RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Nomi Song
The Nomi Song

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Nomi Song (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:14

Fresh:14

Rotten:0

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: A fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, documentary about Klaus Nomi, a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene during the '80s.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Feb 4, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: He came from outer space to save the human race. Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of 1980's most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave... He came from outer space to save the human race. Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of 1980's most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a "look" so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. But the reaction Klaus Nomi provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable, even 20 years after his death. Nomi constructed his own myth out of elements so completely "wrong", yet so deliberate, that it all seemed oddly possible. He was an alien amongst the outcasts, a tortured soul who also radiated optimism at a time when optimism was "officially" out of fashion. He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. His appeal is not easy to explain in words. He has to be seen - and heard - to be believed. It is hard to limit this film to being called a documentary. It is rather a non-fiction film, maybe even an oral history. But it's also visual, partly because Nomi himself was so visual, someone who's main concern was putting forth an image of himself in everything he did - literally illustrated by the photos, films, videos and artworks that go with it. What unifies the various stylistic elements is Klaus Nomi himself, not only the all pervasive image he put out, but more importantly, his effect on others. It's a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, felt pity for him or betrayed by him, yet above all, were inspired by him. The Nomi Song is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something - anything - simply because "somewhere in the great cosmic plan we all knew that we only had a finite amount of time together and we had to make the most of it." -- © Palm Pictures [More]

Starring: Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David McDermott

Starring: Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David McDermott

Director: Andrew Horn

Director: Andrew Horn
Studio: Palm Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 6

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 14, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Nomi Song

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/11/05
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Nomi Song is pieced together from photos, performance footage, and talking-head interviews, but director Andew Horn has taken great care to fashion a strong story arc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/03/05
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mostly fascinating, but occasionally frustrating.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/20/05
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Paints a vivid portrait of the sense of play and possibility that animated the best of the punk and new wave movements.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/20/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amusingly and wistfully records how the artist and his crowd tried to make a success of it beyond the Mudd Club and other downtown haunts.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/04/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Andrew Horn's film charts Nomi's remarkable rise, his brief cult fame and his untimely flameout in 1983 as one of the arts community's earliest AIDS fatalities.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
02/24/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nomi Song pays tribute to both the man born Klaus Sperber and his anything goes era.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
02/23/05
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Horn does more than simply pay homage to a late artist. He uses his subject to revisit the euphoria of artistic and musical culture at a crossroads, and in the process brings it, briefly and poignantly, back to life again.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
02/18/05
Neva Chonin
Neva Chonin
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forget Devo, Nico, Bowie, or Beefheart: The most mesmerizing freak show in the history of rock & roll was Klaus Nomi.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
02/09/05
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A thorough if predictable Behind the Music episode.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
02/04/05
Debra Birnbaum
Debra Birnbaum
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like most cult bios, this barely skims its subject's private life. Fortunately, there are copious clips of Nomi's mesmerizing performances.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/04/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chronicles the short and haunting life of Klaus Sperber, a trained classical singer from Essen, Germany, who came to New York as a young man in the late 1970's.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/03/05
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Horn, who knew Nomi, does an excellent job of evoking the exhilaratingly hedonistic period the film covers as well as the long shadow that the coming of AIDS casts over it.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/03/05
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An absorbing homage to obscure but fascinating late '70s-early '80s German stage artiste Klaus Nomi.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/03/05
Leslie Felperin
Leslie Felperin
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Made with considerable wit and style, Horn's thoughtful celebration of the era and its most uncanny diva could function as the show's supplement.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
02/01/05
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 15 (sorted by date)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

John Travolta's top reviewed movies

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What's Coming Out

What's Coming Out

Find movies for the holiday weekend!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
24
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
48
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
26
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
118
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
178
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
85
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
59
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
44
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
42
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
32
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
25
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
21
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
18
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
14
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
10
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
20
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
7
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Nomi Song at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Nomi Song at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Animated Oscar?
Animated Oscar? External Link

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview External Link

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

Scenic Routes
Scenic Routes External Link

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.