| Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles | |
|---|---|
 Interview with the Vampire theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Neil Jordan |
| Produced by | David Geffen Stephen Woolley |
| Written by | Anne Rice (novel and screenplay) |
| Starring | Tom Cruise Brad Pitt Kirsten Dunst Antonio Banderas Christian Slater Stephen Rea |
| Music by | Elliot Goldenthal |
| Cinematography | Philippe Rousselot |
| Editing by | Mick Audsley |
| Studio | Geffen Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 11, 1994 |
| Running time | 122 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English, French |
| Budget | $60,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $223,664,608 (worldwide) |
| Followed by | Queen of the Damned |
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles is a 1994 film, based on the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. The film was directed by Neil Jordan, and stars Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst.
Contents |
Plot
In modern-day San Francisco, reporter Daniel Malloy (Christian Slater), interviews a man named Louis (Brad Pitt), who claims to be a vampire and tells the story of his past.
Louis' story begins in Louisiana in 1791, when he was 24 and suffering from a death wish after the loss of his wife and child. The vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise) offers him a chance to be reborn and proceeds to turn him into a vampire. Lestat teaches Louis how to live as a vampire. At first Louis rebels against hurting humans, drinking animal blood instead, but he finally succumbs and kills his faithful housemaid (Thandie Newton). He tries to kill himself by setting fire to his house, but Lestat rescues him and they flee.
In New Orleans, Louis gives in to his bloodlust again, and bites a young girl, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), whom Lestat later transforms into a vampire "daughter", to discourage Louis from leaving him. Lestat begins to teach Claudia how to live like a vampire, making her copy his actions, as to killing. As thirty years pass, Claudia becomes a sadistic killer and closely bonded to Louis and Lestat. But when she realizes that she will live forever but never grow up, she becomes furious with Lestat. By tricking him into drinking the blood of the corpses of twin boys, whom she killed by overdosing them with Laudanum, she weakens him and apparently kills him. She and Louis dump Lestat's body in a swamp but he later returns, having drained the blood of swamp creatures to survive. Lestat attacks them but Louis sets him on fire and flees to Paris with Claudia, assuming Lestat is dead.
In 1870 Paris, Louis and Claudia live in perfect harmony but Louis is still bothered by the question of how vampires came to be and if there are any other vampires on earth. One night, while walking the streets, he meets vampires Santiago (Stephen Rea) and Armand (Antonio Banderas), who tell him that there are other vampires in Paris and that he knows the answers Louis has been searching for. Armand invites Louis and Claudia to his coven, the Theatre des Vampires, where they witness Armand and his coven dispatching of a terrified human woman before an unsuspecting human audience. Armand later takes them to his lair and offers Louis a place by his side, while secretly telling Claudia to leave him. Louis refuses to leave his beloved Claudia, however, and leaves the lair. As he does, Santiago warns him that his vampire coven knows about Lestat's murder and that it is forbidden for vampires to kill another vampire. Louis returns alone to Armand's lair, where Armand proceeds to reveal that Louis is a unique vampire as he possesses a human soul and is connected to the "broken-hearted" spirit of the 19th Century. Louis becomes thoroughly smitten by Armand and resolves to leave Claudia at long last.
Returning to his residence, Louis finds that Claudia has brought home a human woman, Madeleine, with the intent that Louis turn her into a vampire to serve as a companion and protector before he leaves. Louis reluctantly gives in and transforms Madeleine, forcing Claudia to admit that they are now even and can part on good terms. Immediately after, however, the Parisian vampires burst in and abduct all three of them. As punishment for Lestat's murder, they imprison Louis in a metal coffin and lock Claudia and Madeleine into an airshaft with an open roof. The next morning, the rising sun floods the airshaft and Claudia and Madeleine are burnt to ashes. Armand frees Louis, who searches for Claudia and is horrified and grief-stricken when he comes across her ashen remains. He returns that night to the Theatre and burns all the vampires alive in their own theatre as they sleep. Armand arrives in time to help him escape, and once again offers him a place by his side. Louis once again refuses, knowing that Armand choreographed Claudia's demise in an attempt to get Louis all to himself, and he leaves Armand for good.
Decades pass, with Louis exploring the world alone. He later returns to New Orleans in 1988 and finds Lestat, still alive but a mere shadow of his former self. Louis unwittingly gives Lestat some insight about modern technology; Lestat asks Louis to rejoin him, but Louis rejects him and leaves.
At this point Louis concludes the interview, which Malloy, the interviewer, cannot accept. He asks Louis to transform him so he can see what is truly like to be a vampire, but Louis throttles him in a fit of rage and vanishes. Malloy hurriedly runs to his car and drives away, feeling happy with his interview as he plays it through the cassette player. Just then, Lestat, who had apparently been hiding in the back seat, attacks him and takes control of the car. Revived by Malloy's blood, he then offers a dying Malloy "the choice I never had" as they drive off into the San Francisco night, taking out the cassette and turning on the radio, which is playing "Sympathy for the Devil."
Cast
Main
- Tom Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt
- Brad Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac
- Kirsten Dunst as Claudia
- Antonio Banderas as Armand
- Christian Slater as Daniel Molloy, the interviewer
- Stephen Rea as Santiago
Supporting
- Domiziana Giordano as Madeleine
- Thandie Newton as Yvette
- Virginia McCollam as Whore on Waterfront
- John McConnell as Gambler
- Mike Seelig as Pimp
- Bellina Logan as Tavern Girl
- Lyla Hay Owen as Widow St Clair
- Lee Emery as Widow's Lover
- Indra Ove as New Orleans Whore
- Helen McCrory as 2nd Whore
- Monte Montague as Plague Victim Bearer
- Nathalie Bloch as Maid
- Jeanette Kontomitras as Woman in Square
- Roger Lloyd Pack as Piano Teacher
- George Kelly as Dollmaker
- Nicole DuBois as Creole Woman
- Micha Bergese as Paris Vampire
- Rory Edwards as Paris Vampire
- Marcel Iures as Paris Vampire
- Susan Lynch as Paris Vampire
- Louise Salter as Paris Vampire
- Matthew Sim as Paris Vampire
- Francois Testory as Paris Vampire
- Andrew Tiernan as Paris Vampire
- Simon Tyrrell as Paris Vampire
- George Yiasoumi as Paris Vampire
- Sara Stockbridge as Estelle
- Laure Marsac as Mortal Woman on Stage
- Katia Caballero as Woman in Audience
- Louis Lewis-Smith as Mortal Boy
Casting
British actor Julian Sands was considered to play the role of Lestat by Rice herself, but because Sands was not a known name, being only famed for his performance in A Room with a View, he was rejected and the role was given to Tom Cruise. This was initially criticized by Anne Rice, who said that Cruise was "no more my Vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler" and the casting was "so bizarre, it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work." Nevertheless, she was satisfied with Cruise's performance after seeing the completed film, saying that "from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me" and "That Tom did make Lestat work was something I could not see in a crystal ball." In fact, after the she saw the premier of the movie, she wrote a letter of apology to Tom Cruise and commending his performance.[citation needed].
River Phoenix originally was cast for the role of Daniel (as Anne Rice liked the idea), but he died four weeks before he was due to begin filming. When Christian Slater was cast in his place as Daniel, he donated his entire salary to Phoenix's favorite charitable organizations.[1] The film has a dedication to Phoenix after the end credits.
Soundtrack
Interview with the Vampire soundtrack by Elliot Goldenthal was nominated for the Academy Award, but it lost the Oscar to The Lion King (soundtrack by Hans Zimmer)
Reception
Prior to the film's release there was much controversy over the amount of violence in the film. [2][3] Critics Siskel & Ebert gave Interview With The Vampire "Two Thumbs Up".
The film was nominated for a number of major film awards, and won a significant amount of them. [4]
References
External links
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