Depp/Burton DARK SHADOWS Is In Release!!

[madscntst]

Hmm, well, I agree about the editing, or the (apparent) deletion of scenes that might've fleshed out the story better.  But I personally didn't have any problems with the pacing or the tone.  I really did not find the comedy jarring, and to me it didn't feel out of place (and I actually maintain that this film is much less of a comedy than it's been described as).  Even the Top of the World montage, which is arguably the lightest, most comedic portion of the film, was done in such a way that it worked for me to just sort of represent Barnabas starting to fit in with the everyday world.  Maybe the end confrontation could've been a little more streamlined and concise, but I can kind of understand the need to have a "big climax" scene in the film.  But there was never a point where I felt the film was dragging or feeling tedious, and I didn't think it was too long (and I agree with those who have said that it could probably have been a little bit longer without any detriment).  But as we all know, we all have different feelings about this.  I'm just glad it works pretty well for me!

[michael c]

i guess what i meant is that the people i know who saw it, and filmgoers in general, would not be "confused" by what "we" would be confused by or would find disorienting or out of place knowing the source material so well.


as a film on it's own terms perhaps it was somewhat disjointed/choppily edited/etc and for that one could certainly find it a confusing story.


but they would not find, say, julia's "actions" as out of left field and out of character as someone familiar with the story would. they don't know the history of the character.

[madscntst]

DS is likely to be playing in the US for longer than 2 more weeks. If one looks on Box Office Mojo at how many days most major films in wide release have been playing of late, the shortest amount of time seems to be 56 days/8 weeks with several going 77 days/11 weeks and longer. DS only began its 4th week yesterday.    And one thing we do know for sure is that it will be playing in certain IMAX locations for at least 6 weeks. 

Oh yeah, it'll still be in theaters for awhile yet.  However, it's going to lose theaters, and in the theaters it's in, it will lose screenings as more time goes by.  Its theater loss has been pretty minimal so far (DS like most films kept the same number of theaters in weeks 1 and 2, and then lost a few hundred in each of weeks 3 and 4) but don't be surprised if a week or two from now the theater count goes down by 1,000 or more.  I think it will probably take a big hit next week with Prometheus and Madagascar 3 coming in- they're both blockbusters that will need a lot of screenings.  This will hurt the box office, but it happens to every film (even The Avengers, but since that is still doing so well it'll probably take a lot longer for that one to go away Also, that one has the potential to break the all-time box office record, so there will be pressure to keep that film in theaters forever to milk the box office for all its worth  )  At some point, DS will start being in discount and dollar theaters, before eventually leaving theaters.  I think that folks in major cities will have no problem finding showings in the coming weeks, but those in smaller towns may start to notice it going away    We'll see!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

i guess what i meant is that the people i know who saw it, and filmgoers in general, would not be "confused" by what "we" would be confused by or would find disorienting or out of place knowing the source material so well.


as a film on it's own terms perhaps it was somewhat disjointed/choppily edited/etc and for that one could certainly find it a confusing story.


but they would not find, say, julia's "actions" as out of left field and out of character as someone familiar with the story would. they don't know the history of the character.

I totally agree.  Because what I was confused by was not what my friend was confused by.  The whole vampire lighting on fire scene made perfect sense to me in the context of the movie, but my friend didn't understand why it was there.  She also was put-off by the weird comedic bits just thrown in.  I didn't find those as jarring as the fact that Laura just pops up at the end... with no real build-up.  My friend didn't find that confusing at all.  We both found the Barnabas-Maggie love thing confusing, and the fact that Barnabas just has sex with everyone (namely Angelique) when he supposedly only loves Josette and Angelique killed her 200 years before.  (And his justification was so off-basis that it was laughable.) So, different parts of this thing affected different people in different ways.  But confusion definitely was in play with a number of folks with whom I've spoken. 

[David]

Some of the user reviews for this film at imdb are so nasty, they come across like personal vendettas.

How about some of us post positive reviews at imdb and put a little balance into this situation?

[Gothick]

Well beyond the thoughts of the original series DS fanbase, there's this oddly assorted contingent of folks who have as one of their chief goals in life the desire to bury Tim Burton alive, career-wise.  Particularly any project Burton does with Johnny Depp.  So, it was pretty much on the cards that this project was going to attract some particularly vicious, vitriolic criticism from that quarter. 

I haven't looked at those reviews and I don't really have time, but I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that the "Tim Burton must be destroyed" league is at work again... just my thoughts.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The last time I noticed, the page for the film on Amazon featured far more positive reviews than negative ones. But that may be because the haters haven't realized that the film already has a page on Amazon. And maybe I'm making a mistake by even posting about it because I may be tipping the haters off that the page does indeed exist. 

22 days 23 hours 11 minutes 27 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Thanks for the heads-up, MB.  I'm on it right now...    

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Apparently reviews have continued to surface because thanks to Gothick (who wasn't sure if it had already been mentioned) I was alerted to this review from Video Watchdog:

Pause. Rewind. Obsess.
107. DARK SHADOWS (2012)

And after having read it, one should definitely check out this review because it's so similar and yet so different:

Review: Dark Shadows
Tim Burton's best film since Ed Wood

But then, critics are no different than the people here on the forum, so it's another perfect example of how, quite fascinatingly, people can see the same film, hit on many of the same aspects of it as well as compliment many of them (I couldn't agree more that the use of Alice Cooper's "The Ballad of Dwight Fry" is both brilliant and amazingly moving), yet ultimately come away having had a different experience and drawing different conclusions.


Gothick was also kind enough to mention that Video Watchdog is preparing a "round table" feature focusing on the original DS, and it's expected that other versions of DS, including this film, will likely be covered as well. There's no word yet on when the issue is due out. But no doubt it will be posted about once it does come out. 

23 days 11 hours 54 minutes 39 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[michael c]

what's notable is that in nearly every review...good, bad, or indifferent...is the almost universal opinion that the bulk of the cast, minus depp and green, went largely underused. i wonder what the solution would have been or even if there was one?


and also somewhat ironic given that the original series, when major characters disappeared for days or even weeks at a time, suffered from the same flaw.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Without having read the script, it's hard to really draw an accurate conclusion, but one possibility is that the script was simply too ambitious for what would ultimately have to end up being a less than 2 hour film. Back when the casting of roles was being announced, we were frequently told that each character would harbor their own individual secrets. Some of those secrets were touched upon - but some obviously were not, or at least some aspects of them were not. For instance, we were told as part of Liz' background that she hadn't left Collinwood in 10 years - but not even the slightest hint of that is given (and we can pretty much be sure that it wasn't something that was merely picked up from Liz' background on the original series because then they would have said 18 years). (Though one intriguing instance in the film that may have hinted of that aspect of her character comes when Carolyn narrates the first few lines from "The Ballad of Dwight Fry" that deal with a missing father and the expression on Liz' face certainly seems as if it could have instantly burnt through the toughest substance in the universe. As is, it simply plays as a overwrought reaction to Carolyn being "on stage" and coyly referencing her missing father. But given the original description of Liz, I strongly suspect that look was prompted by a hell of a lot more than just the simple fact that Carolyn brought up her apparently absent father. But as the film stands, we have no idea what the real motivation was.) Plus, when Julia was described, we were lead to believe that there was some sort of a connection between Julia and Angelique. But, again, there's no such evidence for that in the film. In fact, Angelique and Julia don't even share a glance, so much as a scene. And then there's Roger. I forget what secret was hinted about with him - but his part was so cut down that, sadly, he barely even registers in the film, so there's even less than a hint of what it might have been. 

About the only thing we can hope is that the much promised deleted scenes will at least fill us in on what might have been in the film had it run longer.

23 days 13 hours 45 minutes 10 seconds since the Depp/Burton Dark Shadows has been in release(ET)!!

[michael c]

and remember when those character portraits were released it said that david, who believed in ghosts, had found an "ally" in victoria?

but other than their introductory scene at the dinner table the two shared virtually no screentime. and certainly no scenes of david being "tutored", or anything else, by vicki. one has to wonder how much of that relationship ended up on the cutting room floor as well.

[michael c]

and even if there was something...at script stage...that had kept liz secluded at collinwood for ten years, not only is it not alluded to in the film itself, but also the situation's resolution is not explained, as we clearly see liz at the cannery in several shots.

[Uncle Roger]

Does anyone know if Thomas McDonell filmed any scenes as the younger Barnabas? They made such a big deal out of casting him that it was surprising not to see him in the film.

[michael c]

i don't watch alot of contemporary films. but didn't a film used to run for a proper two hours or even more?


when did studio execs start demanding that a film clock in at "under two hours"?

i'm not talking about a "gone with the wind" running time but the film could easily have had another five or ten minutes that helped flesh it out to no ill effect.


on my first viewing i was stunned at how much nonsense ran before the film itself actually started. apart from coke ads and "please turn your cellphone off" reminders there were at least ten trailers. one was sitting in the theater for over half an hour before the film got underway.