Barnes & Noble

Tony Scott's stylish 1983 vampire film, adapted from a Whitley Streiber novel, was dismissed by one critic as "kinky trash," but within a few short years of its theatrical run The Hunger had acquired a cult following, and its DVD release is bound to excite the movie's loyal fans. Contemporary critics weren't thrilled to see distinguished French actress Catherine Deneuve playing a bloodsucker, no matter how elegant, and having counter-culture icon David Bowie for her on-screen companion didn't sit well with genre film partisans hoping for a more mainstream treatment. Deneuve and Bowie play wealthy New Yorkers whose need of human blood as an anti-aging element forces them into progressively riskier encounters; when regular ingestion of plasma fails to retard Bowie's aging, he calls upon acclaimed author/doctor Susan Sarandon to help him. The fetching physician finds herself drawn into their bizarre world and, in the film's much-discussed love scene, Deneuve's Sapphic embrace. Director Scott, making his initial leap from TV commercials to feature films, opts for a visual treatment that favor elaborate, smoky settings and gauzy cinematography. The Hunger, its narrative anomalies aside, is one of the most sensual films of its type, similar to the sex-horror hybrids popularized by European filmmakers in the early '70s. It's a bizarrely compelling movie that certainly justifies the reputation it has acquired, and lovers of offbeat horror films will definitely want to add it to their collections. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The exquisitely beautiful Catherine Deneuve plays Miriam, a centuries-old vampire capable of bestowing the gift of immortality on her lovers -- namely her current partner John (David Bowie). To sustain their sanguinary requirements, the pair cruises New York nightclubs in search of victims (as illustrated in a stunning opening sequence to the accompaniment of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" performed by seminal Goth band Bauhaus). When John awakens one morning to discover telltale signs of aging, it is revealed that his own sustained youth is not permanent, and his physical decrepitude begins to increase at an incredible rate. In a panic, John visits the clinic of scientist Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), who has recently published a book on reversing the aging process, but she initially dismisses him as a crank, leaving him to sit in the lobby for several hours... during which his body ages several decades. After learning of his condition, Sarah traces John to his uptown flat. John is nowhere to be found, having been consigned by Miriam to a box in the attic with her legions of undead loves, leaving Miriam to deal with Sarah -- which she does quite effectively, seducing her into a steamy lesbian tryst. Their passion is consummated by a mingling of Miriam's blood with Sarah's, which later manifests itself as a psychic link between the two women and leaves Sarah with a rapidly-increasing appetite for blood. Cavett Binion

Product Details

• UPC: 012569504929
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:36:00
• Sales Rank: 14,053

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