This Halloween, rather than donning that worn out Scream mask, why not go adult Trick or Treating with your cum face? You know, that often unfortunate grimace you pull at the height of sexual pleasure?
It’s certainly worked as a talking point for Lars Von Trier’s latest movie Nymphomaniac, which is using an ad campaign with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Udo Kier, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell, Stacy Martin, Christian Slater and alike showing their best sex faces.
Famed cult actor extraordinaire Udo Kier is a demigod for those of us with a palate for both art house and exploitation. The man has been bringing his own brand of presence and charisma to the silver screen, of which the likes haven’t been seen since Conrad Veidt. Kier’s filmography alone is a paean to the weird and wonderful world of fringe film making, ranging from Dario Argento’s horror masterwork, Suspiria to Paul Morrissey’s double threat of Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein to Lars Von Trier’s The Idiots and Melancholia. Kier was even in The German Chainsaw Massacre, which by title and cast alone is something I desperately need to see. He’s also flirted with the mainstream, appearing in everything from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective to Blade and more recently, an episode of the TV show, Chuck.
But I am not here to regale you with tales of Kier’s idiosyncraticly impressive acting resume. Not at all, because in addition to being a phenomenal actor, Kier also made a music video where he turns into a bird of prey! In 1985, Kier wrote and recorded a song entitled, “Der Adler” and made one incredible video for it. It truly has to be seen to be believed, featuring Kier as a haunted businessman with a loving family that he seems detached from. He becomes obsessed with power until he ultimately transforms into a hawk. There’s lot of great horror-type imagery, including one shot of Kier writhing on the bathroom floor in elegant attire, no doubt an homage to his turn in Blood for Dracula.
Unfortunately, “Der Adler” is the only song that Kier has recorded to date. It would be interesting to see what he would do nowadays music-wise, especially since he’s still very much active creatively. The whole stark-Euro synth feel of the song works perfectly with the lyrics, as well as the visuals. Kier did some promotional work for the single in Europe, in particular appearing on German television. To my knowledge, the only notable appearance of the song in the US was Kier performing a section of it during the infamous lamp dance in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho.
So if you have lots of love in your stir-crazy heart for Udo Kier like I do, plus have a weakness for sinister Euro-synthpop, then you must check out “Der Adler”. Enjoy!
There is no other human on earth who looks like, moves, speaks and acts like Udo Kier—and many of the world’s top film directors are intimately aware of this. Frequently cast to give a film that extra indefinable oooompfh, Udo nails it every time, with a mixture of camp, chills, commitment, charm and sex! His penetrating blue eyes are like laser beams aimed through the soul; his gravitas can skew either warmly funny or deadly serious; his physical appeal is that of a sensual dark overlord; his that-guy-ness—electrifying, as his appearance in over 200 film/TV roles, from arthouse to grindhouse, have inspired a deeply devoted cult. This Teutonic two-headed titan of both top-shelf cinema classics and trashy exploitation fare has simply been one of our favorite on-screen performers for forever—and besides, how could Von Trier, Fassbinder, Herzog, Paul Morrissey, Rob Zombie, Argento, Carpenter, Van Sant, Wenders, Michael Bay, Guy Maddin and Uwe Boll all be wrong?
Tonight, we’re thrilled to welcome Udo for a lively discussion about his wild and prolific filmography, an oodles-of-Udo presentation of some of his greatest movie moments, and two incredibly rare films: the legendary 2002 short film Mrs. Meitlemeihr (which features Udo as Adolf Hitler hiding out in post-war London…in drag!), and 1996’s United Trash. Directed by Udo’s good friend, the late Christoph Schlingensief (a director whose outrageously outré is-it-art-or-is-it-exploitation satirical style made Kier his perfect frequent collaborator), the film is an incredible holyfuckingshit masterpiece not to be missed. And it stars Kitten Nativdad! Seriously, don’t miss this. JUST ADDED: the evening’s show will also feature the world premiere of new short films directed by Guy Maddin that star Udo, ones filmed simultaneously with Guy’s new feature Keyhole!
