinski, Muti and Alain Delon.
‘Love & Money’ was filmed in Los Angeles and since I grew up there, the scenes that are a stand-in for Central America are so obviously L.A. it’s painful to watch. Ornella Muti at age 25 in 1980 can be thought of as the world’s Miss Double-Take, and such a scene appropriately happens with Ray Sharkey here (as in ‘Flash Gordon’). King Vidor also appears to be enamoured with her. She tried to make it in Hollywood but her accent was so thick she soon went back to Italy.
Check out PAGANINI. Far out.
@ Brain I saw Love and Money and enjoyed it although it was not the best movie. King Vidor was great in the film. Kinski was also fun and has a great scene toward the end. I thought Ray Sharkey was not bad at all. He resembles young Toback to a certain degree perhaps from his Jim Brown days. The one problem with the movie is the girl that lives with Byron and his grandfather.
Funny, I mention Il grande silenzio on another thread earlier to day, and now this thread pops up from months ago. But it’s given me the idea to watch Woyzeck.
E Dio disse a Caino/Satan der Rache is another good spaghetti western with Kinski in it.
i asked this same question a few months ago and nobody responded.
i asked this same question a few months ago and nobody responded.
Venom (Kinski sharing the screen with Sterling Hayden, Oliver Reed, Susan George!)
Dr. Zhivago (sure, it’s “gooey,” but it does feature that out-of-left-field cameo by Kinski!)
Jess Franco’s Dracula (I don’t even think Kinski has dialog but his performance is outrageous)
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE:
“Go on, light another match!”
“I generally smoke after I eat. Why not come back in about ten minutes?”
He’s in a million Italian westerns. I remember him having a big part in THE RUTHLESS FOUR (1968), which they used to show on TV a lot, but not in about 30 years. There’s a bunch of his Italian stuff on VHS in my closet, most of which I haven’t seen.
He has a great bit part near the end of the WWII spy movie, THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (1962).
I just got his autobiography Kinski Uncut!
Creature, directed by Hans Rudy Hofner.
Surely not one of his masterpiece, but still interesting and funny, somehow.
His autobiography is a great read. What a madman!
Vic, this memoir is one the best reads I have ever done, I ran through the book.
Rudy
What are some Klaus Kinski movies, that aren’t as popular as say Agguire or Cobra Verde but are good,funny and or interesting?
Stuff like maybe Nosfreatu in Venice, or his directing job in Paganini? Both of which I havent seen…
I was wondering if anyone has seen Love And Money (1982)?