Interview with the Vampire [Blu-ray]

Director: Neil Jordan Neil Jordan

Overview

Anne Rice's best-selling romantic horror tale about the origins of a centuries-old vampire inspired this popular, atmospheric chiller. One of director Neil Jordan's major Hollywood productions, the film stays close to its source material, retaining the frame of a young reporter (Christian Slater) interviewing a man who claims to be a 200-year-old vampire. The man, Louis (Brad Pitt), shares his story, beginning in 18th-century New Orleans with his first encounters with the charismatic and decadent vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise). Lestat converts Louis to blood-sucking and immortality, but Louis fails to adopt Lestat's cavalier attitude, instead tormenting himself with guilt over his new nature. The two vampires remain deeply, if reluctantly, connected over the years, while becoming intimately involved with others of their kind, including Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a mature immortal in a young child's body. Fans of the novel raised numerous objections, particularly after Rice initially spoke out against the casting of Cruise as Lestat; further casting difficulties followed the death of River Phoenix, whose role as the interviewer was assumed by Christian Slater. Rice later recanted her objections, and the combination of thrills and gothic romance proved popular with audiences.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/2008
UPC:	0883929003549
Original Release:	1994
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:03:00
Sales rank:	45

Special Features

Commentary by director Neil Jordan; Documentary In the Shadow of the Vampire; Introduction by Anne Rice, Neil Jordan and Antonio Banderas; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Cruise	Lestat
Brad Pitt	Louis
Christian Slater	Malloy
Kirsten Dunst	Claudia
Stephen Rea	Santiago
Antonio Banderas	Armand
Domiziana Giordano	Madeleine
Virginia McCollam	Prostitute on Waterfront
John McConnell	Gambler
Mike Seelig	Pimp
Bellina Logan	Tavern Girl
Lyla Hay Owen	Widow St. Clair
Monte Montague	Plague Victim Bearer
Nathalie Bloch	Maid
Jeanette Kontomitras	Woman in Square
Roger Lloyd-Pack	Piano Teacher
George Kelly	Dollmaker
Nicole DuBois	Creole Woman
Micha Bergese	Paris Vampire
Rory Edwards	Paris Vampire
Marcel Iures	Paris Vampire
Susan Lynch	Paris Vampire
Louise Salter	Paris Vampire
Matthew Sim	Paris Vampire
Francois Testory	Paris Vampire,Paris Vampire
Andrew Tiernan	Paris Vampire
Simon Tyrrell	Paris Vampire
George Yiasoumi	Paris Vampire
Sara Stockbridge	Estelle,Estelle
Laure Marsac	Mortal Woman on Stage
Katia Caballero	Woman in Audience
Louis Lewis-Smith	Mortal Boy
Indra Ové	New Orleans whore
Jon Favreau	Actor
Helen McCrory	2nd New Orleans Whore
Thandiwe Newton	Yvette
Lee E. Scharfstein	Widow's Lover
Ben Gardiner	Bum
Susie Figgis	Actor
Miranda Richardson	Actor
Juliet Taylor	Actor
John "Spud" McConnell	Gambler
Lyla Kay Owen	Widow St. Clair
Elliot Goldenthal	Composer
George Fenton	Composer

Technical Credits

Neil Jordan

Anne Rice

Michael Cristofer

Neil Jordan	Director,Screenwriter
Anne Rice	Screenwriter
David Geffen	Producer
Stephen Woolley	Producer
Redmond Morris	Producer
Tom Fleischman	Sound Effects
Michael Cristofer	Screenwriter
Robert Zajonc	Stunts
Robert Legato	Special Effects
Clive Winter	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This sumptuously mounted adaptation of Anne Rice's bestselling novel brings her most intriguing character, the vampire Lestat, to life in the person of matinee idol Tom Cruise. Rice partisans initially balked upon hearing that Cruise had been cast, but his charismatic presence strengthened the picture and disarmed most of his critics. Brad Pitt plays Louis, a sensitive young man who reveals to a reporter (Christian Slater) the story of his troubled, 200-year existence as a vampire, beginning with his induction into that unnatural fraternity by the courtly Lestat. The film, which travels to Europe and back over the course of centuries, is most compelling in its exploration of the alternative family formed by Lestat, Louis, and child vampire, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst in an impressive performance). As directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), Interview is slow going at times, but it features a terrific cast and possesses an eerily hypnotic quality that will appeal to horror-movie lovers in general and Rice fans in particular.