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Fangoria DVD Review
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (Warner)
Reviewed by MICHAEL GINGOLD
I realize I’m one of the few, but I’ll say it again anyway: I enjoyed QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, certainly the first half, at least. I’ll also admit to having never read any of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles novels, including QUEEN and THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, both of which were referenced for the making of this movie. So I’ll concede that QUEEN’s detractors may have a point when they complain about the film’s shortchanging of elements and characters from the books, while maintaining that on their own terms, parts of the feature are a hoot. And those detractors may be interested to check out the audio commentary on Warner’s QUEEN disc, which addresses many of their concerns.
Eschewing the usual anecdotes and technical information, director Michael Rymer, producer Jorge Saralegui and composer Richard Gibbs focus mostly on the adaptation of Rice’s material—which, Rymer admits, would require “an eight-hour miniseries” to fully do both books justice. They discuss in great detail how characters were altered and the narrative streamlined in order to bring the movie in at a manageable length, pointing out that certain story points (like the vampires’ psychic abilities) were being debated even as the film was being made. While this commentary will mean the most to those intimately familiar with the novels, it remains an interesting object lesson on the many decisions necessary to transfer a hefty popular fiction into a Hollywood feature.
( Read more... )
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (Warner)
Reviewed by MICHAEL GINGOLD
I realize I’m one of the few, but I’ll say it again anyway: I enjoyed QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, certainly the first half, at least. I’ll also admit to having never read any of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles novels, including QUEEN and THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, both of which were referenced for the making of this movie. So I’ll concede that QUEEN’s detractors may have a point when they complain about the film’s shortchanging of elements and characters from the books, while maintaining that on their own terms, parts of the feature are a hoot. And those detractors may be interested to check out the audio commentary on Warner’s QUEEN disc, which addresses many of their concerns.
Eschewing the usual anecdotes and technical information, director Michael Rymer, producer Jorge Saralegui and composer Richard Gibbs focus mostly on the adaptation of Rice’s material—which, Rymer admits, would require “an eight-hour miniseries” to fully do both books justice. They discuss in great detail how characters were altered and the narrative streamlined in order to bring the movie in at a manageable length, pointing out that certain story points (like the vampires’ psychic abilities) were being debated even as the film was being made. While this commentary will mean the most to those intimately familiar with the novels, it remains an interesting object lesson on the many decisions necessary to transfer a hefty popular fiction into a Hollywood feature.
( Read more... )
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