Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

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

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Anne Rice (screenplay), Anne Rice (novel)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 18 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)

Storyline

It hadn't even been a year since a plantation owner named Louis had lost his wife in childbirth. Both his wife and the infant died, and now he has lost his will to live. A vampire named Lestat takes a liking to Louis and offers him the chance to become a creature of the night: a vampire. Louis accepts, and Lestat drains Louis' mortal blood and then replaces it with his own, turning Louis into a vampire. Louis must learn from Lestat the ways of the vampire.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | night | plantation | death | little girl | 

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Taglines:

Drink From Me And Live Forever

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Genres:

Horror | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for vampire violence and gore, and for sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Interview with the Vampire

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,334,399 (UK) (20 January 1995)

Gross:

£9,540,239 (UK) (17 February 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geffen Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeremy Irons turned down the part of Lestat as he didn't want to play another character that required hours in the make-up chair, coming off the back of The House of the Spirits.

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Goofs

After Lestat kills the tavern woman with Louis's help and replaces her head on the table, her eyelids move slightly.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

In Memory of River Phoenix 1970-1993

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Connections

Referenced in The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II' (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Terpsichore and Harp Concerto in B Flat"
Written by George Frideric Handel (as George Frederick Handel)
Adapted by George Fenton
Performed by The King's Consort

User Reviews

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).