Customer Reviews

Nico Icon

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This documentary was filmed a few years after her death. Several people who knew her well are interviewed -- members of her band (both Velvet Underground and musicians who toured with her in the 1970s and 1980s), friends, her only child, Ari, and an aunt who helped raise her. "Unconventional" seems to be an understatement of her persona. One man who is described as a bohemian who apparently knew her before her Velvet Underground days, says that no one liked Nico and Nico liked no one. I'm don't think that's true, but the appearance is that she really didn't like herself, and that may be manifested in her habitual drug abuse and addiction. In the film, we learn that she introduced her young son to heroin, which resulted in his falling in a coma. When she visited him in the hospital, she brought a tape recorder and recorded the sound of his life support machine so she could use it on her next album. Nico's aunt from Germany, who helped raise her, gave some information on her early life. Nico was born in the 1930s and it sounds like she had to grow up in a hurry during WW II and even afterwards. There are film footage and stills from Nico's modeling days in the late 50s and early 60s. In her later days, one guy who toured with her said that she drew a knife and threatened to kill the driver of the band's van. I think it was the same guy who said that after being primarily noted for her physical beauty in her younger life, she was now proud of her rotting teeth and bad skin. She was clearly a troubled woman yet there is undoubtedly something mysterious about her that drew people to her.
Some of the information in the film is very touching about Nico. But when we learn that she was irresponsible with raising her young son and other disturbing incidents, it's difficult to not to get angry with her actions. Nevertheless, it is heartwarming to hear her son (now in his late 30s) very proudly exclaim, "My mother was an artist." It's clear that he loved her. When asked, in a later interview, what her one regret in life was, Nico replied that she wish she had been born a man instead of a woman.
This documentary touches on many aspects of Nico's life, and love it or hate it, I do think it's an excellent video for anyone even mildly interested in the dark German chanteuse. I also think that it's important to remember that people's opinions and perceptions of Nico are only that and not hard, cold facts. To think otherwise would be injustice to someone who can no longer speak for herself.

This is one of those exceptional documentaries which takes as its subject someone whom virtually no one would want to know on a personal basis, and yet turns that subject into someone you can't help but be fascinated by, and even feel affection for. Regardless of how rabid a Nico fan you are (and I'm pretty rabid, myself), it's hard to assert that she wasn't an extremely difficult person to know, to say the least. I venture to say, though, that this film is as close as most of us will ever come to knowing what she was like, as it is a clear eyed portrayal that refuses to romanticize her personal struggles and unkindnesses, while at the same time not condescending to 'drugs are bad and gee, wasn't she weird?' cliches.

In another review, someone mentioned that Nico probably simply didn't care enough to live. I think that there is something to this; however, I would tweak that claim slightly to say that, perhaps, Nico never really saw herself as living in this world at all. She dwelled somewhere very near the curtain that separates this world from 'The Other'. Nico perhaps saw her physical beauty as a supreme twist of cosmic irony: the one thing about her that everyone seemed to agree on, and that was her meal ticket for years, was the least tangible and 'real' of phenomena to her.

In any case, Nico's music is exceptionally beautiful, and this documentary gives plenty of examples of that, as well as rare and revealing footage that you really can't find elsewhere. Even if you're only a casual Nico fan, or fan of documentaries, I highly recommend "Nico Icon".

How great it is to see Nico singing, talking.

Also features Nico's aunt as she recalls Christina's youth and how the both knew she'd become the successful Nico, model, singer and poet.

Her son Ari recounts tales with his mother "Heroin is a killer" he says.

Many of Andy Warhol's clique also speak of their personal memories of her, including Viva and John Cale

This documentary is very interesting even if you are not a fan Of Nico.

As a teenager, my friends and I knew of very few intelligent, deep, female stars to identify with. Nico would have provided a great alternative to Jim Morrison (a man) or even Janis Joplin (not exactly "intellectual" in the way Morrison and Nico were).

Nico's story is tragic. Her family was broken apart by WWII. As she grew older, her identity was defined by her beauty and the fashion industry. Her choices over time reveal the rejection of that superfical identity. She refused to sing high and "prettily," and her lyrics are intelligent and clear about her psychological and emotional isolation. Over time, she becomes "ugly" intentionally, to free herself from the identity others wanted her to maintain.

I disagree with reviews that describe her relationship with her son as "sordid." She was a part of the world of Warhol's Factory, and like Lou Reed and the rest she lived an extreme lifestyle. But she eventually quits heroine and is somewhat reconciled with her son. Seen anyone criticizing male rock stars for how they raise their kids lately?

Her dark personality, severity, and intelligence are characteristics in women that aren't normally highlighted by the male-dominated media industry. And no wonder, she wasn't trying to please any men, so why should they be interested? It's unfortunate, though, for her music is haunting and powerful.

Nico was as intense and talented as Lou Reed or Jim Morrison, and arguably with more to say, given her family and personal history. Yet she was relatively excluded from mainstream rock history. This is definitely a good movie, and Nico is great for girls and women who need an icon with the same intensity and power and talent as some well-known "tragic" male stars.

Nico Icon was a great documentary. It was really haunting, and a bit sad to see some of the scenes.

This video tells all of Nico's life, from her childhood, to her becoming a model and actress(with great footage and photos) to her son Ari, her times in the Velvet Underground, her relashionship with Lou Reed and Jim Morrison, her solo album Career, her heroin addiction, and her final end, when she died in 1988. Interviews were done with Paul Morisey, Viva, and other people who knew Nico.

Icon no, iconoclast yes. Inside joke no, inside brilliance that self-destructed yes. Failure no, otherwise why are we talking about her today. Now that we've got that settled, the DVD is a little short on biographical information, and sometimes the background music drowns out the dialogue a bit. But overall very artistically put together. Some really good interviews, like with with the German aunt who raised her, which was quite moving. Coverage of her years as a model was excellent. Coverage of her time in Andy Warhol's Factory and in the following few years through Marble Index and Desert Shore could have been a bit more detailed, but there were some really interesting vignettes of the era. One assertion stated, by whom I forget, is, I believe, a bit off-base. I don't believe she started her son on heroin, eventhough she did use it with him. Parenthetically, I find it interesting that we don't forgive Nico for the same excesses as her male counterparts. I'm no women's liber, but I agree with the reviewer from Seattle who hit that issue dead on. A really good DVD for Nico fans; her music is brilliant and that's what it's all about. She might have had a moment's more happiness if she had known how well she actually did succeed in the long run. The fact that her music is enjoying a rebirth, as for example in the soundtrack for the "The Royal Tenenbaums," makes this DVD topical to say the least.

About midway through this documentary, former Warhol superstar Viva! makes the assertion that Nico had no inner life. Then she quickly amends the statement and says that Nico had no inner life that anyone else could know. Well, there is a vast difference there. To imply that the woman who composed such unearthly song-poems as "Frozen Warnings," "Evening of Light," and "Julius Caesar (Memento Hodie)" had no inner life is beyond preposterous. Tell you what, Veev, get back to us with your insights once you've written anything half as good.

As much as I respect this film (Susanne Ofteringer has unearthed a great deal of rare footage and assembled her documentary skillfully), I have my doubts that it will change many people's minds about Nico as an artist. Too many still see her as some sort of top-flight groupie who recorded a few Jackson Browne and Lou Reed songs. The cliches still abound, "couldn't sing," "Warhol hanger-on," "Velvet Underground hanger-on." Not that many really understand what she was about, and it's a shame. At some point in the film, John Cale asserts that his work with Nico has yet to be seen for what it is--a genuine contribution to European classical music.

Ofteringer does what she can to correct some of the misapprehensions about her subject. But what many will come away with is the tragic story of a talented, beautiful woman who threw it all away. That's part of Nico's story,of course. But while I understand the impulse to refer to Nico as a "failure" (in commercial terms and in her personal life, she certainly was), it is a disservice to imply that she failed artistically. She did not.

This film can be very depressing but it's a gripping look at a truly unconventional celebrity--a beauty who wanted to be ugly and dragged her life and loved ones down with her. Some of what is revealed about her is so bizarre, you wouldn't believe it in a work of fiction. I wouldn't say this makes for light viewing but if you're interested in Nico at all, I'd highly recommend it. And the rendition of Nico's "Frozen Warnings" by John Cale over the closing credits is stunningly beautiful and haunting.

I first heard of Nico many years ago. I vaguely remember her as the epitome of Nordic beauty, who sang with The Velvet Underground and consequently was associated with Andy Warhol. Knowing alot about Warhol history, I was aware that Nico was mostly remembered for her appearance and her non-communicative ways. In Underground recordings featuring Nico, I would have to agree with Warhol's appraisal of her vocal skills as the "voice of a beautiful cow." She seemed to be just another of the many tragic, lost beauties, like Edie Sedgwick, who almost made it, but, not quite. In this interesting documentary, one gets to know Nico somewhat better. One of the main thoughts I came away with upon viewing this film is the sad feeling of wasted beauty. Though that commodity's value is questionable, and certainly fades with time, Nico's beauty, as viewed here in early stills and films, was shocking. It was not just the knowledge of what was to come that made me feel sadness at seeing this girls exquisite, flawless beauty. She was obviously too deep a person to just settle for being viewed as merely gorgeous. She was also a talented poet/songwriter, and I was very impressed with her ethereal later recordings seen and heard here. I certainly can't argue with her statement also heard here that her only regret was that she hadn't been born a man. No, beauty was not enough for her. What is sad to reflect upon is her deterioration into heroin addiction. She became what a bandmate here refers to as a "middle aged junkie", and the film seen here of Nico toward the end of her life is of a person that has become unrecognizable compared to the blonde ice goddess of not too many years before. The fact that she also had a very young son, to whom she apparently provided a steady diet of potato chips, and basically abandoned to the kindly mother of the child's father, actor Alain Delon, and whose very presence obviously interfered with her wanderlust, makes any empathy with her hard to conjure up. Also hearing from her ex-lover that Nico got same son addicted to heroin is an extremely distasteful and unsympathetic thought. Yes, she had some talent. But, was she a troubled human being, whom we should pity, or simply selfish from birth? It is hard to say why she was the way she was. She died what appears to be a sad end in her 40's. In our culture there seems to be as much appeal for sad endings as there is for success stories. But, as I myself get older, and having had two close, smart, devestatingly gorgeous glamour girls of my own who met tragic ends through drugs and alcohol, I see nothing but sadness in loss of this kind, there is no glamour in it. Unlike Marilyn Monroe, who arguably was touched by God, the likes of Nico, Edie, Gia, and many before and after them, will more than likely only be remembered by their families and those that knew their names , all of whom are diminishing with time. However, this film is of interest not only because it's the story of beauty lost, but it is well crafted and scored. All said, the overwhelming feeling of a life squandered and burned out too soon will probably prevent me from viewing it again.

This is a very good film, but nothing said about Nico by anyone can be taken a face value. The problem for someone like Nico her whole life is that few (if any) people really wanted to know her, they wanted to use her, to hustle her or to destroy her. And when you look like Nico, if you don't let those people do that, your a cold loveless bitch. And everyone you didn't give yourself up to will spread every sort of hateful story and lie about you. Your a talentless, worthless, a bad mother and a failure. People who at the same time admit that she never allowed them to be close to her seem to know every detail about her.

And when people abandoned her later, it wasn't because she was a junkie. It was because her looks went. People have no problem heaping praises on male zombies like Lou Reed no matter how bad he decays in performance and musical skill. But be a woman over a certain age and the only thing people want from you is that you should go off in a corner and die out of their sight.

As far as her son and heroin. Never listen to a junkie blaming other people for their addictions. She didn't make him use herion. She did the best she could for him. She was never equipped to be a great mother and her habit did help, but she was not the monster many would make her.

In the end, she was an artist. She created great music and she is best remember through that music.