Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Release!!

[Gerard]

I, too, have mixed feelings about the scene, mixing drama with comedy, of Roger abandoning his son and family with no feeling of remorse.  It was truly moving, especially seeing little David standing with tears in the doorway watching him leave.  Added to the emotion was seeing Barnabas' reaction which was filled with equal pain and compassion for that child for whom he had become so attached.  It was so well done, and all my friends sitting around me groaned in heartbreak.  It was immediately followed by Barnabas with his mind still consumed by his affection for David that he didn't realize he had stepped back into sunlight and began to smoke and then burn while his family and friends standing around him looked with eyes wide and mouths opened.  It was funny, downright funny, but tempered by what had just happened.  When Willie threw that bucket of water on him from Mrs. Johnson mopping the floor, totally amiss at what has happening around her, it was slapstick-appropriate hillarious.  But it was probably too much to quick in combining the action.  If Burton would've directed that David be taken to his room, or some other such action to cause a better transition, ti would've been a flawless scene.

Gerard

[Gerard]

as it was left dangling...

julia and vicki vampires, carolyn a werewolf, angelique dead, collinwood and the business burnt down, plus the entire town knowing barnabas is a vampire, a sequel seems like a hot mess. and completely implausible.

i vote for a new take on the series.

I can actually see all those danglings as leaving a huge number of possibilities for a direct sequel.  I'm even tempted to pen a plot-line just for fun.

Gerard

[Midnite]

yes midnite that was a portrait of josette in the final scene.

they obviously went to alot of trouble having it painted, and i'll bet somewhere on a cutting room floor there is a scene, or scenes, of someone noting the resemblance between it and vicki.

Thanks!  And good point, sigh.

strange she didn't note it herself upon her arrival at collinwood. it would have added another dimension to that scene.

I think one of the coolest reimaginings is Josette's constant presence in Vicki's life.  So what do Josette fans think of her ghost's manipulation of a living person?  It seemed that on Widow's Hill, it was Vicki that came to the realization that there was only one way she and Barnabas could have a future together, and Vicki that made the decision to end her own life in order to be with him... or was it?

i'm still confused about the scene with barnabas catching fire. it didn't necessarily call out "vampire". just that he was, what?, i'm not sure?

And it happened right after he demonstrated one of his super powers while saving David's life.

[borgosi]

To me the ending was a great soap opera cliff hanger ending.

[Midnite]

I, too, have mixed feelings about the scene, mixing drama with comedy, of Roger abandoning his son and family with no feeling of remorse.  It was truly moving, especially seeing little David standing with tears in the doorway watching him leave.  Added to the emotion was seeing Barnabas' reaction which was filled with equal pain and compassion for that child for whom he had become so attached.

At first, I thought we should have seen more interaction between David and Barnabas that would have created that emotional bond between them, but it hit me (duh) that the murder of Barnabas' parents, which drove him mad, already served that purpose.

It helped that while discussing the movie, Nicky pointed out that Roger fits in with Burton's recurring theme of the bad or distant father.  Taking that a step further, how often did Burton show the devastating impact of a father's death (Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood [with Bela Lugosi as the imperfect father figure])?  And while Barnabas didn't follow his first instinct to kill Roger, he gave him a choice, so it was Roger who ultimately left David without a father, leaving Barnabas essentially blameless.

[Taeylor Collins]

I had to run to the little boys room while all the Roger/David stuff was happening so that will be great to see. I missed the water, David crying etc.  I shouldn't have bought a large drink.  Note to self: Do not drink much before watching movie!

I am glad DS is still making money.  NO ONE could have known what how big THE AVENGERS was going to be.  Joss Whedon has a great fanbase plus you have all these different characters that have great fanbases as well. It's pretty much blowing everything out of the water.  I thought Battleship looked horrible.

I loved loved loved that Josette was with Victoria all her life. I thought that was a great re imagining! And it was cool to see Angelique's mother although we didn't see her face. 

What a thrill it would be to see Lara Parker play her mother in a sequel if we were to get one. Maybe she could bring her back to life?  I also was so pleasantly surprised to see Laura. I did not expect that AT ALL! I thought that was a huge nod. Laura doesn't get the respect she deserves in my humble opinion. 

[michael c]

it was my impression that vicki was under angelique's spell when she took the leap.

didn't barnabas demand that ang release her from her spell before she died?

[Teresa]

I haven't seen the movie yet due to some family obligations but look forward to it very much.  Usually I don't put much stock into if a movie does well at the box office or even reviews good or bad.  I will go and probably love it from what I have seen and heard so far.  I see the DVD in my future as well!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I had to run to the little boys room while

I think I've mentioned this before, but the first time I saw hoDS I had to use the men's room partway through - but I suffered in silence and didn't budge from my seat until after the final credits had rolled (and that was back in the day when you could pay once and stay and see a film multiple times).

Where is the dedication from the new generations of DS fans? 

 

9 days 15 hours 56 minutes 24 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

My take on the Barnabas catching on fire scene reads thusly:   

Burton took one of the most dramatic scenes in the film and took us out of the moment with comedy...  Why?  Because that is how he saw the original series playing out a lot of the time.  There would be a great bit of drama, and then someone would flub a line and kill it.  I think that is the effect he was going for here.  And he really succeeded.  Everyone was just standing around trying not to notice (a la the actors in the original series when one of their fellow players messed up).  And then they picked up and carried on with the rest of the scene.  It was a fairly genius concept.  But not something other people would pick up on.  But I think this scene captures the tone Burton had in mind from the beginning.  Whether it works on the level I believe it was intended is another matter, but that is the purpose of the scene in my opinion.   

[Gerard]

I had to run to the little boys room while all the Roger/David stuff was happening so that will be great to see. I missed the water, David crying etc.  I shouldn't have bought a large drink.  Note to self: Do not drink much before watching movie!

Alright, Taeylor, come clean.  We know you're hiding something.  Nobody can afford to buy a large drink at a movie theater anymore, not even Bill Gates.

Gerard (Who remembers when his mom gave him a dollar to see HoDS and with that dollar was able to pay the admission price that included two movies [the first one was a western], previews, and cartoons - and don't forget intermission, buy popcorn, candy and a soda and had to bring the change home)

[Taeylor Collins]

I am not hiding anything. I live in a small town in Kentucky where prices are not what everyone is used to.  It only cost 6.50 to get into the movies. The drink was about 4 dollars with free refills. That matinee is about 3.50!

As for going to the bathroom I had taken my high blood pressure pill which has 50 mgs of diuretic in it Plus a LARGE drink.  LOL  However, maybe I am not as dedicated as the first generation of fans! 
  LOL HUHHHMNMMM...

Okay now back to the movie. I was looking through my Dark Shadows scrapbook (which I have added all of the movie stuff to) and was reading the article ET Weekly did on the Revival. I found it interesting that at the end of the article Dan Curtis says, " I don't know what the hell you call it.Once you enter the Dark Shadows door, your in a whole new universe. It takes itself seriously, but you can laugh at the darkest moments."

So I agree. I think that is what Tim was trying to achieve.

I do remember double features just a bit. We saw one at the drive in when I was a child. I cannot remember what was playing though as I was about 4.

[Brandon Collins]

Did anyone else pay attention to the part in the beginning of the movie, set in Liverpool, when Angelique is staring at Barnabas as he boards the ship and her mother says "Angelique! Stop staring at him!"? I thought it kind of sounded like Eva Green speaking the line in a whispered French accent. Maybe it's just me, but I wonder if there's a way to find out if she did or not.

Also, EW.com is reporting that DS came in 4th place this weekend, and has taken in 50.3 million domestically and over 80 million worldwide, with a budget of 125 million. If these are all accurate, then with those combined numbers DS has already broken even and everything from here on out is pure profit.

[jimbo]

International wrap up. http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-avengers-sherlock-holmes-dark-shadows-johnny-depp-dictator-327004

[michael c]

i had a large coffee and missed the scene where angelique first finds out barnabas had been released at the construction site on my first 8:00 viewing.

for the second viewing i was more prudent with diuretic beverages.