The Hunger (1983)

A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire, her cellist companion, and a gerontologist.

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers:

Ivan Davis (screenplay), Michael Thomas (screenplay)

Stars:

Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Deneuve	...	Miriam
David Bowie	...	John
Susan Sarandon	...	Sarah Roberts
Cliff De Young	...	Tom Haver
Beth Ehlers	...	Alice Cavender
Dan Hedaya	...	Lieutenant Allegrezza
Rufus Collins	...	Charlie Humphries
Suzanne Bertish	...	Phyllis
James Aubrey	...	Ron
Ann Magnuson	...	Young Woman from Disco
John Stephen Hill	...	Young Man from Disco
Shane Rimmer	...	Arthur Jelinek
Bauhaus	...	Disco Group
Douglas Lambert	...	TV Host
Bessie Love	...	Lillybelle

Storyline

The Egyptian vampire lady Miriam subsists upon the blood of her lovers. In return the guys or girls don't age until Miriam has had enough of them. Unfortunately that's currently the case with John, so his life expectancy is less than 24 hours. Desperately he seeks help from, the famous, Dr. Sarah Roberts. She doesn't really believe his story, but becomes curious and contacts Miriam . . . and gets caught in her spell, too.

---

Plot Keywords:

female stockinged legs | pantyhose | immortality | woman on rollerskates | self defense | 

---

Taglines:

Nothing Human Loves Forever

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film spurred a short-lived TV series of the same name The Hunger (1997) which ran for around three years. The series, first broadcast fourteen years after this movie, utilized the same title and vampire lore, but had no plot or character connections with this film.

---

Goofs

During the "Flower Duet" scene, Sarah spills what looks like red wine on her blouse, but she was sipping from a glass that contained a whiskey-colored liquid.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
John Blaylock: No ice.

---

Crazy Credits

Ironically, in the credits Willem Dafoe is identified as "2nd Phone Booth Youth"; whereas, he is the first "Phone Booth Youth" to be seen and speak in the Phone Booth scene. Likewise, John Pankow is noted in the credits as "1st Phone Booth Youth"; whereas, he is actually the second "Phone Booth Youth" to be seen and say his lines.

---

Connections

References Repulsion (1965)

---

Soundtracks

Le Gibet
by Maurice Ravel
Published by Arima and Durand SA
Music Supervised and Arranged by Howard Blake

User Reviews

Totally Eighties

Before embarking onto this one, you must decide whether or not you enjoy films which look like a very extended (and quite expensive) MTV video clip of the early to mid 80's. If you don't, don't bother with this, it'll probably annoy you greatly. If you do, you're in for an indulgent visual ride and great entertainment, because every frame in Tony Scott's cult classic is carefully planned, beautifully orchestrated and wonderfully filmed - from the iconic opening sequence through to the heavily filtered last shot, it's polished until it gleams. Production design is given full reign and is faultless - the sets, lighting and costumes work fabulously with the soundtrack and the editing, creating a very recognisable style which is a genuine product of the trend aesthetics of the decade in question. And there's an added bonus of knowing use of music - this being the film that "relaunched" the Delibes' Lakme aria, paving the way for it becoming a monster classipop hit it is today. The film also employs Ravel at his most frozenly emotional,and, to stunning effect, Deneuve at arguably her most frozenly beautiful. One of those films remembered for perfectly encapsulating the visual style of its times.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hunger

Filming Locations:

6 Chesterfield Gardens, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,832,898, 1 May 1983

Gross USA:

$5,979,292

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,988,322

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Peerford Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1