The Hunger

Friday, October 21 - Friday, November 18, 2022

DCP Projection

“After an initial orgy of fancy camerawork, the movie settles down into the story of Bowie’s final days. He has that disease, where you age suddenly. He needs a lot of blood to keep going. He appeals to a medical researcher (Sarandon) for help, but she brushes him off, and by the time she realizes he’s serious, he looks like Methuselah. Then Sarandon visits the lavish town house where Deneuve and Bowie lived, and that’s where a glass of sherry leads to the seduction scene.

“Now I’ve got to be honest about this scene. Part of its interest lies in the fact that Catherine Deneuve herself and Susan Sarandon herself are acting in the scene. That gives it a level of reality that would be lacking in a porno film, even a much more explicit one. Because we know that famous actresses don’t usually agree to appear in scenes such as this, we’re aware at the chance they’re taking — and the documentary reality of the scene gives it an effectiveness all its own.

“In Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre, we felt some of the blood-scented lure of eternal death-in-life. Here it’s just — how would an ad put it? — “Catherine Deneuve for Dracula.”” – Roger Ebert (1983)

Previous screened September 20-22, 2019  as part of our Summer 2019 series, “Weekend Classics: Staff Picks.” Chosen by Todd who says: “Who wouldn’t sign up to be Catherine Deneuve’s immortal sex slave? Tony Scott’s first (and best film) also features Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, Willem Dafoe and Ann Magnuson. The first 7 minutes, featuring Deneuve and Bowie cruising for sex and blood while Peter Murphy and Bauhaus perform Bela Lugosi’s Dead in a seedy 1980’s NYC night club is worth the price of admission alone. Ignore the studio’s tacky tagged on ending that doesn’t make any sense.“

 

 

 

 
  • Country UK/USA
  • Year 1983
  • Running Time 100 minutes
  • Distributor Warner Brothers
  • Director Tony Scott
  • Writer Whitley Strieber (novel), Ian Davis (screenplay), Michael Thomas (screenplay)
  • Editor Pamela Power
  • Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt
  • Cast David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.