It'll take your breath away... Literally !

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 1999)

The transition from the first of the Vampire Chronicles was at least a partial success. Pitt is convincing as Louis and Dunst was an absolute surprise as Claudia! Lesser marks for Cruise as the famous Lestat, but the overall performance wasn't bad. Banderas is always good and was no disappointment here either, in the role of the mystical Armand. Rhea rounds out the cast of ''bad'' vampires vs. ''good'', amid beautiful and at times stunning scenery, costumes, and fantastic music. True to the novel (roughly speaking) minus a surprise ending. Great theme song from Guns & Roses, to boot! Nods from both Oscar and Golden Globe (especially for Dunst) were well deserved. Buy the video, and don't count on a sequel. (Rating 4 stars of 5.)