I happened to notice a new book that surprised me at my local library last week - a new novel by veteran DS writer Joseph Caldwell.  The book is a comic novel set in Ireland that sounds worlds away from DS.  The title: The Pig Did It.  A reviewer on amazon.com describes the book as a blend of farce, romance, and literary satire.  Reviews there are very positive.

The Pig Did It (Hardcover)

Caldwell's writing caught my eye when I viewed the entire DS series.  At various times during the run, whenever I would think an episode was particularly well-written, I would notice in the end credits that more often than not the episode's writer was Joe Caldwell.

Where will you be going in Italy, Annie?

I've almost gotten there twice, but never quite managed to, and have wanted to go ever since studying Renaissance art.  Florence has always been my number one choice.  The closest I got to Italy was seeing Mount Blanc from a mountain I climbed in the French Alps (I don't remember just where this was any more, although it was maybe a three-hour drive east of Lyon - I'm not sure if we drove all the way to Haute-Savoie or not).  Also, one strand in my ancestry was from near Trento, and only a couple of weeks ago, a researcher found the exact town.  Unlike the forum administrators, though, this may not mean I have Italian blood (which sounds so exotic in these northern climes ... ).  It seems likely that the family in my ancestry spoke Mócheno, or possibly Cimbrian (ancient German dialects), who came from either Switzerland or Austria many centuries earlier.

Let's see, another Zefferelli film with gorgeous Italian landscapes is "Brother Sun, Sister Moon."

Let us know your itinerary!

I forgot to watch this, but fortunately I have the DVD (which I've never viewed!).

I remember having dismissed this movie after watching the first five minutes one time, when Jennifer Jones was playing the character as a young girl, which I thought looked silly.  Glad I stuck with it on a subsequent airing, though, as this was a nicely done, haunting film.  I don't really recall the DS parallels, so I'll look forward to seeing it again in the future.

Gothick's article, rough draft or not, sounds fascinating. Please let us know when/where to find the essay once it's posted! I've never been able to analyze exactly why the gothic genre has always appealed to me, nor even been able to reliably define "gothic," despite having a literary background. I know it when I see it, but I'm not able to really define it.

I really want to see "Sweeney Todd" after seeing an extended trailer. I remember my parents watching the Angela Lansbury version on TV in 1982, and that it seemed interesting and unusual.  I'm not a big fan of Tim Burton although I like his visual style, and I think Depp is a solid actor from what little I've seen in the past couple of years (Edward Scissorhands, The Ninth Gate, and some of Sleepy Hollow, which I otherwise didn't care much for except for the visual style, and which I turned off after Christopher Lee's early scenes - I did like Depp in all of these).

But like Gerard, who is in a neighboring state, the new film won't be showing in my market for the same reasons he explains about the franchise refusing to pay for the film. How maddening, given the mediocre junk (to put it lightly) that gets shown everywhere.

 

Thanks, Jackie.  Yes, I knew about "deepdiscountdvd" (as it was formerly known) through this forum. 

I'm grateful that they do offer the lowest prices on DS sets (along with the widest selection of DVDs I've found anywhere).  Hopefully, I will be getting two DS sets for Christmas - having placed the order myself at the last possible moment of their recent sale.  I made a mistake in ordering, though, and ordered one that I already had.  I immediately e-mailed them asking if they could make a substitution, and am hoping for the best but haven't heard anything. They've always provided excellent service so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and looking forward to the last two collections of the series.  Maybe not the best way to order, I suppose I should go in sequential order ... 

Thanks to everyone for all the hopeful comments! I can breathe a little easier now!

Just in time for Halloween viewing (and while anxiously awaiting the DVD release of the DS movies), here are some films that have recently been released on DVD.  All of these movies have been mentioned here in the past.  I'm including my own brief mini-review of each.  Extra good news: they're all very reasonably priced (around $9 - $12)!  In order of DVD release, from most recent to least recent:

Count Dracula (1977).
Released September 25.  This is the Louis Jourdan version, which aired on PBS over two nights around Halloween almost 30 years ago.  So many people have been awaiting a video or DVD release in vain ever since.  It's the only really faithful version of Bram Stoker's novel both in terms of story and Stoker's intent - and hence it's arguably the best filmed version, in my opinion.  Not perfect, but overall very good.  The exteriors are great, including the castle, the Whitby steps, and the cemetery.  The interiors are on videotape, which is unfortunate but shouldn't bother any DS enthusiast.  Jourdan wouldn't be my choice for Dracula in terms of physicality, but his low-key portrayal grows in power and evil.

Witchfinder General (1968) - MGM's Midnite Movies.
Released September 11.  This is the director's cut with the original soundtrack restored, and without Vincent Price's opening recitation of Edgar Allan Poe's "Conqueror Worm" poem (which I liked, but this was only added for the American version.)  Also, the poor quality pasted in scenes from the British DVD release are omitted as the director hadn't wanted them in anyway.  A historian who published a recent book about Matthew Hopkins pans the movie for historical inaccuracy.  I agree with him that it's deplorable the way the movie has victims dragged off the street and lynched when in fact they were tried in the judicial system.  Nevertheless, the costumes and settings give a good sense of the times.  Having studied this period (17th century Europe) while doing my genealogy research, I think this film is a vivid depiction of the times and events.

Jess Franco's: Count Dracula (El Conde Dracula) (1973) with Christopher Lee
Released February 2007.
Starts off amazingly well, especially with Lee's earliest scenes being faithful to Stoker's characterization of the count, but the film goes off track straying from the book and from the promise of the earlier scenes.  The film elements are far superior to the earlier VHS release - you'll see things in scenes that you never knew were there before.  The visual improvement makes a far better film overall.  The dubbing is distracting (something I don't remember from the VHS tape) - apparently the Italian print used for the DVD was superior visually, but the English language sound track doesn't quite match.  Also quite unfortunate is that the scene of the mother pleading for the return of her child was cut from the Italian version and thus doesn't appear on the DVD.  Klaus Kinski is effective (though mute) as Renfield.  The Spanish settings, which I once thought unfortunate, do add a rather surreal quality.

The Complete Omen Collection
Released October 2006.  I just discovered this set at my local Wal-Mart.  Five "Omen" movies for about $20, released by 20th Century Fox - not some cheap knock-off!

Frankenstein: The True Story (1973).
Released September 2006.
Christopher Isherwood's tantalizing interpretation of what he saw as the novel's hidden themes in the context of the Shelleys-Byron-Polidori association.  I remember being disappointed when this originally aired as a late-night made-for-TV movie (I had to get special permission to stay up late for two successive nights) because it didn't follow the book, which I had just read.  Especially galling was the "True Story" subtitle - which displeased Isherwood, too, according to his biography.  However, I do appreciate the film as a well-made and well-acted, intelligent interpretation.  Wonderful performances by a host of top-notch actors, including Agnes Moorhead, John Gielgud, and James Mason.