Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers (WGA):

Anne Rice (screenplay)
Anne Rice (novel)

Release Date:

11 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Drink From Me And Live Forever

Plot:

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Plantation | Death | 18th Century | Orphan

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Brad Pitt	...	Louis de Pointe du Lac
Christian Slater	...	Daniel Malloy
Virginia McCollam	...	Whore on Waterfront
John McConnell	...	Gambler
Tom Cruise	...	Lestat de Lioncourt
Mike Seelig	...	Pimp
Bellina Logan	...	Tavern Girl
Thandie Newton	...	Yvette
Lyla Hay Owen	...	Widow St. Clair
Lee E. Scharfstein	...	Widow's Lover (as Lee Emery)
Indra Ové	...	New Orleans Whore (as Indra Ove)
Helen McCrory	...	2nd Whore
Monte Montague	...	Plague Victim Bearer
Kirsten Dunst	...	Claudia
Nathalie Bloch-Lainé	...	Maid (as Nathalie Bloch)

Also Known As:

Interview with the Vampire (USA) (short title)

MPAA:

Rated R for vampire violence and gore, and for sexuality.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (2000) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | USA:R (No. 33401) | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Geffen Pictures

Trivia:

Christian Slater donated his $250,000 salary to two of River Phoenix's favorite charities.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the very beginning, just before Louis begins his story, the shot from outside the window shows Louis' hair down. The next shot in the room of Louis' back shows his hair pulled back in a low pony tail.

Quotes:

Daniel Molloy: So there are no vampires in Transylvania? No Count Dracula?
Louis: Fictions, my friend. The vulgar fictions of a demented Irishman.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The First Wives Club (1996)

Soundtrack:

Sonata in E Flat Adagio E Cantabile

Obviously misunderstood

Someone said that this movie was too cerebral for horror fans who live for drivel like "From Dusk 'Till Dawn", and too much of a horror movie for people who look (or at least pretend to look) for meaning in movies -- pseudo-intellectuals. That person couldn't have been more correct. I'm not a horror fan, I'm not an Anne Rice fan...I'm not even fond of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Antonio Banderas. But Interview With a Vampire was a movie that excelled my expectations.

I refused to see this film for 3 years because I believed it would be what I perceived it to be: glitzy Hollywood garbage geared toward adolescent girls with posters of the 3 main actors all over their walls. I finally broke down and rented it, and I was astonished by the incredible performances delivered, the thrilling dialogue and the way it was delivered by the actors, the scenery, the plot, the score...everything. I never thought that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise could act, but their performances made their unbelievable characters a reality. However, the true star of the film was Kirsten Dunst. At 12 years old, this girl was able to hold her own against her co-stars, and often stole the scene (particularly the incident in which Claudia tries to cut her hair and subsequently Lestat discovers the corpse in her bed.)

You don't want to look for the meaning of life in this movie. It's a story. The plot is basically the history of a vampire's life, and I don't understand why people are compelled to trash a movie because of its simplicity. Look at the title. That's all it is, and if you expect more you're setting yourself up for disappointment. It's not the deepest of movies, that's why it should be enjoyed for the intense dialogue and the great production that went into it. Others trash the movie because of its homoerotic undertones. This aspect is so fleeting that it's ridiculous to dwell on it, and if you dwell on such an insignificant aspect of the movie then you were obviously looking for something to bother you. One additional thing: to even suggest that the violence in this film could be responsible for incidents such as the Columbine High School killings is beyond moronic.

This isn't the greatest movie that has ever been made, it's certainly not a complex analysis of life, or a parable with a moral dictating the enjoyment of life. It's a brilliantly produced gothic tale of a vampire, nothing more and nothing less. In respect to the book, I've never read it and I don't particularly care to read it. But for all of you who have been complaining about the movie not living up to the novel, here's a clue that might prove useful in the future: the book is ALWAYS better than the film. Don't waste your time complaining about something that is understood.