Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Plot synopsis:
A Vampire of 200 years named Louis (Brad Pitt) follows a reporter named Daniel (Christian Slater) hoping to prey on him. Instead, Louis agrees to an interview with a man that does not believe in vampires. After Louis convinces his new friend of his powers, he tells his story beginning with how he was transformed by Lestat (Tom Cruise), a vampire. Louis describes his transformation and what vampires are truly vulnerable too. He is shown learning the ways of vampires, 200 years ago(in the time of African slavery in America), while he drinks his first tastes of blood. Louis becomes angry with Lestat for cursing him to "this Hell". Next Louis gives in to the thirst as the slaves start to revolt and he kills a female slave for her blood. They kill again, and then Louis finds the girl Claudia, who has just been orphaned. Though he has great compassion for her, he bit and turned her. Lestat congratulates him and welcomes Claudia to the realm of the dark. Soon, Lestat kills for her to drink and Claudia has turned. A Vampire family emerges.
The two adults treat her as each of their daughter. She learns to play the piano, play with dolls, and kill people. Then on her 30th vampire birthday, Lestat gives her another doll. Then, he discovers a female corps in her pile of old dolls. They argue and she explodes about the fact that she will always be a little girl, deprived of a normal life. She attacks Lestat and then she runs away saying that she hated them both. Later, Louis finds her and they make peace. But then, filled with anger with Lestat, she goes to him and leads him to the deadly trap she has set for him. He curses her as he dies.They dump his body together and they start their new life .Then one night, they return to their loft to find Lestat, badly scarred returning for his revenge. Then Louis, using an oil lamp, burned him and their loft. Knowing that Lestat may return again, Louis takes Claudia and they run off to live on the lamb. Louis is shown talking to Daniel again, about the myths that mortals believe about vampires. Then Louis is shown in 1890 where he meets two fellow vampires, Armand (Antonio Banderas) and one of his subjects. Then, Louis and Claudia join their new "friends" for a theater production of vampires, playing humans, playing vampires. On stage Armand and his pack kill on young lady as part of the "act". Later, father and daughter join the brood of vampires in their lair. Then, after Claudia tells Louis that Armand means to kill her. She believes that she is in the way of Armand's plan. Then Armand spoke to Louis of Lestat and his death, and how turning Claudia the way they did was forbidden. Louis realized that Claudia was doomed. Though Claudia found a female that she wanted turned, to become her mother, Louis refused. Then he conceded and bit the adult woman. Just then as she was changing, Armand's large brood barged in and took Claudia and her new friend to a roofless dungeon. Louis was placed in a box for all of eternity. Then Claudia and the new vampire watch the sun rise, and they parish. When Armand learns of what was done, he frees Louis. Then, filled with rage, Louis sets the hive on fire. After the entire brood is dead, Armand and Louis leave in a carriage where they would be protected from the sun. The two men are the only vampires left from this tale, and they talk about their fellows that were just killed. When he realized that Armand regretted none of their deaths, Louis went on to live a night life around the world, by himself. Then Louis returned home and then to the creepy, abandoned plantation. Of course, Lastat was waiting for him. Though Lastat was insane, Louis left him, and told his interviewer Daniel that he does not know what ever happened to him. Louis told Daniel to pass on what he has learned, but Daniel wants to be turned. He wants to experience the life that Louis told him about. Louis grabs him and scares off Daniel, to change his mind. Then, afraid Daniel flees to his car and starts listening to the interview. Before long, Lestat attacks him in his convertible and bite the moral and drives his car away. In the closing scene, Lestat says to Daniel, who is still alive, that he is giving him the same choice that Louis was given. Death or eternal life!

Tags: comedy, fantasy, gothic, murder, dramatic, cult, violence, horror, atmospheric, good versus evil, revenge, historical

Review:
All of these questions help us explore philosophical ideas as old as time, and that exploration is the focus of this film.The story is propelled by vampires Louis (Pitt) and Lestat (Cruise), each representing a different take on life.
Yet might survival require the forgetting of moral consciousness, like Lestat?'Interview with the Vampire' explores all of these deep, important issues whilst delivering an incredibly powerful story populated by charismatic characters, haunting and diverse settings and immortal dialogue.
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / SDDS17th century New Orleans: The relationship between an ancient vampire (Tom Cruise) and his bloodsucking protegé (Brad Pitt) is tested to destruction by a young girl (Kirsten Dunst) who challenges their established dynamic, leading to betrayal and murder.A doom-laden meditation on life and death and the nature of grief, based on Anne Rice's bestselling novel (written as a response to the death of her beloved daughter), and featuring two of contemporary Hollywood's most recognizable stars (both astonishingly beautiful here) as vampire and willing victim, remaining eternally young as the world evolves around them.
Cruise plays a seasoned killer who revels in bloodthirsty excess, while Pitt is a conscientious objector who balks at the prospect of drinking human blood, until Cruise creates a 'companion' for Pitt in the shape of a little girl (Dunst) who refuses to grow old gracefully, with tragic consequences.Scored with melancholy grace by composer Elliot Goldenthal, and beautifully designed and photographed (by Dante Ferretti and Philippe Rousselot, respectively), the film is epic in concept and execution, spanning the social upheavals of 17th and 18th century America and the horrors of 19th century Europe, where a nest of ancient vampires (led by scene-stealer Antonio Banderas and a miscast Stephen Rea) wreak terrible revenge on those who transgress against vampire lore.
The movie contains some beautiful, transcendent passages, including a breathtaking transition from 19th century Europe to modern day America via the introduction of motion pictures (everything from SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS to GONE WITH THE WIND and SUPERMAN!), and an incredibly moving sequence in which a once-proud vampire is discovered in exile, laid low by his own vanity.The film's delicate tone is upset by a trick ending which comes completely out of left-field, though Jordan has denied any suggestion of studio interference.
Sadly, the movie is dedicated to the memory of River Phoenix - originally cast as the interviewer who provides one half of the film's title - who died of a drugs overdose during pre-production; his role was taken by Christian Slater.
But Interview With a Vampire was a movie that excelled my expectations.I refused to see this film for 3 years because I believed it would be what I perceived it to be: glitzy Hollywood garbage geared toward adolescent girls with posters of the 3 main actors all over their walls.
At 12 years old, this girl was able to hold her own against her co-stars, and often stole the scene (particularly the incident in which Claudia tries to cut her hair and subsequently Lestat discovers the corpse in her bed.)You don't want to look for the meaning of life in this movie.
With a combination of Anne Rice's script and Neil Jordan's direction, the overlooked Interview with the Vampire not only looks great but contains good material.
Minor quibbles aside like some hokey dialogue from time to time and despite Pitt underplaying his performance a little, among the Vampire genre and even as a drama this is a classy piece of work from a intelligent director with a flair for dark style (in most of his other films too), and more importantly produces a epic tale with sturdy direction.
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.
A man (Brad Pitt) who turned into a vampire way back in 18th century New Orleans tells his life (and afterlife) story to a skeptical modern-day journalist (Christian Slater) in novelist Anne Rice's unique take on the famed supernatural creatures of the night.
Pitt goes into major details on how he became a vampire (thanks to vampire loon Tom Cruise in a wickedly wild over-the-top turn) and his run-ins with others like him (a very young Kirsten Dunst and a then-unknown Antonio Banderas).
When Louis has trouble disconnecting his human moral compass from his blood-lusting monster of a self, Lestat tries to test him and eventually brings him another companion when he makes Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) a vampire as well.
Jordan really brings Rice's screenplay to life, or else you'd be looking at a particularly boring film.Cruise as Lestat was a good choice.
Pitt's performance in this regard is particularly fine.However, the one thing that everyone who has seen this movie cannot fail to agree on is the fact that, whilst there is indeed an all-star cast (notable characters are Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater and Kirsten Dunst), it is the twelve year-old Kirsten Dunst (playing Claudia) who steals the show.
His grief and pain for the loss of his wife and daughter; his transformation into a vampire and relationship with the Lestat; his love for the vampire girl Claudia; his wrath for the vampires in Paris; his return to New Orleans are told in a screenplay written by the author of the novel Anne Rice and directed by Neil Jordan.
Anne Rice would truly be proud of how much a great movie her most famous book turned out to be.We have some great and very attractive actors who star in this film like: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Bandares, Christian Slater, and Stephen Rea, not to mention a very young and new Kirsten Dunst.
The story starts off with Christian Slater interviewing Brad Pitt, who plays Louis, he makes the most interesting statement to Christian that he's a vampire.
Obviously, Christian doesn't take this seriously, but Louis offers him one thing: his story.Louis was born and grew up during the time when America was just being discovered in the late 1700's, he just lost his wife and child in labor, a little different than the book, but anyways, but his misery brings him to wanting death, and Lestat, played by the brilliant Tom Cruise, brings him that with becoming a vampire.
Hard to believe she was only 12 when she made this film.Having read Anne Rice's infamous 'Vampire Chronicles' a hundred times, it wasn't until I saw this movie that I'd even heard of them (shameful, no?).
Yes, there is blood and feeding but it is the vampires you feel for.The three leads are incredible, Kirsten Dunst deserves special praise due to her age and anyone who says Tom Cruise can't act should see this film.
Brad Pitt's Louis is just as whiney and annoying as he should be, but you understand this given the circumstances of his turning.It thoroughly involves you in the vampire world and displays how lonely and isolating it can be (yes, I know it's not real but you get the point).Here's hoping they film some more of Rice's novels (hopefully more in this vein than the slightly OTT Queen of the Damned) - I want to see Blood and Gold!
The story of depraved love, lust and hunger is told to a reporter(Christian Slater)by Louis(Brad Pitt)the conscience-stricken protege of the unremorseful and lascivious Lestat(Tom Cruise).
Armand(Antonio Banderas)the oldest living vampire in the world lashes out his judgment of the three blood suckers.It is fun watching Cruise and Pitt living as a couple in hopes of hiding their vampirish way of life.
At least we see that in the case of Brad Pitt's character here, a vampire who needs the blood but knows it's morally wrong to kill human beings for it.The acting in this movie is excellent, which includes the star of it, Tom Cruise, and young Kristin Dunst.
Based on the Anne Rice's novel and with a screenplay adapted by herself, this film tells the story of Lestat and Louis, two vampires with over three hundred years.
And Brad Pitt makes you care about Louis and what he has become.The rest of the cast was well done, too, with stand out performances from Kirsten Dunst as Claudia, and Antonio Banderas as Armand.This, plus the extraordinary cinematography and musical score make this movie a 9 for me..
While Pitt carries the main role well, the movie is all the more accentuated by Tom Cruise as the dark-humored vampire Lestat and Kirsten Dunst as the forever-young vampire Claudia.
The story begins with an avid reporter named Daniel Malloy (Christian Slater) being granted an interview with an enigmatic young man named Louis (Brad Pitt), who eventually claims to be nothing other than a living, breathing vampire.He recalls his story to the reporter in dismay and disillusionment, telling how his dreams turned to ruin and he was deceived by the seductive Lestat (Tom Cruise), who promised him eternal life...but never divulged into the misery it would provide him.The story traces back hundreds of years to the revolution and Louis and Lestat's tale drastically alters through the years as the eras change and new faces come and go.
For Louis, this is the most disheartening aspect of being a vampire - having to see the ones you care about disappear forever.Louis forms a friendship with an orphaned vampire named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) and their friendship completes the tension between Louis and Lestat, which escalates as the film progresses."Thelma and Louise" might have made Brad Pitt semi-famous as a pin-up boy for a while but it was "Interview with the Vampire" that gave him his career as we know it today.
And Pitt has succeeded quite well at not only equaling Cruise's star power, but arguably surpassing it.His performance is the key to "Interview with the Vampire." He's far better than Cruise, who demanded praise for his "camp" performance - it's alright, but it's basically just Tom Cruise acting out his personal life...after the whole thing with him jumping on Oprah's sofa, it's really not so hard to see him acting this over-the-top in reality.Pitt conveys emotional conflict behind his cold stare, and that is the vital element of the film.
Another powerful aspect is Neil Jordan's direction - the cinematography is beautiful and perfectly captures the essence of the modern day Gothic vampire film, picking up where Coppola left off with "Bram Stoker's Dracula." In fact, they form nice companion pieces, although "Interview" boasts far superior acting.All vampire movies are based upon a heavy amount of eroticism - the seduction of the vampire as a metaphor for sexuality.
After seeing the movie, all I can say is that I agree more with Rice's first opinions and that Pitt should have been Lestat and Cruise should have been Louis.
This movie featured the likes of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise & Christian Slater, which are 3 of my favorite Hollywood men, who bought life into their characters, making us feel that they were not actors portraying a role but the actual characters themselves, which is important in an actor to get into every movie's individual character(Do you know what I'm saying?
Basically, this movie is about the life of the vampire Louis( Brad Pitt).
Film begins with a modern-day prologue as a reporter played by Christian Slater interviews Brad Pitt who claims to be an ageless vampire.
Rating: 7.5/10.This film narrates the life of a plantation lord, Louis(Brad Pitt), a 200 year old vampire.
"Who will take care of me my love, my dark angel, when you are gone?"I just recently got around to watching Interview with the Vampire, twenty years after Neil Jordan directed this successful film, and I have to admit the recent overload of vampire films and novels over the past decade did affect my viewing since most of the innovative elements that Anne Rice introduced here I have seen in later films and TV series (like True Blood).
If you are a fan of vampire films or of Anne Rice's work then you will probably enjoy this much more than I did because it is dark and Gothic, but it does have its weaknesses and the ending is a bit off note.As the title suggests, the story is told in the form of an interview as a journalist named Daniel (Christian Slater) encounters a 200 year old vampire named Louis (Brad Pitt).
Louis hates who he has become, but his life changes when Lestat turns a little girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire and together they form a family.
Louis continues to narrate his story through two centuries as they encounter troubles and betrayals along the way.Tom Cruise is a huge action star and at times it's difficult to separate him from his characters, but surprisingly he lost himself in the role of Lestat and gives a convincing performance as a blood lusting vampire.
He seeks for a way to end his sorrow and Lestat (Tome Cruise) offers Louis a cure, but is it the right one?This was the first film I saw directed by Neil Jordan and I'm certain it won't be the last.
He has adapted the book into a film that couldn't have been made better.The duo of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as Louis and Lestat is nothing short of memorizing.
But "la piece de resistance" is of course, Claudia - the beautiful vampire woman entrapped in a little girl's body for eternity.Louis's and Lestat's monster-daughter is a living (undead actually) work of art the way Kirsten Dunst plays her..
Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to Interview With The Vampire (1994)Plot In A Paragraph: Louis (Brad Pitt) a vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.At the time of release, this was not like any other vampire movie I had seen.
The book, I feel could possibly have done a lot for civil rights, normalize it in the mind of Americans and the movie, with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas, well it could have been as hard hitting as Rage Against the Machine if they left it in.It took pure brass to write in that way in 1976 and feet of clay to leave it out of the movie.
Lestat (Cruise) is one of the vilest Vampires I have ever seen but towards the end of the film I found I understood him and somewhat sympathized with the character.Claudia (Dunst) I felt really bad for her...
But if you HAD to cast these two actors in "...Vampire", they're playing each others' parts!: Pitt would have been far better as LeStat than Tom.
I was hoping for a kind of "La Jetee" feel to the empty netherworld the story was attempting to portray, but these actors, especially Tom, simply weren't the ones).The film is directed with some style, but the wrong casting keeps the movie a bit shrill and at arm's length the entire time.A missed opportunity, nearly-ruined by Hollywood....
With its photogenic cast and a story-line revolving around the emotional anguish that goes hand in hand with vampirism, Interview With The Vampire could be accused of being the 90s precursor to Twilight; its vamps might be sad, however, but they sure ain't sappy: the vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise) would happily tear Edward a new one; Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) would rip out Bella's throat without batting an eyelid; Louis (Brad Pitt) would find it hard to join in at first, but his hunger would prevail.
Antonio Banderas is a bad-ass as always, unfortunatley he is criminally underused (his name is there on the box, I spent the first 2/3's of the movie thinking "To blazes with this chick-flickery, when's Antonio going to arrive on the scene?") and Kirsten Dunst is surprisingly good as a little kid vampire (h er performance was actually stonger than Cruise's and Pitt's).
Cruise - The Worst Bloodsucker Of Them All. For me - When it comes to the likes of vampire movies - I'd say that they can all easily be slotted into one of these 3 following categories - Good - Mediocre - Awful.And - With that said - I will give you just one guess as to which category I place "Interview".Without question - This dreadfully disappointing horror film's 2 biggest and 2 most damaging deficits were, of course, the total miscasting of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt into the story's all-important lead roles.It was especially the casting of Cruise (Mr. Zero-Charisma, himself) as the "Lestat" character that promptly brought "Interview's" potentially promising story down to an absolute dead halt.It seems that every time I see Cruise in any picture - I'm always left completely perplexed as to why the hell his vast popularity (and roles in big-budget productions) continues to prevail.
Although I suppose we need to call it a "dark comedy" because of the subject matter and all the people who die such horrible deaths.Big stars Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas are vampires.
200 years of Pitt's vampire life, as it is being told to Christian Slater, thus the "interview" in the film's title.
Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Antonio Banderas play interesting characters, but it's Kirsten Dunst who really makes an impression.
I believe despite his great looks that Brad Pitt is 1 of hollywoods best and what an amazing performance by Tom Cruise as Lestat!
I also liked the plot of the movie and the beautiful interpretations of Brad Pitt who plays as Louis de Pointe du Lac, Tom Cruise who plays as Lestat de Lioncourt and Christian Slater who plays as Daniel Malloy."Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" is a movie that everyone has to watch it because I think that is one of the first movies with Vampires (nowadays)..
It stars Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, Stephen Rea and Christian Slater.