DS Weekend 2004
I hope they were able to get hold of the print from which the DVD release was prepared.
It's really quite stunning. Forget Dario Argento--THIS is how to use color in a terror film!
The R rated US release was only 87 minutes and is far less interesting than the full 100 minute unrated European version that was used for the DVD. I wouldn't think US theaters are in any way limited to only being able to show the US version. That would be a crime! I would think it's only a matter of getting ahold of the longer print.
Hmm, Karlen's name was not there a few days ago, but the page now says, "Discussion following with director Harry Kƒ¼mel and actor John Karlen."
According to: american cinematheque it's 100 min. and from the [Belgian] Royal Film Archive.
Discussion following with director Harry Kƒ¼mel and actor John Karlen.
I can only describe it as cut, crappy, and washed out. :-
More tomorrow. :)
But an excellent reason to buy the DVD and to see the film the way it should be seen. ;)
A man in the audience asked Kumel to give us an idea of what the deleted footage showed. "You really should get the DVD to find out," the director encouraged. Some of the more overt lesbian-themed scenes were cut down. "When Ilona tries to leave the Countess and Elizabeth says to her, ¢â‚¬ËœYou would never leave me. Without me, you'd have no life.' Ilona replies, ¢â‚¬ËœYou call this a life?' But that last line was cut in this version. There's still enough left in the movie that you can get an idea of what's going on but it's very subtle¢â‚¬¦Subtle¢â‚¬¦" he laughed. "That's like saying Michael Moore is subtle. No, no, I'm not comparing myself to him." The scene where the medics are carrying a corpse out of the hotel was also longer and more violent. "Stefan sees the corpse and goes berserk. His wife tries to restrain him, but he hits her and throws her back against the side of the building. But in America, the rules are so strict. You can't even have a man wearing Speedos in a movie. They all have to wear those awful trunks."
I had no idea it was hard to come by.
I have a nephew-in-law who used to work for a store that specialised in laser-discs and then DVDs.
I e-mailed him in Manhattan at 9am with my 'unusual' request ("Aunt Rainey, did you say a LESBIAN/VAMPIRE flick :o ??!!) and the courier was at my house by noon with the...object....in his hand. [lghy]
I'll have to remember to thank him again!!
Rainey
The good news is that nobody got punched! ;D
Remembering what John Karlen had said about him, we gave the director the evil eye at first.
But when he spoke, he actually seemed like a very personable guy. He was able to laugh at himself and at the movie. When he was called forward just before the film started in order to say a few words, he mentioned that the movie was rather funny and chuckled to himself about it. In spite of my earlier prejudice, I found myself liking him.
The moderator of the evening's discussion announced that, unfortunately, the full-length restored print of the film had not arrived from Belgium in time, so we would be watching the edited, American print from the UCLA archives.
He was asked where he had gotten the idea for Daughters of Darkness. Kumel explained that an earlier film of his had done well but that he'd been advised to make something "more commercial." (eg--with more sex, violence, blood and gore.) "By chance, I had picked up a book about Countess Elizabeth Bathory. I was fascinated by the story and wanted to make a film based on it, but there was no money for something so elaborate. Then I suggested, ¢â‚¬ËœWhat if this woman was still alive and out in the world?' Then we could set it in modern times." Hence, the premise for Daughters of Darkness was born. Next, Kumel needed to find a star. "Delphine Seyrig was the most chic actress in France. I showed her the script. She liked it. She wanted to get started right away."
The moderator addressed Karlen. "You've had a long career in television, most notably on the vampire soap Dark Shadows--there are a few fans of that in the audience. Were you chosen for this movie because of your work on that show?" John said that the movie casting was not related to his part on DS, and then went on to share some of his memories of making the movie. "I remember getting off the plane and meeting Harry at the airport," Karlen reminisced. "We went out for drinks and then I fell asleep. Harry had to wake me up so that we could go and meet Delphine. We had dinner together. I can still remember her ordering the food: scallops, white wine¢â‚¬¦" he listed various dishes. "The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. Then, on the way to Paris, we stopped and had a picnic lunch by the side of the road. We finally arrived at Paris and Delphine went to Alexandre's to get her hair done. I jumped out of the car right away and stared at everything. I'd never been to Paris before."
"Delphine had red hair, but I had envisioned Countess Bathory as a blonde. I wanted a 1930's style for her, to give her a modern but timeless look. So we took her to Alexandre, who was the Michelangelo of hair styling. He had to agree to see you, and he agreed to work on Delphine. I told him I wanted her blonde, platinum blonde, and he set to work dying her hair. She started out as a redhead so to go to platinum blonde, she had to pass through green¢â‚¬¦Alexandre told me, ¢â‚¬ËœGo to the Tuileries and look at the paintings until I'm done.' When I came back, Delphine was a blonde and he had styled her hair, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Something must have shown on my face because Alexandre looked at me and said, ¢â‚¬ËœNo good, eh? Let me try again.' So he put Delphine under the sink again to fix her hair. And this wasn't just mise en place, he had to use the hot iron. The things these actors have to endure for their art! It took about three tries, but finally her hair was perfect. I saw a lot of Monets that day."
Next Kumel talked about the locations. "We actually used two locations for this. The exteriors were a hotel in Brussels and the interior was a hotel in Osten (the actual setting of the movie)." They actually had gone to film during the hotel's off-season, so the deserted look to the hotel and streets was accurate. "There were just a few people on the streets when we filmed outside the hotel. But it worked. The audience doesn't care about what goes on the background; they focus on the main actors.
Some directors try to make their films seem realistic. They try to get every detail down perfectly, but that doesn't really work. The famous director David Lee said that ¢â‚¬ËœFilm is like a fairy tale. Anyone who tries to incorporate too much reality sooner or later falls flat on his face.' So I tried to make a film that was like a fantasy."
The moderator turned to John Karlen and asked him about a particular scene in the movie in which his character is almost buried alive, but Karlen remained fixated on food. "All I can remember are the ham sandwiches and all the delicious breads and rolls we got to eat," he claimed.
The scene where the medics are carrying a corpse out of the hotel was also longer and more violent. "Stefan sees the corpse and goes berserk. His wife tries to restrain him, but he hits her and throws her back against the side of the building.
But in America, the rules are so strict. You can't even have a man wearing Speedos in a movie. They all have to wear those awful trunks."
Karlen went on to say a few words about Kumel. "Harry was a great director. He always told us exactly what to do, where to go, and let us know what he expected from us. He was always on top of things."
Thankfully, the painted ceiling with the huge sunburst over a blue background was still there, as was the large gilded scarab above our heads. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that the original interior walls are still present behind those acoustic panels.
Kumel said it was "not good, not good, because Deneuve was in it. She's a very annoying actress." Meow!]
He also mentioned that his wife was present during filming. :-X
He should hook up with Diana "I'd Rather Eat Than Act" Millay. ;)
Another scene cut out completely has the Countess saying to the girl, "Oh certainly you're afraid, my little edelweiss." He felt that was cut because it was seen as unimportant, but he said, "It's these very useless moments that are interesting."
Thank you for filling in the gaps. Your memory is better than mine. :D
I spoke with Kathy Resch after the screening and she said that she was seated before all the sound panels were brought in. The decorations are still there; they were just obscured. :)
Though he did follow that statement by saying, "She's gotten better over the years."
QuoteI spoke with Kathy Resch after the screening and she said that she was seated before all the sound panels were brought in. The decorations are still there; they were just obscured. :)
Thank you for that! You don't KNOW what a relief it is to me.
In fact, all the nudity is far more explicit - if you're into that sort of thing. (http://www.dsboards.com/dsb05/Smileys/wink2.gif)
Since posting that the DVD (originally released by Anchor Bay back in 1998) was hard to find, I've noticed that DoD was reissued in 2003 by Blue Underground with all new packaging. I don't know if it's a part of the new version, but the Italian poster was included in the original release:
-Do you mean DAVID LEAN, instead of DAVID LEE?..Hmmm