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, Antonio Banderas

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Louis
Christian Slater	...	Malloy
Virginia McCollam	...	Whore on Waterfront
John McConnell	...	Gambler
Tom Cruise	...	Lestat
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

Against the backdrop of a gloomy San Francisco, the nearly two-century-old vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac, recounts the unbelievable story of his eternal transformation and a life worse than death to the sceptic reporter, Daniel Molloy. Spanning two hundred years of cruel betrayals, extreme solitude, and unquenched thirst, Louis' grimly fascinating tale pivots around his perpetually regrettable decision to embrace the dictatorship of blood, and, above all, his maker: the seductive blonde aristocrat of death, Lestat de Lioncourt. Is Louis' mystical epic of bloodshed genuine? Is this, indeed, an interview with a vampire?

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | gothic | betrayal | immortality | night | 

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Taglines:

Drink From Me And Live Forever

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for vampire violence and gore, and for sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an EW interview in September 2011, Brad Pitt revealed that he had a miserable experience while making this film. He recalled the discomfort of the makeup, colored contacts and particularly filming in an enclosed dark indoor area. He said at one point he called his friend and producer David Geffen and begged him for a way out. Learning that it would cost $40 million, he toughed it out for the remaining months.

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Goofs

When the vampire Lestat first changes Louis he floats him above and drops Louis into the Mississippi. The ship beside Louis when he emerges is ironclad. The movie claims this happens in 1791, but ironclad ships did not come into use until the mid 19th century, with the famous Monitor v Merrimack marking a turning point from wood to steel in naval warfare.

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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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Alternate Versions

Reportedly, in original screenings of the film there was extra footage in the scene where Louis finds the burnt bodies of Madeleine and Claudia. In this version, after the bodies crumple to ashes, Louis takes Madeleine's locket that has the picture of the little girl who resembles Claudia.

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Connections

Spoofed in Stand-up.dk Special: Thomas Wivel's vaffelbar (2004)

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Soundtracks

Sonata in F Sharp
Written by Antonio Soler
Adapted by George Fenton
Performed by Joanna Leach

User Reviews

highly underrated, often over-looked

When you ask someone to name the best movies to come out of the early-mid 90's, not many people would mention this movie. That's too bad.

It isn't American Beauty deep, but the film presents real human emotions through the surreal notion of vampires. Cinematography, set design, and score are top notch. It doesn't look dated at all, particularly in this day in age of CG, blue screen galore.

The acting....i hate to admit, because i'm not by any means a brad pitt or tom cruise fan....is pretty darn good. This was the first film I saw tom cruise in and thought (gee...the pretty boy can act), the other coming to mind being Magnolia. Brad Pitt isn't as great, but holds his own and it's a quiet, somber Brad Pitt, which is a good change to the normally twitchy, over-the- top characters he portrays (fight club, 12 monkeys, ocean's 11....even se7en to a certain extent). and of course.....kirsten dunst....who's best role in her career is this film.

I haven't read the book, so i am writing purely on the film. Apparent by the other reviews here, there are people who really like this movie. It's a shame that more people haven't given this movie a chance.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Interview with the Vampire

Filming Locations:

Show Dogs Fine Sausages - 1020 Market Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,389,705, 13 November 1994

Gross USA:

$105,264,608

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$223,664,608

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geffen Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1