Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Antonio Banderas return in Interview with the Vampire, now presented in an impressive 4K edition with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and new extras.
It seems as if the world has always been fascinated by vampires, and author Anne Rice had a very successful set of novels that revolved around the mythical creatures of the night that fed on blood. In 1976, her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, told the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt; F1: The Movie), a plantation owner in Louisiana who has lost his wife and their unborn child and becomes a vampire sired by Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise; the Mission: Impossible franchise). It was a box office hit in 1994 and had modest critical acclaim as well. This week, Warner Bros. is releasing Interview with the Vampire for purchase on 4K for home entertainment.
Louis drunkenly wanders the New Orleans waterfront when he is attacked by Lestat. Lestat, sensing Louis' despair, offers him the option Lestat was never given: death or being turned into a vampire. Louis chooses the latter but soon regrets it, as he doesn't have the stomach for killing humans. However, when Louis feeds on a little girl they name Claudia (Kirsten Dunst; Spider-Man), whose mother died of the plague, Lestat turns her, and he and Louis raise her as their daughter. However, as Claudia realizes she will never physically age, she kills Lestat, and she and Louis move to Paris, but their life there is no different than when they had been with Lestat.
While Interview with the Vampire was a terrific role for Pitt and introduced Dunst to the world, it wasn't the masterpiece showcasing Cruise as he would have hoped. Lestat came off as unsympathetic, and Cruise portrayed him as a garish specimen rather than as a sophisticated gentleman. Instead, that role went to Pitt, who pulled it off beautifully. Antonio Banderas (Tony) is also elegant as the leader of the Parisian vampires who Louis and Claudia encounter on their travels.
Director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) offers some incredible visuals, though the film's pacing is rather slow at times. Part of that misstep falls upon Rice, who wrote the screenplay and, while she is an excellent novel writer, screenplays are not her forte. The dialogue is decent but would likely have been much different in the hands of a professional screenwriter.
Interview with the Vampire has never looked better on the small screen, courtesy of the HDR Dolby Vision video quality. Colors are rich, and black tones are deep and true. Details are sharp and clean, particularly on the period costumes, which give the whole film a polished look and feel.
The Dolby Atmos audio is certainly a treat, with rich and layered tracks that envelop the audience with ambient sounds. Dialogue is crisp and clear, as one would expect, and while the audio track isn't a huge difference from the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, it does offer some subtle upticks that make this new version worthwhile.
There are also about 30 minutes' worth of new extras to enjoy with this combo pack. The extras include Audio Commentary, Introduction, NEW! Eternal Night and Deadly Light, NEW! Interview with the Vampire: Creating the World, In the Shadow of the Vampire, Lestat, Louis and the Vampire Phenomenon, and NEW! Deleted Scenes.
Interview with the Vampire is a modern classic film bolstered by its subject matter, its star power, and its technical aspects, especially the cinematography. This new release, with upgraded video and audio quality, is, for now, the ultimate version and is definitely worth the cost. The new extras offer something different that sweetens the deal.
If you are a fan of Anne Rice, vampires, Cruise, and/or Pitt, you owe it to yourself to purchase this latest 4K release. You won't regret it.
Grade: B
