My Review -
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
My Rating 9/10
What a delight to revisit a movie decades after its original release and to re discover performances like an 11 year old Kirsten Dunst who is superb as Claudia the young girl who is granted eternal life as a Vampire that will never age by Vampires Lestat De Lioncourt played by Tom Cruise who certainly delivers a devilish performance and Louis De Pointe Du Lac played by Brad Pitt in one of his finest roles ever in my view .
Claudia in retrospect is one of the most interesting characters in the film from the time she is discovered mourning her dead mother by the Vampire Louis to her eventual demise later in the film.
I don't recall Kirsten Dunst getting the same recognition for her excellent performance that Jodie Forster received for her role as Iris in Taxi Driver 1976 or that Brooke Shields received for her role as Violet in Pretty Baby 1978.
I think Kirsten Dunst is wonderful in this film and it's easy to see how this role was a precursor to her fame today in films like The Power of the Dog and Melancholia .
The late Great film critic Roger Ebert described Kirsten Dunst's performance as a deeply eerie one and described her role at the time as being "one of the creepiest aspects of the story." This aspect of the story involving the relationship of a pre pubescent girl and an older male if todays moral compass is applied would probably be dropped from the story today and that's exactly what happened in 2023, more on that in my review of Interview with the Vampire TV Series .
It was also interesting to go back 3 decades to watch 3 early pivotal performances from 3 actors who have all also gone on to impressive movie careers .
Brad Pitt who plays Louis dePointe du Lac the Vampire being interviewed was 31 years old at the time of filming and I think gives a finely nuanced performance as he recalls his life from 1791 as a New Orleans plantation owner who mourns the life of his wife and child hoping for death himself until he meets LeStat De Lioncourt the Vampire . LeStat feeds on him and rather than leave him die as he wishes by mixing his blood with the young grieving plantation owner restores him to the eternal but problematical life of a Vampire.
The role of LeStat is played with great style and panache by Tom Cruise who was 32 years old at the time of the films release.
Antonio Banderas who plays Armand has a vital supporting role as the Vampire Leader Louis meets in Paris . Louis accompanied by the still child like Claudia escapes to Europe from LeStat to begin their search for others of their kind.
Usually I like some humour in horror movies but this is a serious drama and looks exquisite even on the small screen the film score by Elliot Goldenthal was deservedly nominated for an Oscar but lost to Hans Zimmer for The Lion King.
The film also missed out on its second nomination for Art Direction by Dante Ferretti and Set Decoration by Francesca Lo Schiavo they lost to THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE with Art Direction by Ken Adam and Set Decoration by Carolyn Scott.
It's hard to fathom why Neil Jordan the Director missed out on a nomination as the quality of the look and performances in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles has the same stamp of quality that his superb film The Crying Game had in 1992 in which he did win an Oscar in 1993 for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
I recommend anyone interested in that period of Cinema towards the end of the 20th Century and there are many many great movies of that era rewatch or watch for the first time Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles it's a bloody good movie.
What a delight to revisit a movie decades after its original release and to re discover performances like an 11 year old Kirsten Dunst who is superb as Claudia the young girl who is granted eternal life as a Vampire that will never age by Vampires Lestat De Lioncourt played by Tom Cruise who certainly delivers a devilish performance and Louis De Pointe Du Lac played by Brad Pitt in one of his finest roles ever in my view .
Claudia in retrospect is one of the most interesting characters in the film from the time she is discovered mourning her dead mother by the Vampire Louis to her eventual demise later in the film.
I don't recall Kirsten Dunst getting the same recognition for her excellent performance that Jodie Forster received for her role as Iris in Taxi Driver 1976 or that Brooke Shields received for her role as Violet in Pretty Baby 1978.
I think Kirsten Dunst is wonderful in this film and it's easy to see how this role was a precursor to her fame today in films like The Power of the Dog and Melancholia .
The late Great film critic Roger Ebert described Kirsten Dunst's performance as a deeply eerie one and described her role at the time as being "one of the creepiest aspects of the story." This aspect of the story involving the relationship of a pre pubescent girl and an older male if todays moral compass is applied would probably be dropped from the story today and that's exactly what happened in 2023, more on that in my review of Interview with the Vampire TV Series .
It was also interesting to go back 3 decades to watch 3 early pivotal performances from 3 actors who have all also gone on to impressive movie careers .
Brad Pitt who plays Louis dePointe du Lac the Vampire being interviewed was 31 years old at the time of filming and I think gives a finely nuanced performance as he recalls his life from 1791 as a New Orleans plantation owner who mourns the life of his wife and child hoping for death himself until he meets LeStat De Lioncourt the Vampire . LeStat feeds on him and rather than leave him die as he wishes by mixing his blood with the young grieving plantation owner restores him to the eternal but problematical life of a Vampire.
The role of LeStat is played with great style and panache by Tom Cruise who was 32 years old at the time of the films release.
Antonio Banderas who plays Armand has a vital supporting role as the Vampire Leader Louis meets in Paris . Louis accompanied by the still child like Claudia escapes to Europe from LeStat to begin their search for others of their kind.
Usually I like some humour in horror movies but this is a serious drama and looks exquisite even on the small screen the film score by Elliot Goldenthal was deservedly nominated for an Oscar but lost to Hans Zimmer for The Lion King.
The film also missed out on its second nomination for Art Direction by Dante Ferretti and Set Decoration by Francesca Lo Schiavo they lost to THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE with Art Direction by Ken Adam and Set Decoration by Carolyn Scott.
It's hard to fathom why Neil Jordan the Director missed out on a nomination as the quality of the look and performances in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles has the same stamp of quality that his superb film The Crying Game had in 1992 in which he did win an Oscar in 1993 for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
I recommend anyone interested in that period of Cinema towards the end of the 20th Century and there are many many great movies of that era rewatch or watch for the first time Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles it's a bloody good movie.