Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers (WGA):

Anne Rice (screenplay)
Anne Rice (novel)

Release Date:

11 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

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 | Interview | Blood

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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

Color:

Color (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:

Author Anne Rice wrote the original part of Lestat for the novel with Rutger Hauer in mind. The book was published in 1976. By the time a movie was to be filmed, Hauer had become too old to portray the ever-young looking vampire. Upon learning that Tom Cruise had been cast, she was quite disappointed and expressed concern that Cruise could not carry the part. After attending a screening, Rice wrote a letter of apology, quite pleased with Cruise's portrayal.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Even considering the supernatural powers of vampires, and perhaps his hat was on real tight, when Santiago "dances" up to the top of the tunnel, his hair and cape should have fallen due to gravity.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Louis: So you want me to tell you the story of my life?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Castle: Vampire Weekend (#2.6)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Sympathy for the Devil

Romantic, melancholy and beautiful - a vampire epic for the new millennium

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / SDDS

17th century New Orleans: The relationship between an ancient vampire (Tom Cruise) and his bloodsucking protegé (Brad Pitt) is tested to destruction by a young girl (Kirsten Dunst) who challenges their established dynamic, leading to betrayal and murder.

A doom-laden meditation on life and death and the nature of grief, based on Anne Rice's bestselling novel (written as a response to the death of her beloved daughter), and featuring two of contemporary Hollywood's most recognizable stars (both astonishingly beautiful here) as vampire and willing victim, remaining eternally young as the world evolves around them. Cruise plays a seasoned killer who revels in bloodthirsty excess, while Pitt is a conscientious objector who balks at the prospect of drinking human blood, until Cruise creates a 'companion' for Pitt in the shape of a little girl (Dunst) who refuses to grow old gracefully, with tragic consequences.

Scored with melancholy grace by composer Elliot Goldenthal, and beautifully designed and photographed (by Dante Ferretti and Philippe Rousselot, respectively), the film is epic in concept and execution, spanning the social upheavals of 17th and 18th century America and the horrors of 19th century Europe, where a nest of ancient vampires (led by scene-stealer Antonio Banderas and a miscast Stephen Rea) wreak terrible revenge on those who transgress against vampire lore. But, for all its spectacle, director Neil Jordan (THE COMPANY OF WOLVES) - working from a script credited to Rice herself - maintains a leisurely pace and never loses sight of the characters. The movie contains some beautiful, transcendent passages, including a breathtaking transition from 19th century Europe to modern day America via the introduction of motion pictures (everything from SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS to GONE WITH THE WIND and SUPERMAN!), and an incredibly moving sequence in which a once-proud vampire is discovered in exile, laid low by his own vanity.

The film's delicate tone is upset by a trick ending which comes completely out of left-field, though Jordan has denied any suggestion of studio interference. And, as with the novel, the homoerotic undercurrent is mere window-dressing, an unconsummated tease which the filmmakers (and Rice herself) refuse to explore in any detail, lest it frighten the mainstream crowd. Sadly, the movie is dedicated to the memory of River Phoenix - originally cast as the interviewer who provides one half of the film's title - who died of a drugs overdose during pre-production; his role was taken by Christian Slater. Followed by QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (2002).