Interview with the Vampire Blu-ray

Interview with the Vampire

 (1994)

Drama | Fantasy | Horror



After an aristocratic Louisiana gentleman's abrupt transformation into a vampire at the hands of a mysterious foreigner, he reluctantly settles into a life of nocturnal domesticity, augmented by the addition of a little girl.

For more details about Interview with the Vampire on Blu-ray, see the Interview with the Vampire Blu-ray Review

Starring: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea, Christian Slater
Director: Neil Jordan

Interview with the Vampire Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Interview with the Vampire arrives on Blu-ray sporting a 1080p picture cropped from the film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 to 1.78:1. Warner has also opted to go their usual VC-1 route with respect to encoding the film. I’ve now viewed Interview with the Vampire three times from beginning to end in an attempt to get a handle on its presentation. My first two viewings were marred by my projector defaulting back to its factory out-of-whack Vivid mode. As you can imagine, what I was viewing with these inappropriate settings was anything but good. Fortunately, after viewing the disc on a few other monitors, I was able to determine that something was amiss with my projector and subsequently correct the problem. Using the custom ISF settings on my projector made all the difference in the world and I am happy to report that Interview with the Vampire is not a sub-standard transfer. It is, however, challenging material that will test viewers’ patience on non-calibrated displays.

The most important thing to realize when viewing Interview with the Vampire is that this is an exceedingly dark film. Director of Photography Philippe Rousselot has intentionally given the film a decidedly shadow-filled look that trends towards dark grey and brown shades rather than deep black. In fact, there is often a lack of detail present in the frame simply due to lower light filming conditions. Take for example, the shot of Lestat that is included at the top of this review. Clearly, this was filmed in what appears to be a Barry Lyndon-Kubrick-esque style. I can only assume that natural light or even candlelight was used for this shot. With the longer exposures and wider lens aperture settings required for low light photography, detail can sometimes get washed out as depth of field is compromised. That appears to be the case through much of Interview with the Vampire. I can safely say that smoothing techniques have not been applied to the movie, as the film’s grain structure is readily apparent throughout the presentation. In addition to the lack of fine skin and fabric details, there is also a smearing effect that takes place during low-light, fast motion sequences. Again, I believe this to be the result of cinematographic choices made to give the film its eerie look while subsequently limiting the image depth. At any rate, this is challenging material that will push your display’s abilities in contrast and black levels. Interview with the Vampire isn’t a pretty film, but then again, its look and feel match the mood of the film perfectly.

Interview with the Vampire Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Unfortunately, the audio side of Interview with the Vampire is severely hampered by Warner presenting yet another high profile release with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track. To make matters worse, the original DVD of Interview with the Vampire featured a high bitrate DTS soundtrack. So, for the first time in my Blu-ray reviewing career, a studio has actually downgraded the audio for a major release from that of the DVD. What else is there to say, really? If you’re an audiophile, Interview with the Vampire is something of an insult.

Interview with the Vampire Blu-ray, News and Updates

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