Plot: What’s it about?
Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) has been in numerous long term relationships, but all have ended in tragic fashion. When she finds a lover, she spends a while with them and when with her, the lovers seem to never age. That is with good reason, as Miriam is a vampire and feasts on their blood, then restores their youth in return. The arrangement always work out well for Miriam, as when she grows tired of a lover, they begin to age at a fast pace. Before she can even look for a new one, the old one is gone, never to be seen again. Her current beau John (David Bowie) has been with her for some time, but she has tired of his presence and the process has begun. In order to fend off the disease, he consults the well known Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon). Sarah is an expert on the patterns of aging and while she doesn’t believe John’s tale, the situation is of interest to her. But when she meets Miriam, she is unaware that she is in the presence of a supernatural evil. Miriam has become determined to seduce Sarah and make her the new lover, as the attraction was instant and quite intense. But will Sarah consent to such an arrangement, or will she figure out a way to end Miriam’s reign of terror?
An artistic, prententious vampire movie that stars David Bowie and was directed by Tony Scott, The Hunger is a rare beast. Scott is best known for his popcorn blockbusters like Top Gun, Crimson Tide, and Days of Thunder, after all. This was Scott’s first run out the gate and without question, he was the wrong choice to helm this picture. He lacks a basic artistic sense, the kind of sense that keeps balances and order, neither of which are present here. Instead, he falls back on cliches and hits repeat, with poor results. The Hunger could have been a gothic, atmospheric, and erotic motion picture, but not with Scott in the director’s chair. Now, Scott should be praised for getting stars Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve to hook up in a wildly erotic and well played sex scene, but that isn’t even enough to save The Hunger. If even half the film were up to that standard, this would have been a terrific movie, but no such luck. The film does have some nice makeup work, as Bowie goes through a rapid aging process, but the gore factor is rather low on the whole. I do like the sex scene and a few visual touches, but with a more competent director involved, The Hunger could have been an excellent genre picture. Warner’s disc is solid in all respects, but the movie itself is best suited to be a rental.
Video: How does it look?
The Hunger is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. As expected, the image looks a little worn, but is still the finest presentation of The Hunger I’ve seen. This kind of movie is supposed to have some grain present, so while some sites complain about this, I commend Warner for keeping the visuals as intended. The grain is not excessive in the least, while the print looks cleaner than before, solid work indeed. The image looks sharp and pretty refined, considering this is a 80s motion picture and all. The colors look natural, perhaps a tad muted at times, while black levels seem crisp and on the money at all times. As far as the materials go on this one, this is a superb, much improved visual presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio here is basic, but seems to handle the material well and that’s what matters in the end. As far as sound effects and such, this movie has some potential for atmosphere, but this soundtrack never really makes much of an effort, perhaps some production limitations held back the audio’s presence. I didn’t hear any hiss or other age and budget concerns, so that means all the elements come across in clear fashion throughout. The music sounds pretty good too, while dialogue is clean and never hard to understand. So not a homerun in terms of performance, but a solid, acceptable presentation. This disc also includes a French language track, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The main supplement here is audio commentary with director Tony Scott, who is joined by star Susan Sarandon. The two have good banter and tell a lot of production stories and anecdotes, so fans will not want to miss out. This disc also includes some still photos, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
