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| Category | Horror | Theatrical Trailer(s) | None |
| Rating |
| Other Trailer(s) | None |
| Running Time | 118 minutes | Commentary Tracks | None |
| RSDL/Flipper | No/No | Other Extras | Cast/Crew Biographies |
| Region | 4 | ||
| Distributor | Warner Brothers | ||
| RRP | $29.95 | ||
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| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | No | MPEG | None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement | Yes | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| Macrovision | Yes | ||
| Subtitles | English
Arabic English for the Hearing Impaired |
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Louis in the 1700s is 24 years of age, lives in New Orleans, and very depressed. His wife died in childbirth some six months previously, and he wishes to join her. Lestat overhears Louis' story, and makes him a vampire. Louis initially is horrified at the thought of drinking human blood to survive, and tries to survive on animal blood alone.
Louis and Lestat happen upon a little girl, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) whose mother has died, and Lestat makes her into a vampire so as they can have a companion. Claudia's mind grows old, but her body is perpetually that of a child, a fact which leads to Claudia hating Lestat so much that she and Louis kill Lestat.
Claudia and Louis go to Europe, where they meet other vampires in Paris, including Armand (Antonio Banderas). These vampires hate Claudia for what she did to Lestat, and they try to kill her. Several plot twists ensue to keep you entertained.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.
The movie was razor sharp throughout, and shadow detail was excellent, except for a few scenes very early on which were a little lacking in shadow detail.
The colour was well rendered throughout the transfer, though many of the scenes involve muted colours. A few of the initial modern-day shots looked a little dated colour-wise, but otherwise this transfer was excellent.
No MPEG artefacts were seen. Film-to-video artefacts were non-existent. Film artefacts were not a problem at all.
Dialogue was usually completely clear and intelligible, except for very occasional difficult to hear dialogue, especially that delivered by Antonio Banderas, though his accent is difficult to understand at the best of times.
The music, composed by Elliot Goldenthal, is very lush and passionate, and strident when necessary, adding nicely to the overall dark feel of this movie.
The surround channels were used frequently for ambience, music and some special effects. They were well utilized, providing a pleasing surround experience without being outstanding.
The .1 channel was used reasonably often, but not as much as on some soundtracks.
The video quality is extremely good, with very little to complain about.
The audio quality is very good.
The extras are minimal.
| Video |   |
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| Overall | |
Michael Demtschyna
10th December 1998
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| DVD | Pioneer DV-505, using S-Video output |
| Display | Loewe Art-95 95cm direct view CRT in 16:9 mode, via the S-Video input. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Denon AVD-2000 Dolby Digital AddOn Decoder, used as a standalone processor. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | 2 x EA Playmaster 100W per channel stereo amplifiers for Left, Right, Left Rear and Right Rear; Philips 360 50W per channel stereo amplifier for Centre and Subwoofer |
| Speakers | Philips S2000 speakers for Left, Right; Polk Audio CS-100 Centre Speaker; Apex AS-123 speakers for Left Rear and Right Rear; Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer |