Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Production!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Having watched the video a few times, it's apparent, to me anyway, that the tone of some of the lines that seemed quite off-putting in the descriptions of the trailer are actually not as funny as those descriptions would have lead one to believe. Though that's certainly not to say there's no humor in the trailer.

And that's exactly my problem, MB.  I didn't laugh once during the trailer.  What I saw wasn't Dark Shadows...  And since it wasn't funny, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  The trailer just has me boggled personally.  And it's going to take some time to form an opinion on it.  My only observations:  Somehow I think I may have enjoyed the John August script more.  I know this is just a trailer and not reflective of the whole movie, but I didn't enjoy it... and I really wanted to.

Thanks to everyone for everything.  I will watch the official trailer and maybe walk away with more observations later.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

On the other hand, I liked the trailer much more than I liked the descriptions of it. I don't honestly think a lot of the stuff that seemed in the descriptions to be played for laughs are necessarily meant to generate laughs. And I think parts of it definitely look like DS. But maybe that's just me.

Though like you say, we'll get a much better idea once we see a better quality version of the trailer on Ellen later...

Somehow I think I may have enjoyed the John August script more

Don't forget, though, that John August's version of the script was the first one to be described as funny.

56 days 9 hours 18 minutes 5 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[jimbo]

And these are probably the best lines in the movie! The best line was the last one in the trailer. It is a pitiful parody of the original series. It also seems the family knows BC's secret. JD looks like a clown. I saw nothing of Jonathan's Frid's Barnabas Collins. Does JD have to be flamboyant in this movie! This movie should be rated more like G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I don't get parody by watching this, jimbo.  It's just a very different tone.  Much of it has to do with Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer actually.  And that's odd to me.   

I watched it again.  The first few seconds are really Dark Shadows.  The embody it.  The rest...  I'm just not sure.  Having watched it again, I find some of it kind of funny.  And I think my problem is a combination of a couple things:

1.  The music set a completely wrong tone for me.  (I know that isn't what the movie sounds like.)
2.  I'm not used to Barnabas acting like this or responding to situations like that.  Frid was such an intellect (even though some of his observations were wrong!  ), such a gentleman.  Cross was a gentleman, and captured Barnabas's rage very well.  And Depp seems to be...  I don't know.  But it's different.  And that is something that isn't just in the trailer.  I can tell it's going to be a running gag in the movie.

Some other observations:

1.  I want to know who falls from Widows' Hill.
2.  Johnny Lee Miller and Chloe Moretz look to have the best performances. 
3.  The whole relationship between Barnabas and Angelique looks awkward, weird and uncomfortable.  And I'm not just talking about the tongue, though that really freaked me out. 

[Cousin_Barnabas]

 - Though I will add that Eva Green brings something to Angelique that I liked.  I just can't put my finger on it. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The music set a completely wrong tone for me.

Yes, I don't understand the choice of that song either. As odd as it seemed when I first heard about it, The Doors' People Are Strange *might* have been a better choice.

- Though I will add that Eva Green brings something to Angelique that I liked.  I just can't put my finger on it.

I can honestly say I liked quite a bit of what I saw when it came to the performances. But, yes, Eva Green was really quite interesting. But then, I've been watching a lot of her past work and I've come to find her fascinating...

56 days 8 hours 53 minutes19 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[DarkLady]

Thanks, mdscntst! Unfortunately, the trailer confirms my worst fears. It might have a somewhat gothick-y look, but it just isn't Dark Shadows. At least not to me. The alleged comedy (like "tiny songstress") wasn't funny. And what suspense can there be if everyone knows Barnabas is a vampire?

Cousin B, I agree with you about Depp's Barnabas. He is not at all a gentleman and isn't even trying for intellect. As for the falling shot, it looked to me as if Depp launched himself from Widows Hill and then took wing. Not sure what we're supposed to make of the Barnabas-Angelique relationship.

And here I thought the excesses of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings were awful. Burton-Depp tops them all.

[DarkLady]

Wow, that was fast. Warner Bros. just took the trailer off line.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Actually, that's not a surprise. In fact, after I had watched the linked video that madscntst gave us, I noticed on the right hand of the page there was something else that said it was a DS film trailer (though unlike the one on Ellen it featured the green band). However, when I clicked on it, all that came up was a message from the poster saying that he/she keeps posting it and Warner Brothers keeps having it taken down. (You'd think they'd learn not to keep posting it.) Also, it wasn't the same trailer as is being shown on Ellen because the time was listed as 1:26.

So, considering all that and this latest take down, perhaps it would be best if I didn't put up a video of the trailer. At least until we see it showing up elsewhere and staying there...

56 days 8 hours 36 minutes 29 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Gothick]

Maybe Warners will have the trailer on their website.  If they ever get around to actually LAUNCHING it, of course...

The trailer, from what I could make out of it, seemed very much in line with what I had come to expect.  A Saturday Night Live skit on DS.  Complete with "Superfly" on the soundtrack.

I'd say much more Munsters than Addams Family... the comedy, on the original Addams Family at least, was a lot more subtle than this.

G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

It certainly is weird. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The Web site is still counting down. It'll be interesting to see what happens there once that countdown reaches zero.

And nothing I saw in the trailer reminded me of a Saturday Night Live sketch. That show tends to go for broad and over-the-top humor and nothing I saw struck me as broad or over-the-top humor at all. But again, maybe that's just me. 

56 days 8 hours 23 minutes 40 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!

[Nancy]

I just saw the trailer before the link got yanked.

I love it.  I didn't know what to expect and it took me back for a few moments.  I laughed out loud in my office at one line in particular involving horses and chevys.  I can see where the situation-driven comedy would work well and not detract from the horror aspect of vampirism and the curse.  Of course, we won't know just how well that works until we see the movie. 

I really liked the trailer. 

[madscntst]

It is interesting to see everyone's various reactions to the trailer.  Some don't like the humor, and some don't find it funny *enough* (I guess in terms of, if it's going to be a comedy, it might as well be funnier).  I really would rather see a higher quality version before I make a final opinion, but I am falling more in line with MB's and Nancy's opinion.  I may not like it quite as much as Nancy, but my reaction was more or less relief, after hearing the feedback from the screening. 

I like humor, and I am fine with most of the humor that was displayed in the trailer.  Maybe one or two things seem over the top/silly, but that happens sometimes, when I see a film where I like 99% of the lines but roll my eyes at a few and wish they were cut. But to me, the tone is more of what I wanted (ie., Sleepy Hollow/Sweeney Todd) where there are some laughs but it doesn't seem like it's going to be ha ha laugh-track funny at every moment.  I feel that there will be enough thrills and chills to satisfy me- at least I hope there will!

As for Barnabas' line "I'm a vampire, madam."  As a few have pointed out, here, we don't really know who he is saying this to.  Maybe the whole family does know.  Or maybe he's just talking to Angelique.  (Or Dr. Hoffman).  Just a thought. 

I'm still not as happy as I was a couple of days ago when we saw the first few seconds on Ellen's preview, but I'm happier than yesterday.  I do understand and sympathize with those who are disappointed.

Oh, edited to add, I meant to say that the music in the trailer may not necessarily reflect what's in the film. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As for Barnabas' line "I'm a vampire, madam."  As a few have pointed out, here, we don't really know who he is saying this to.  Maybe the whole family does know.  Or maybe he's just talking to Angelique.  (Or Dr. Hoffman).  Just a thought.

I suspect he's talking to Julia. But we shall see.

I meant to say that the music in the trailer may not necessarily reflect what's in the film.

I don't think it does either. I'm presuming it's simply for the trailer.


And BTW, it looks like once again Ellen used a different edit to promote that the trailer is on today's show because it featured the quick edits between Victoria and Barnabas rising, yet that's not in the trailer that will be shown later in the show. And there may also be another bit that isn't in the trailer. At least I don't recall seeing it. But then the version on YouTube was awfully dark. (Ewan McGregor is coming up first).

56 days 7 hours 41 minutes 44 seconds until the day the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows is released(ET)!!