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May as well start a topic for it now.
For fans getting their tickets for the HoDS screening directly from the theater's box office, there were a lot left as of opening time (4 p.m.) yesterday. But I'm assuming they will sell out, so it may not be wise to wait til the last minute if you want to see the movie. Just my 2 cents.
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Would love to hear details of this, for anyone who feels like sharing. Sounds like great fun! I would love to know the technical specs of what they screen. It would be great if it were a gorgeous new 35 mm print of the movie. If the owners decide to make it available, maybe our local rep house (founded among others by Thayer David!) will screen it one of these days.
G.
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They may be using a different print, but given what Darren wrote in this post:
HODS/NODS Double Feature in San Francisco this October!
it seems quite possible it will be that same version...
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it will probably be the same print they showed in 2000 and in SF a couple of years ago. it was in good condition but hardly a prestine print. I will be videotaping the handprint ceremony and will do my best to post pictures here and video on my youtube page asap. i also plan to make all the footage available for download and viewing on my VOD site but it will take apx 2 weeks.
http://surf.to/dseventsvod
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Thanks to MB and to Joe for those links.
I would love any thoughts from anyone who has notes to share about the visual impact of the screening and any related technical reviews about the sound, etc. I just read an article in a Video Watchdog of a few issues back about "Wild Billy" Friedkin's havoc-wreaking "experiments" with the color settings on the French Connection DVD and what a mess he made of it (apparently, he made less of a mess with playing around with the "Cruising" DVD release). The French Connection disc was such a horror that the cinematographer who is still alive apparently tried to have his name removed from it.
Darren's thoughtful comments about the color palette and "murkiness" effects in the print previously screened were so apt and fascinating to read.
I am trying to accept the reality that I will probably never, ever see hoDS again looking the way it did when I saw it in the movie theatre back in 1970.
G.
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The French Connection disc was such a horror that the cinematographer who is still alive apparently tried to have his name removed from it.
Oh wow!
Well, I think we can pretty much rest assured that nothing like that will happen once Darren has processed hoDS and NoDS for release on DVD. [wink2]
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I'm writing quickly from the computer room at the Marriott. I'm sure others will be able to provide more detailed and technical information, but I'll share some impressions. First, the experience itself: there were five busloads of people from the hotel, and I was on the last bus. I wasn't able to see anything when they were preparing the cement and I realized I wouldn't be able to see any of the ceremony, and then I learned that there was a line to see the movie. It wrapped around the corner and down two blocks; I ended up being the third to last person in line. The temperature was in the 90s, and we stood in line for more than an hour in the sun. (I hadn't thought to put on sunscreen.) From the outside, the theater facade looked extremely small and it seemed doubtful that I would even make it in to the movie, but everyone did get in. And was it worth it! I felt like I was seeing "House of Dark Shadows" for the first time -- and it was the first time I had seen it on the big screen. There were countless details I had never seen before, mostly in the background of the rooms at Lyndhurst. The filming was much more interesting than I had remembered; I especially liked the textures, depths, light and shadows of in the many scenes that had fires flickering in fireplaces, such as at the Blue Whale (not sure if that was what it was in the movie). I had never seen the textures and dimensionality of the ornate carvings, paintings, etc. of Lyndhurst and the Old House interiors (not sure where that was shot). The music also set the mood in a completely unique way, especially the first half hour or so of the movie. The music score was clear as a bell, resonant and effective - again, I had never heard it this way before. Also, many details of the acting - for example, Joan Bennett's control of her character through her facial expressions - came through very vividly on the big screen. At the same time, the print seemed a bit on the dark and murky side, but I can't be sure that the movie wasn't supposed to be "dark and murky." Some of the color may have been washed out. There was some scratching to the audio around the pool scene with David, and at a couple of other points later in the movie. I can't speak at all to the aspect ratio, other than that it wasn't what I would call the widest of widescreens, but I assume this is the way the movie was filmed.
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My footage is up on youtube......
www.youtube.com/jayteevideo
thanks to DAVID NAHMOD i was able to obtain a press pass and get footage for his articles in various horror movie magazines. i was right there for the ceremony. Frid gave no speach and did not stay long. i do have more footage that i will be releasing on dvd later and also will be available on my online theatre. there is at least 1 more video posted on youtube. just do a search on youtube for "vista frid"
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here is a picture from the ceremony.
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another picture from the ceremony
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the handprint and frids initials
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Thanks, Joe!
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You're wonderful Joe, thanks!
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I can't speak at all to the aspect ratio, other than that it wasn't what I would call the widest of widescreens, but I assume this is the way the movie was filmed.
Do you remember if you could see the nurse when Julia addresses her? For years I though Dan Curtis was too cheap to pay Terrayne Crawford that day and just had Julia address her offscreen. This was years before I learned about cropping of films for TV. Later I realized you can see Terrayne in the mirror that's in the room, if you look carefully. Of course you do see her when she has her only line, "I've got the blood here doctor". There's an earlier scene where Julia calls her Miss Shepherd (Sp?) and is seemingly talking to mid-air.
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Thanks for the video and pics. Wonderful!
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i think "nurse sheppard" is a different actress. you can see nurse sheppard perhaps in a mirror shot (i cant be sure) and it didnt look like terry crawford.
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Poor old Mr. Frid. I'm glad he got through it unscathed. Of course you know I am wondering if that was the original cane he was holding...
Fabulous shots, Joe!
G.
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Many thanks to Philippe for the fascinating write-up. But an hour long wait in the 90 degree LA sun without shelter... I would have melted away by the time I got up to the theatre.
G.
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mr frid often mentioned how he would constantly leave the wolf heads cane in restrooms while on publicity tours so who knows where that original cane is now!
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Can you believe it? This event got FRONT PAGE coverage in the LA Daily News this morning! Not front page of the entertainment section, mind you, but front page of the PAPER ITSELF, replete with pictures of the people queueing up in front of the theater and Jonathan getting his star! Not bad for a 40-year old gothic soap opera, I'd say.
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I think the nurse with Daphne may be a different nurse than with Todd. There are photos of the nurse attending to Daphne, and she's not Terry Crawford.
As for the photos of Frid, they're great. Thanks so much for sharing them with us. [ghost_smiley]
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Wow, Roland, that is GREAT news. I'm surprised, but also think it is wonderful. Guess DS fans go along with the dedication that SF fans seem to have.
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OMG, THANK YOU, JOE!! You have just made my weekend. I so wanted to be there.
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If there's an announcement regarding a date for the projected hoDS/NoDS DVD release at the Festival, can somebody please, please PLEASE post it here?
Thanks,
G.
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http://www.dailynews.com/ci_15536955
Here is the link for the article, mention LA Daily News
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Thanks for putting the link up.
Just got back from the Cast Reunion. 11 stars were there: Marie, Jerry, Lara, Jonathan, Kathryn, David Selby, John, Roger, Christopher, Jim Storm and Kathleen Cody. It was quite a turnout. Each spent a few moments telling the audience what he or she has been up to lately, then answered questions from the audience. The crowd was overflow - I should know, I leaned against the wall for 3 hours!
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If there's an announcement regarding a date for the projected hoDS/NoDS DVD release at the Festival, can somebody please, please PLEASE post it here?
I don't believe anyone has any idea when the films will come out on DVD. In fact, I don't believe that Warner Brothers has even given Darren the go ahead to begin work on them because their release is tied to the release of the Depp/DS film.
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Thanks to Lori for the link. It's funny to think of DC "deciding" to make Barnabas more sympathetic...
And MB, what you wrote has been my understanding; given the hoopla and hints of dramatic announcements over the weekend, I have been wondering whether we might hear news, or at least rumors, regarding the DVD releases.
G.
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Terry Crawford was the nurse in one scene. She wasn't reflected in a mirror. She has some business with an IV hookup or something similar as she says her lines. She was only on briefly.
Today I saw the 2004 unfinished pilot. Pretty awful, thank goodness it never went any further and didn't damage DS's image. At that event, I believe Jim Pierson said something about there not being any plans for releasing HODS or NODS on DVD but someone else may remember what he said.
NODS is showing now and I started watching it but left to get a jacket and am not sure if I'll go back. It starts out well but I know I didn't care much for the last half hour or so. There is supposed to be a deleted scene shown, but I don't know at what point it plays.
"The Devil's Daughter" is supposed to show after that, but I don't think I can manage to stay up that late ...
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Today I saw the 2004 unfinished pilot. Pretty awful, thank goodness it never went any further and didn't damage DS's image.
I disagree. But I guess that's not a surprise because I've discussed the pilot in several other places on the forum. And I'll refrain from going into it all again here - mainly because this isn't the topic for it. [ghost_smiley]
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The Devil's Daughter is such a wonderful film, so stylish and with wonderful witty dialogue. Abe Vigoda has a great cameo appearance, and then of course there's the mute, tragic chauffeur who communicates such poignant sorrow with nary a word of dialogue. I was thinking of it yesterday because I just watched "The Initiation of Sarah" from 1978 and that was a much less polished, banal production... Winters seemed strangely off-key and under-rehearsed, disappointingly, in the latter film.
I'm very disappointed if Pierson flatly stated that there are "no plans" to release the films now. It would have been reassuring if he had told us that "there are no current plans, but we are confident that WB will order the release of the films." I wonder whether with their DVD-R on demand program in place, they're even less interested than ever in spending money to do decent editions of classic films. e. g. the 50th anniversary of Horror of Dracula came and went without an upgrade DVD release...
G.
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Thank you for posting the video Joe! I wish I could have made it to the Fest this year. I look forward to reading the weekend reports!
~Penny Dreadful~
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First, an important correction. Jim Pierson was talking about something else, not HODS and NODS, when I heard him say that there were no plans for a DVD release. He was talking about the 1991 series with the expanded footage and the 2004 pilot when he said there were no plans for those to be released on DVD. There has been so much information these past few days that I wasn't recalling accurately.
I did return to see the ending of NODS last night but missed about the middle third of the film. As far as I could tell, there were no additional scenes from what I saw, so if there was a restored deleted scene, it must have been from the middle third of the film.
Unfortunately, they did not have the print of "The Devil's Daughter" after all. That was disappointing.
The previous night, they showed "Seizure." I was rather intrigued by the first half hour, but I think it was about 1 a.m. by then and I couldn't manage to stay up another hour and a half. I had heard only negative things about this movie and there was hardly anyone there watching it ... but it seemed similar to the concept of the Ingmar Bergman film "Night of the Wolf". I don't know which film was first., but I can't help but wonder if one film inspired the other. Jonathan Frid was very good from what I saw of the film.
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Thank you, Philippe. I saw Seizure once, at a DS party. There was so much cross talk and laughter that I've always meant to see it again. It struck me as very much a period piece. Martine Beswick is always fun to see. Apparently the original title was going to be Queen of Horror and David del Valle waggishly wrote about the stir in town upon seeing a marquee that read "Jonathan Frid--Queen of Horror." Naughty!
G.
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wow those were great pictures of Mr Frid i am so glad it made the front page
as i think DS get overlooked for the impact it made. here we are all these years
later still talking about it!
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another article
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/21/1738617/60s-tv-vampire-hit-dark-shadows.html
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The Miami Herald seems to have picked up the same article that ran in the LA Daily News, but how odd that they chose a photo of Barnabas as vampire victim to illustrate "the 175-year-old vampire Barnabas."
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Thanks for posting the video Joe...enjoyed it very much. [ghost_smiley]
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how odd that they chose a photo of Barnabas as vampire victim to illustrate "the 175-year-old vampire Barnabas."
Very odd. [ghost_undecided]
Oh no, CastleBee - the corgis are gone! [ghost_sad]
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okay, so, i was watching the video of Frid giving hand print. God Bless him.
but, i realized in the movie that he [spoiler]turns into an old man and i found this interesting and wondered how well the makeup artists did with him as opposed to how he looks now...granted he was made up to 200 year old man, but still...[/spoiler]
i remember seeing this movie in it's original run and remember sitting in the theatre all day to watch the movie - those days this was allowed -- and got in trouble for coming home so late. ah, the good old KID days!
and i always for some reason remember Terry Crawford playing with the IV.
my favorite part was the whole [spoiler]carolyn getting staked scene and the fact that almost everyone turned into a vampire or was slaughtered in the film. just like the ending of any time period ending it's story on the TV show.[/spoiler]
i found that these actors had a chance to prove that they could really act the story up with out goofing up as on the television show and Frid and Bennet (the two mose goofers) shined in this movie.
i have it on my computer now from i-tunes and one day hope to take the time to hook up my computer to tv and watch both of them.
as far as the dvds. hopefully in my lifetime......
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i remember seeing this movie in it's original run and remember sitting in the theatre all day to watch the movie - those days this was allowed -- and got in trouble for coming home so late. ah, the good old KID days!
I stayed and also watched multiple times. I didn't get in trouble because 1) I'd told my mom that I was going to stay for multiple showings, and 2) the theater was only 5 blocks away from my home, so I walked home with my friends and then my mom drove them home. However, I was so dedicated to watching that I remained glued in my seat the second time around even though I had had a lot of soda and needed to go to the bathroom really badly. I was so proud that I didn't leave my seat until after hoDS was over and the co-feature had begun again. [ghost_cheesy]
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Oh no, CastleBee - the corgis are gone! [ghost_sad]
Yes, and now that you mention it, I miss those little Collinwood Corgis...I believe I will resurrect that photo. [ghost_grin]
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Yay, CastleBee!
Some pre-ceremony photos:
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods01.jpg)
Local advertisement of the event and Fest included a half-page pic in the current issue of LA Weekly with the caption, "Your No. 1 fang: Jonathan Frid's Barnabas Collins." Fans arriving early weren't too pleased to soon learn that they would have to leave the more comfortable patio area to form a queue in the full sun along Hillhurst Avenue in order to recapture those best spots later. But at least they were allowed to purchase cold drinks from inside so long as they didn't linger, and there was plenty of security on hand to make sure they didn't. It became a mob scene once they were joined by the busloads of fans from the hotel. But it was the first appearance of Frid that whipped up the crowd:
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods02.jpg)
He was quickly taken inside the theater's green room. DS fan Michael Culhane entertained during the interim.
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods03.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods04.jpg)
For once the cement wasn't too wet, but it's not like they had to mix a lot of it.
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods05.jpg)
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Below, she's holding the House of Dark Shadows imprinter before it's set in place:
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods06.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods07.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods08.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods09.jpg)
Richie Halpern emceed. The gentleman with Frid is the wonderful Vista manager, who explained what was to happen. Frid refused his help, but Marcy Robin urged a member of his staff to assist him into that kneeling position, which was not at all easy for him. ...
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Fantastic pics!! [thumb]
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Thanks, MB!
From this point on, pics were hard to get once Jay Nass and his sense of entitlement moved in front of several people.
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods10.jpg)
It's usual for the star to display their cement-covered hand(s) to be photographed, but Frid would have none of that. "Fast, fast, faster" he told the staff wiping his hand after it came out of the bucket. When he was again standing, he obliged the requests to turn and face the fans, many of whom, I suspect, hadn't been able to see much up to this point. Then he was asked if he'd like to write his name and called Jim Pierson over to consult. He was shown the wooden stylus and a chair was set behind him; Frid bent down and added his initials (also seen in Guy Haines' camera), then accepted help back up ("Put some muscle"). He quickly headed toward the side exit and insisted on returning to his limo.
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods11.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods12.jpg)
A few of our fantastic Cousins
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/FridHods13.jpg)
The name in the upper left corner was not written by Frid.
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Great pics! Almost makes me feel like I was there ( ... instead of two blocks away [ghost_blink]).
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I feel for you, Phillippe. And did it really take over an hour just to get everyone inside who wanted to see the movie and to hand out popcorn and soda? Geezus. If they weren't unhappy before, some got really upset over the delay in starting the movie!
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I saw Seizure once, at a DS party...I've always meant to see it again.
I'm rather fond of it. I've heard it described as Oliver Stone's lost classic and as utter garbage. I think it falls somewhere in the middle. I just wish that someone would give it a proper DVD release.
Apparently the original title was going to be Queen of Horror and David del Valle waggishly wrote about the stir in town upon seeing a marquee that read "Jonathan Frid--Queen of Horror." Naughty!
Naughy indeed!
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Oh, yes - I was in line for about 70 minutes and wishing I hadn't worn a t-shirt under my shirt since it was in the 90s (or, if the L.A. Times article is correct, in the 100s), but I had anticipated air conditioning in the theater. After already being worn out by doing a lot of running in airport terminals the day before, I didn't make it to any of Friday's events until afternoon. [ghost_cheesy] And now I seem to be paying with a cold which I probably picked up on the flight home (unless anyone else has come down with this?).
I forgot to mention something about the "Night of Dark Shadows" screening, which doesn't really belong in this thread, but it's already there - and that is, the print of the film was completely square - no widescreen or letterbox!
Thanks for the comments about "Seizure." I hope I'll get the chance to see it sometime. The Bergman film it reminded me of is actually "Hour of the Wolf", not "Night of the Wolf." Either way, it doesn't sound like a Bergman film ...
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Ah- that's because it was projected from a pan n'scan laserdisc or laserdisc copy. It's never been released on home video in widescreen-- though the iTunes/Amazon downloads are widescreen...
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Love your recap, Midnite!
Now, let me preface this by saying that I am in no way criticizing him (so there's no need for responses of the "JF is in his 80s and can't get around the way he used to and it was hot that day and he had every right not to be in a good mood" variety), but I get the sense that El Frid was not in the best of moods. He doesn't strike me as someone who necessarily wants to be fussed over or needs to be the center of attention. Actually, I quite like the idea of an irritated JF showing up, doing his bit, and then getting back into his limo as quickly as possible.
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Some more videos uploaded onto YouTube from the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z_-laFoWVM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z_-laFoWVM)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBK9trsDGOE&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBK9trsDGOE&feature=related)
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well, Claud, He's 80...nno, noo, only kidding.
Frid always struck me that he was not happy playing Barnabas. I think he considered himself a serious actor (and from what we see with what he did with Barnabas, that rings true) and the he soon tired of all the "hoopla" over the reluctant vampire. some of the interviews he did on the dvd sets, at times he seems to be pretty much above the whole Barnabas craze. Just my opinion.
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i agree, & i think he's pretty much admitted that as well. i think the only reason he's doing the Cons NOW is cause he's in his 80's. & i think he also realizes that the show is NOT going to to away. i read an interview recently that he said he was simply aweful in "Dark Shadows" i don't think he was actually. but i can understand his frustration with the character back than.
i can fully understand why he wanted to play "Bramwell" back than as well. but the ONLY downside to him playing that is 2 things, the show getting Cancelled. & the storyline that they chose for it wasn't very good. it's i think starts out good but than when the show got Cancelled was rushed. that's how it feels to me. so i think he did enjoy that role cause it was a nice breath of fresh air. on the show "Law & Order" if you wanted to be on that show you would have to realize that you won't get really HARDLY any character development. tiny bits here & there & that's about it. cept for this last season & season 7 i think? or was it season 6? one or the other the last season with "Claire Kincaid" anyways my point is i think he had to
kinda force himself to do the role in a way. the longer he was in it i mean. i'm sure he loved the work. but doing the same part over a long period of time got to him after awhile. & if i'm not mistake that's also why he wanted the role or "Quentin" to be created as well? cause it was VERY difficult for him to remember all his lines. i also think that if the show hadn't gotten Cancelled when it did. that he prolly would have left it not long afer anyways, at some point he would have. i'm guessing it prolly wouldn't have been a soap that lasted 20 years like some of them cause "J.Frid" i don't think could stand playing that role as long as some people would play. cause like you said. he considers himself a Serious Actor.
& he kinda did get stuck in the Horror Genre. i think he is right when on why he quit doing movies & tv. that he prolly would be blacklisted i forget the term into that particular Genre. if you look at the films he DID end up doing they are Horror films. & he realized that's all he was going to get. so he just said screw it & Quit. it kinda reminds me of "Bela Lugosi" he in Germany played drama parts in film if i'm not mistaken & in plays. & when he started with "Dracula" & did the film he got stuck with the horror Genre the rest of his life. even though he did do a few comedies here & there.
Boris Karloff NEVER had a problem with it. he loved it cause he was grateful for a Career. Horror Films gave that to him. & he NEVER forgot it. i think "Frid" is grateful that "Dark Shadows" gave him a career but i don't think he wanted or planned on doing JUST those types of roles. i think he's more like "Christopher Lee" he wanted & wants to be known more for his other roles. if you say something to Mr. Lee about how that's best known for. he'll get angry cause he doesn't want that.
he's also grateful for the horror Genre for giving him a Career as well. but he's done other roles that have become VERY Famous & likes to be known for those as well. where he got lucky & was able to do various roles in really basically every Genre there is. where J. Frid didn't have that. i think he craved it. i think he's also grateful to his fans as well. but for those
who have seen him act in plays through the years. i think he enjoys hearing stories about that even more. this is just one guys opinion. i may be wrong on some of it. so in short i'm just guessing. he he.