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.

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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

Hans Zimmer was considered to score the film by music director Howard Blake but Tony Scott turned him down. Ironically, Scott would later employ Zimmer for a number of films (and tried to get him for, Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) but the studio refused).

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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.

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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

Featured in Best! Movies! Ever!: Sex Scenes (2007)

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Soundtracks

Funtime
Written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop
Performed by Iggy Pop

User Reviews

Cult classic for All 80's Goth's

I watched the Hunger in my teens as a young punk in the 80's. Honestly, back then the fact that Bowie, Peter Murphy and vampire lesbianism was in it made it a 'cool' movie.. flash forward to me now and it's nostalgic 80's with lots of bad makeup and a sub par plot. The lighting effects in the movie annoy me as they use a lot of shadows and dim lighting with blurred backgrounds and points of bright lights. I feel like I need to squint while watching it. Anyway the acting is good and the story is good (never read the book). Do you want to live forever? Do you like vampires, do you like over the top 1980's style ? If so then it's worth the watch.

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