The Hunger 1983

The Hunger is a 1983 English language horror film. It is the story of a bizarre love triangle between a doctor (Susan Sarandon) who specializes in sleep and aging research, and a stylish vampire couple (Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie).

The film is a loose adaptation of the 1981 novel of the same name by Whitley Strieber, with a screenplay by Ivan Davis and Michael Thomas. The Hunger was director Tony Scott’s first feature film. The cinematography was by Stephen Goldblatt.

The Hunger was not particularly well-received on its release, and was attacked by many critics for being heavy on atmosphere and visuals but slow on pace and plot. Roger Ebert, for example, described it as “an agonizingly bad vampire movie”. However, the film soon found a cult following that responded to its dark, glamorous atmosphere. The Bauhaus song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” plays over the introductory credits and beginning. The film is popular with some segments of the goth subculture, and spawned the short-lived TV anthology series of the same name.

The film was screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.

Trivia:

David Bowie said that, in order to make his voice suitably hoarse for when he aged so drastically in the movie, he stood on the George Washington Bridge every night and screamed all the punk rock songs he knew.

Alan Parker was Richard Shepherd’s first choice to direct, but Parker convinced Shepherd to hire Tony Scott after seeing his commercials.

 

David Bowie actually learned to play the cello for his music scenes.

 

The last film of Bessie Love.

 

Tony Scott sighted [error] as a major influence on the visual style of the film.

 

The film Performance (1970), the first feature of director Nicolas Roeg, was a big influence on this movie, which was Tony Scott’s first feature.

 

While working in London on this film, Susan Sarandon first met Rupert Everett, Ian McKellen and Suzanne Bertish, people she stayed friends with for decades after. On the DVD commentary for the film, she also said she was still in contact with David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve.

 

One day during filming, costume designer Milena Canonero, who is famously dedicated to her craft, disappeared and was nowhere to be found. It was discovered eventually that she had flown to Rome to purchase fabric for a handkerchief David Bowie is supposed to wear. Unable to find fabric she liked in London, Canonero had flown to Rome at her own expense to find the fabric she needed instead.

 

Makeup artist Antony Clavet, who was famous within the fashion world for his work in Italian Vogue, was brought onto the project after he was introduced to the director by Milena Canonero.

 

Make Up Department
Antony Clavet … special makeup
Nick Dudman … prosthetic makeup artist
Carl Fullerton … makeup illusions
Peter Montagna … special makeup effects artist
Dick Smith … makeup illusions
Doug Drexler … special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Filed under: Horror

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