Night of Dark Shadows

[JS]

I finally purchased a copy of "Night of Dark Shadows". I haven't seen it since it first came out at the theater. After watching it again the other night, I came to a few conclusions. 1) That is the worst movie that was ever made. 2) I would buy the DVD when it comes out mostly for the actors. I realized that I love the actors more than the characters that they played. The only thing good about the movie was the actors in the movie. Dark Shadows was blessed with the most awesome talented actors,  writers, directors, producers etc. God Bless Dan Curtis for giving us Dark Shadows in the first place. Some of my fondest childhood memories was watching Dark Shadows and reading Dark Shadows novels. I would love to know what the rest of this board thought of "Night of Dark Shadows", honestly!

[ProfStokes]

Personally I like the movie (except for the cheesy, predictable ending).  I certainly enjoyed it more than House of DS.  The Night story felt more original and so was more impressive.  Unfortunately, last minute butchering excised most of the explanatory scenes that would have fleshed out who was who and what the characters' motives were.  If you ever have the chance to read the original script in The DS Movie Book, you can get a better idea of what this movie was supposed to look like; the original version was eerier and more elegant. The current version does have atmosphere, but I keep hoping to see the improvements of a restoration.

Since both films were so different in tone from the series, I actually liked that the characters (Quentin, Daphne, Claire, Alex, Angelique, etc.)  in no way resembled their television counterparts.  I felt like this gave Night of DS the power to stand alone.  It could have been any haunted house thriller, not necessarily a soap opera spin off. Of course, I suspect many DS fans dislike the movie for that very reason. For myself, I'm willing to re-watch this one again when the occasion presents itself, which is more than I can say for House.

ProfStokes

[Uncle Roger]

Not the worst movie I've ever seen but surely a top contender.  Choppy continuity, unsympathetic leads (Quentin and Tracy) and the fact that the poster blurb pretty much summarizes the entire movie do not make for a satisfying experience.  If NODS had been my first exposure to Dark Shadows, I don't think I would gotten any further involved

[Mysterious Benefactor]

One of the most interesting phenomenons in fandom is that over the years NoDS has been garnering more and more fans while all hoDS has been garnering is more and more detractors - and that actually pleases me to no end because I'm not a fan of hoDS but I'm definitely a fan of NoDS. 

A search of the forum will bring up numerous topics devoted to both movies...

[Miss_Winthrop]

I have both filmes on VHS.  NODS: I love the music, especially the opening (Joanna's theme?), the actors and the Lynnhurst mansion and all the grounds. The storyline was interesting and once the restored missing scenes are added, I'll definitely buy it.  I was at Lynnhurst and walked around the grounds of the manion.  It was heaven because I was in the same rooms that the movie was filmed in.  I loved walking the grounds and seeing where Carlotta had been looking from the upstairs room out on to the estate. HODS: very violent compared to the TV series.  However, there is definitely something very appealing about it because of the very fact that the characters were so different from the TV show.  Barnabas couldn't have been more mysterious and dark and I loved the fact that Dr Hoffman acted out on her desires. Just seeing all my favorites from the show is worth it.

[arashi]

I'd like to echo ProfStokes and recommend picking up the DS Movie book to read the original script. I'm in the camp that enjoys NODS more than HODS, and wish the original cut of the movie was left intact and was available. The script was actually much more coherent and flowing than the movie would lead you to believe.

[jkpeskey]

I sure wish we could get some- ANY info on the dvd releases of these two films.
Something official, not just he said...she said speculations. 
The festival is advertising "celebrating the release of HODS & NODS" what does that mean exactly???
Collinwood.net has not been updated since August 28th last year and the restoration site has been shut down.
Where can we go for info?? ??   
Any ideas out there?? ??
This is driving me batty  ^*^   ^*^

 ^*^

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The last official word came via the link in this topic:

Interesting thread at MOBIUS HOME VIDEO FORUM...

It doesn't seem likely that really much of anything has happened since then because the Depp/DS film is still in early development.

And as for how the Fests may be promoted, as we've often cautioned, fans should really take such things with a grain of salt. That's not to say that the promotions are untruthful. But they frequently rely on what's hoped to have happened by the time the Fests actually take place as opposed to what they know will definitely have happened by that time...


And welcome to the forum, jkpeskey! 

[Mark Rainey]

I never disliked NoDS, but neither was I particularly taken with it until I watched it again in the mid 90s after having not seen it for several years. At that point, I realized it’s a hell of a good ghost story, its myriad flaws notwithstanding. After reading the full script and seeing how badly it was butchered at the last minute, I’m quite convinced that, fully restored, it would be a true classic movie of the supernatural. The studio execs who forced DC to trim it ought to have been hanged. (Figuratively speaking, of course.)

The fact the characters were quite different from their TV counterparts is jarring to some (apparently even after all these years), but to me a refreshing change. While the mains weren’t necessarily “likeable” in the usual sense, I had no issues at all with how they were portrayed. NoDS also contains what I consider one of the creepiest filmic moments ever -- the penultimate scene in Collinwood, when Quentin is inside alone, and -- in a long shot facing down the hall beyond the gallery -- the door opens. That gets me every time.

[Gothick]

My first viewing of NoDS was on the CBS Late Movie in the early 1970s.  The network piled on additional cuts that left the movie even less  coherent than Sam and Dan's enforced 48-hour guerilla cut at the behest of the studio execs had done.  In the 1990s, I was able to see it again and this time, I fell in love with it.  Apart from Kate Jackson who just doesn't do much for me as Tracy (apologies to KJ fans), there are wonderful moments for each of the main players (Nancy Barrett should have been given a bit more to do, though).

My regard for the movie ascended to a completely new level after I was able to see the black and white screening of the seance sequence footage at a DS Festival.  (I forget the technical reasons why the footage was screened in monochrome--Darren Gross stated as part of his fascinating presentation that the full color print does exist and, if there's ever a restoration, will appear on the DVD.)  That sequence just may be Dan Curtis' finest moment as a director, in my not-so-humble-opinion.

Another regret connected with this project that came to me when I watched a Michael Stroka interview on one of the DVD sets recently:  Michael was slated to play a flamboyant antiques dealer in Collinsport in the movie, but his scenes were cut before shooting even began. 

G.

[madscntst]

I didn't see either movie in the theaters, but rather came upon them while I was rediscovering the show on SciFi channel in the 90's.  I bought one and think a friend taped the other for me.  I like both films.  For HODS, I didn't mind the more sinister and gorier aspect, though it did shock me a little bit.  (I have a pretty high tolerance for dark and gory stories  )  As for NODS, it was being so badly knocked by the folks on the forums I was in at the time that by the time I saw it, I was expecting it to be really terrible.  While I didn't think it was great, I liked the atmosphere and liked that the story was something new.  I guess it helps not to have high expectations!  Realizing that the film was butchered, I always hoped that a restoration might improve it further.  I guess we'll see!

Cathy

[jkpeskey]

About 10 years ago - I was free-lancing as a musician in NYC and lived in Tarrytown.
I became a tour guide at Lyndhurst and as you can well imagine it was a once of a lifetime thrill for me as a
DS fan.  I even went up on top of the tower and into the tower room! (we weren't supposed to : ))
Let me tell you, I took my dog for long walks at dusk on the grounds and NODS really captures the 'feeling' of the place...
more so than HODS IMHO.  It was really cool when the sun would start to go down and the stained glass windows would darken
and if you were alone...wow it could be REALLY quiet there!
Cheers

[JS]

I'm thinking that both Night of Dark Shadows and House of Dark Shadows will be released on DVD when the movie finally comes out. It seems to always work that way.