Vampire in Venice

Vampire in Venice
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

"Vampire Of Venice" redirects here. For the Doctor Who episode, see The Vampires of Venice.

Vampire in Venice (Nosferatu a Venezia), also known as Nosferatu in Venice, is an Italian horror film released in 1988 and directed by Augusto Caminito, starring Klaus Kinski, Christopher Plummer and Donald Pleasence.

It's an almost completely unrelated sequel to Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, only with Kinski returning to reprise his loosely connected role. Donald Pleasence had previously played Dr. John Seward in Dracula (1979 film), and Christopher Plummer later went on to play another vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, in the film Dracula 2000. The film proved unsuccessful at the Italian box-office and enjoyed limited release abroad.

Synopsis

Christopher Plummer in Nosferatu in Venice

Professor Paris Catalano goes to Venice to investigate the last known appearance of Nosferatu during the Carnival of 1786. Catalano seems to think that the vampire is searching for a means to put an end to his torment and actually be dead. He stays with a family who, legend says, has the vampire trapped in a tomb in the basement. After a séance "the vampire" appears and then it becomes a question of how do you put the evil back into the box.

Production

Director-producer Caminito had intended to produce a legitimate sequel to Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, with Kinski reprising his role. However the actor refused to shave his head and don his make-up again.^[1] In this film, Kinski sports long blond hair. The vampire character here is simply called "Nosferatu" (and not Dracula). Nosferatu 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, an ineffective vampire hunter.

The film had a 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.^[1] Kinski claimed in his autobiography, All I Need Is Love, that he ended up directing himself in certain scenes.

Cast

• Klaus Kinski as Nosferatu
• Christopher Plummer as Professor Paris Catalano
• Donald Pleasence as Don Alvise
• Barbara De Rossi as Helietta Canins
• Yorgo Voyagis as Dr. Barneval
• Anne Knecht as Maria Canins
• Elvire Audray as Uta Barneval

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Luigi Cozzi

External links

• Vampire in Venice at the Internet Movie Database
• Vampire in Venice at AllRovi