Nosferatu in Venice

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Nosferatu in Venice
Nosferatu in Venice DVD cover
Directed by	Augusto Caminito
Produced by	Carlo Alberto Alfieri Augusto Caminito
Written by	Alberto Alfieri Augusto Caminito Leandro Lucchetti Pasquale Squitieri
Starring	Klaus Kinski Christopher Plummer Donald Pleasence
Music by	Luigi Ceccarelli Vangelis
Cinematography	Tonino Nardi
Editing by	Claudio M. Cutry
Release date(s)	1988 (Italy)
Running time	97 min.
Country	Italy
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Nosferatu a Venezia, also known as Vampires in Venice, is an Italian horror film released in 1988 and directed by Augusto Caminito, starring Klaus Kinski, Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence. Director-producer Caminito intended to produce a legitimate sequel to Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, with Klaus Kinski reprising his role, but the actor refused to shave his head and don his make-up again, so the two films appear to be wholly unrelated. In this film, Kinski sports long blond hair and plays a character very different from the rather doleful Dracula he played in Herzog's picture. Here, the vampire, simply called "Nosferatu" (and not Dracula or Count Orlok), is an almighty and indestructible lord of the undead who wishes his immortal life to end but can only die if a virgin woman grants him her love. Christopher Plummer plays Paris Catalano, a rather ineffective vampire hunter.

Christopher Plummer in Nosferatu in Venice

The film had a very troubled history, with several directors being fired and leaving the project, while Kinski's behavior on set caused many delays in shooting. Producer Caminito decided to direct the film himself when director Mario Caiano resigned after being insulted on the set by Kinski. The film proved unsuccessful at the Italian box-office and enjoyed limited release abroad.