The Hunger (1983)

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

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers:

James Costigan (screenplay) (as Ivan Davis), 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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Nothing Human Loves Forever

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with The Daily Beast in late July, 2014, Susan Sarandon revealed that she had an affair with David Bowie while the two were working on this film.

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Goofs

During the scene when Miriam offers the drink to Sarah, Sarah is standing in front of a bust depicting Miriam. The camera pans between the two a total of three times. The third time, when Sarah takes a sip of her drink, the bust is not there.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Blaylock: No ice.

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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.

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Connections

References Hour of the Wolf (1968)

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Soundtracks

Bela Lugosi Is Dead
(uncredited)
Written by Bauhaus
Performed by Bauhaus

User Reviews

Stylish but empty MTV visuals from Tony Scott. Imagine an hour and a half long Ultravox video...

'The Hunger' has aged badly. This is one of Tony Scott's earliest movies, and he is a director who has plenty of visual flair but is only as good as the script he is given. In most cases the scripts he works with stink (notable exception: 'True Romance'), and 'The Hunger' has about twenty minutes of plot dragged out over an hour and a half. It's shot and edited in an early 80s music video style which was seen as innovative at the time, but now just looks plain silly. All the smoke and "beautiful people" and billowing silk around the bed, I almost thought I was watching an Ultravox video. I kept listening to hear Midge Ure wail "this meeeeeans nothing to me!" followed by a bitchen electric violin solo. The opening sequence which features Bauhaus performing 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' is pretty entertaining in a kitschy way, and Bowie is actually quite good (his sequences are easily the best parts of the movie), but Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon are required to do very little but some rolling around on a bed, and it isn't even sexy. If lesbian vampire movies are your thing I suggest you check out Hammer's 'The Vampire Lovers' or Jess Franco's 'Vampyros Lesbos' from the early 1970s for something really hot. Goths who are content to make do with style over substance might enjoy this, but otherwise try some Jean Rollin for some genuinely erotic and creepy vampire frolics.

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