Paganini (1989 film)
| Kinski Paganini | |
|---|---|
 A promotional poster for Kinski Paganini | |
| Directed by | Klaus Kinski |
| Produced by | Augusto Caminito |
| Written by | Klaus Kinski |
| Starring |
Klaus Kinski Debora Kinski Nikolai Kinski |
| Music by | Niccolò Paganini |
| Cinematography | Pier Luigi Santi |
| Edited by | Klaus Kinski |
| Distributed by | Filmverleih Carsten Frank |
Release dates | 7 October 1989 (Germany) |
Running time |
81 min. Director's Cut: 95 minutes |
| Country |
 Italy  France |
| Language | Italian |
Kinski Paganini is a 1989 film based on the life and career of composer and virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini. The movie was written and directed by Klaus Kinski, who also performs the lead role. It was to be Kinski's final film before his death in 1991.
The film also stars Kinski's young wife (Debora Kinski) and son (Nikolai Kinski) alongside him. Klaus Kinski felt that he and Paganini had led similar lives, and both gave "demonic" performances in their own fields that often sparked great controversy.
In his 1999 documentary My Best Fiend, frequent collaborator Werner Herzog says Kinski repeatedly asked him to direct the film, but he, Herzog, refused because he thought the script was "unfilmable". Herzog also states that the preparation for his role in Kinski Paganini caused the actor to take on an uncomfortable "alien" air that disrupted Kinski's performance in their last film together, Cobra Verde.
Plot
The film is a biopic about the life of Niccolò Paganini, who many consider to be one of the greatest violinists who ever lived.[1]
Cast
- Klaus Kinski as Niccolò Paganini
- Debora Caprioglio as Antonia Bianchi (credited as Debora Kinski)
- Nicolai Kinski as Achille Paganini
- Dalila Di Lazzaro as Helene von Feuerbach
- Tosca D'Aquino as Angiolina Cavanna
- Eva Grimaldi as Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte
- Donatella Rettore as Miss Wells
- Bernard Blier as Father Caffarelli
Release information
Since its theatrical run, the film had only been released on DVD and VHS in Germany, but in late 2011, the film was released for the first time in North America on a two disc special edition DVD. The release contained deleted and extended scenes, the Cannes Film Festival interviews for the film, and both the theatrical and director's cut which added another 14 minutes of previously cut footage. [2]