Stars:
Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Marguerite
Moreau, Vincent Perez, Lena Olin, Paul McGann, Claudia Black, and Bruce Spence
Writers:
Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni
Based
On “The Vampire Chronicles” By: Anne Rice
Director:
Michael Rymer
Feature
length: 101 minutes
Extras:
Feature-Length Audio Commentary With Director Michael Rymer, Producer Jorge
Saralegui, And Composer Richard Gibbs, Creating The Vampires Featurette, The
Music Of Lestat Featurette, Aaliyah Remembered Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Music
Videos, Extended Concert Sequences, Gag Reel, Still Gallery, Trailer
Languages:
English and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Snap Case
Chapter
Stops: 27
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
When
I was in high school my senior year English Teacher in Gothic Literature had the
class read “Interview With The Vampire.” Being the slacker that I was when I
was 17, I totally passed on reading the book and just got by on the class
discussions. It was my loss of course. Years later while I was a grad student,
“Interview With The Vampire” premiered in theaters and there was a girl in
one of my classes who had read whatever books had been published in the series
by then who told me about them and I was really impressed by the mythology Anne
Rice created though I have yet to go out and read one of her books probably
because I prefer to read hard science fiction over dark fantasy and horror. As I
have been told in the past by those who have read the books, these feature film
adaptations of Anne Rice’s novels do take their liberties, but a film is a
film and a book is a book so it should be no surprise that the feature film of
“Queen Of The Damned” has been modified to fit the time limitations of a
feature film.
This
follow-up to Neil Jordan’s 1994 big screen adaptation of “Interview With The
Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” is actually a condensing of “The Vampire
Lestat” and “Queen Of The Damned.” The filmmakers acknowledge in their
feature length audio commentary that is included on the DVD that Anne Rice
wanted the two books to be produced as separate films rather than a sequel that
encompasses elements of both, but the filmmakers said that to truly do justice
to bringing something as epic as “The Vampire Lestat” alone would require an
8-hour TV miniseries. So just to let those who might have seen the film and were
upset for whatever liberties the filmmakers have taken, it should be known that
they appear very aware of these changes in the commentary track and logically
tried to be as true as that they felt would work in the film and I got the
impression that everyone involved had great respect for Rice and her books and
truly tried to keep the spirit within them alive as best as possible.
So
with that in mind I actually think as a reviewer of films that it is somewhat of
an advantage that I have not read the books if only that I can judge the movie
on DVD for exactly what it is without feeling any partiality as a result from
reading the books. “Queen Of The Damned” got hit hard by New York critics
when it made it’s theatrical debut earlier this year, but having screened the
film on DVD I have to state that I feel they were overreacting because I really
enjoyed this film and found it was a good follow-up to Neil Jordan’s
“Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” with Stuart Townsend
taking an interesting turn on the “Lestat” character that is somewhat
different from Tom Cruise’s interpretation, but never the less seems
consistent with what people more or less will expect. The film also has a good
supporting cast that includes Paul McGann and small guest appearances by Bruce
Spence and Claudia Black. The story has Lestat blatantly revealing the existence
of vampires and some of their secrets as the singer and songwriter of a popular
Goth band. This results in a cabal of vampires conspiring to murder him for his
treasonable offense. At the same time his music reawakens Akasha (Aaliyah), who
is the mother of all vampires with an agenda that could upset the balance the
general vampire population as represented by “The Ancients” wish to keep.
Warner
Home Video is releasing “Queen Of Damned” in both widescreen and full screen
editions with identical special features. The widescreen edition features a
beautiful (2.35:1) anamorphic widescreen transfer that is clear and vibrant
while maintaining a certain dark tone due to the subject matter that is in
keeping with the previous film. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack is excellent with an aggressive quality and three-dimensional feel
that rivals some DTS Soundtracks I have heard. A French Language Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included along with English Captions and Closed
Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
encoded on to the dual layered DVD as options.
As
I mentioned above, there is a feature length audio commentary track with
Director Michael Rymer, Producer Jorge Saralegui, and Composer Richard Gibbs,
which is screen specific and extremely referential to the books. Frequently the
reasons for changes between the novels and the movies are discussed with the
filmmakers frequently going into some detail about what happened in the book and
why they changed it as well as the inspirations for the music and more. For this
alone, I think a fan of the books who might have been disappointed with the film
should give it a second chance on DVD because it is clear that the movie
producers really do care about the material they were adapting and were not
going for a quick buck. If anything I think they had a tough act to follow even
when one considers the eight years that have past between both theatrical
adaptations.
Other
extra features include “The Unseen,” which are 13 deleted scenes presented
in a good widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio with English Stereo Sound that can be
watched individually or as one reel that has a run time of approximately
32-minutes. There is a brief explanation before each deleted scene that reveals
what and where this would have taken place and why it was cut. The next element
is under the subtitle “The Vampire Annals,” which are three featurettes, one
focusing the special effects with a near 10-minute running length, “Aaliyah
Remembered,” which is a 3-minute tribute to her work on the film, and a
documentary on the music for the film featuring videotaped interviews with
Marilyn Manson among other artists. This documentary has running time of about
11 minutes and 46 seconds.
“Getting
The Melodies” features the complete “Lestat” music videos as seen in the
film for “Redeemer, “ “Forsaken,” and “System” as well as the
“Static X” music video for “Cold” followed by a soundtrack spot. This is
supported by a widescreen (2.35:1) extended concert sequence shot for “Slept
So Long” and the complete concert footage for “Not Meant For Me.”
There
is a gag reel and an animated production photo gallery that one can step through
or just let it run. The theatrical trailer is presented in an anamorphic
widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio with Dolby Pro-Logic Sound. Some notes on Anne
Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles” and a select Cast & Crew list wrap up
the extra features included on this DVD.
The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “Queen
Of The Damned: Widescreen Edition” as well as the “Full Screen Edition”
will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 from Warner Home Video and
is definitely worth a look.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.