Lifeforce (film)

Lifeforce
United States theatrical release poster
Directed byTobe Hooper
Screenplay by
Based onThe Space Vampires
by Colin Wilson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAlan Hume
Edited byJohn Grover
Music byHenry Mancini[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byCannon Film Distributors[2]
Release date
  • 21 June 1985 (1985-06-21)
Running time
  • 101 minutes
    (theatrical cut)[2][3]
  • 116 minutes
    ("international cut")[3][4]
CountryUnited Kingdom[5][a]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[6]
Box office$11.6 million (US)[7]

Lifeforce is a 1985 British science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, adapted by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. Based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel The Space Vampires, the film portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being discovered in the hold of an alien space ship by the crew of a European Space Shuttle.[8]

Two cuts of Lifeforce were released: a 116-minute "international cut", and a 101-minute cut ordered by American distributor TriStar Pictures for the film's theatrical release in the United States.[9] Lifeforce received generally negative reviews and was a box office failure, but has since become a cult film.[10][11][12]

  1. ^ "Review: 'Lifeforce'". Variety. 31 December 1984. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b "LIFEFORCE". British Board of Film Classification. 5 July 1985. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b Collins, Brian (18 June 2013). "Collins' Crypt: Lifeforce Director's Cut Vs. Theatrical Versions". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ Pereira, Mike (14 October 2013). "[Blu-ray Review] 'Lifeforce' Has Its Definitive Release Courtesy of Arrow Video!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Lifeforce (1985)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Disasters Outnumber Movie Hits". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The New York Times. 4 September 1985. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Lifeforce". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Lifeforce". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  9. ^ Whittaker, Richard (22 June 2013). "DVDanger: 'Lifeforce'". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  10. ^ Taylor, Drew (21 June 2013). "5 Things You Might Not Know About Tobe Hooper's Underseen 'Lifeforce'". IndieWire. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  11. ^ Gardner, Lee (26 September 2012). "A cult classic featuring naked space vampires". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce: Space Vampires, Comets, and Nudity". Den of Geek. Retrieved 29 February 2020.[permanent dead link‍]


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