Are the DVDs Edited?

Well I think they need to leave the bloopers in...

The way the shows were originally aired is the way they need to be put out on DVD.

Although I'm sure that a few of the actors would like to throw something at me about that opinion.

But the mistakes for me give Dark Shadows it charm.

I especially love the scenes with that pesky fly.

I'm sure that Jonathan wasn't to amused being singled out by that fly. But there is a photo of him with that fly lit right on his forehead...  And my mother got a copy of that photo somehow. It is not a screencapture. It is a real photograph. I just got to search the house over to find it. I just hope it didn't get lost when we moved. If I find it I'll post it.

FireRose

If you like the bloopers, they do have a DS bloopers DVD.  But maybe you already have it.  I thought it was alright, had some funny parts.  And the fly is in there at least once, lol.  I love how in one scene Frid swats the fly slowly, still in character. LMAO!

I calculated that purchasing the entire series on DVD -- provided that all 1,225 episodes are released in the same format (i.e., 40 episodes per set), and at a discounted purchase price, with free postage and no tax, at $45 per set -- would total about $1,364.

 

Yeah, they're expensive.  Which is why you should ask for them for birthdays and Christmas! 

at $45 per set -- would total about $1,364.

 

But that's actually quite cheap when one compares it to what the VHS tapes were originally. At $19.98 per volume, all 254 came out to $5,074.92 (without tax)!!!!    (And even at $5.98 per volume the tapes are still $1,518.92!)

I agree, MB -- $45 is reasonable for these boxed sets of TV series.  It's just that it adds up to a lot to get the entire series, but it gives one something to work towards.  A sort of life goal.  (And then, you can't take it with you ...)

Most of the DS DVD sets at amazon are priced $53.98, which seems odd since at least two people in an earlier thread, "Dark Shadows on DVD", talked about amazon charging about $44.  Have they raised the price?  They had a couple sets for less, but most of them are listed at $53.98.

I know there are other discount places, but I just know that amazon is very reputable and I'm surprised they charge that much.  I also checked with my local Borders store, and they are charging $59, same as MPI!  I have a 25 percent off coupon good at Borders through tomorrow so I may have to shovel out my car and race over there to buy one set (and then cut up some of my credit cards!).

 

Vlad, I'd be checking out eBay if I were you. These things can be found for cheaper amounts of money. It may take some time on your part, but it can be done. Be patient. Prices do eventually come down.

Vlad, I'd be checking out eBay if I were you. These things can be found for cheaper amounts of money. It may take some time on your part, but it can be done. Be patient. Prices do eventually come down.

Agreed.  I am still shopping for sets 10 and up which are still showing up for $40-45 range including shipping on ebay.  However the old can be bought significantly cheaper if one watches and waits.

Most of the DS DVD sets at amazon are priced $53.98, which seems odd since at least two people in an earlier thread, "Dark Shadows on DVD", talked about amazon charging about $44. 
 

Amazon sells the DS DVD's at the $44 price if you pre-order them prior to their release dates. Shortly after their release the price moves up to $53. At $53 you will have to shop around either on-line or at local stores to find better pricing.

I just pre-order them when a new release is announced.

Jeff

I'm thinking about picking up the first set of DS DVDs.  Are they edited like the initial MPI tapes were?  Hopefully not!  I want to start slowly replacing my MPI tapes since they take up a lot of space!!

This question has come up before on other lists.  I have all 16 sets of DVDs beginning with the release of Barnabas Collins and didn't know if there was any editing from the original broadcast or not.  I had nothing to compare it with.  In each of the sets there's a guide. There is a "NOTE" on that guide that says the episodes "are mastered from the best possible sources. However, due to the technology at the time of production and the age of the original elements, certain video and audio imperfections exist that cannot be eliminated."  Also on the discs, you'll see disclaimers that the taping was not edited.

That said, I saw someone who owns the MPI VHS tapes and is now collecting the DVDS.  She compared some of the episodes from the DVD to the VHS version and claims some episodes have scenes missing.  Now that's disturbing to me.  I want all the episodes to be exactly how they were played out in front of the camera at the time of taping, bloopers, technical imperfections and all.  So I don't know what else to say.  I still plan to collect the DVDs and hope MPI or whoever makes the DVDs don't edit anymore!

I purchase my sets from www.deepdiscountdvd.com since the sets are $43 including shipping and handling.  Sometimes they are on sale.  I've heard that you may find them cheaper if you shop around online too.  But I haven't seen the price any lower then $41.

Agreed.  I am still shopping for sets 10 and up which are still showing up for $40-45 range including shipping on ebay.  However the old can be bought significantly cheaper if one watches and waits.

At http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com you'll find the DVD Dark Shadows Collection Sets.

Amazon sells the DS DVD's at the $44 price if you pre-order them prior to their release dates. Shortly after their release the price moves up to $53.

Thanks for the clarification about amazon's pricing policy, Jeff.

Do anyone know if MPI will re-release the DVDs that were heavily edited?  I really think that MPI should put out new DVDs that are uncut.

why on earth would mpi edit the dvd's?i thought that one of the major selling points of dvd was that they could include more than vhs due to it's compact size.the show was only about 23 minutes long minus commercials...why shorten that?
the vhs tapes (annoyingly)edit out alot of the other storylines during the first barnabas episodes to focus on him.i was told that the dvd's don't edit the show like that(you have to purchase the "collector's series" tapes to see these episodes in thier entirety).
i'm about to start purchasing the dvd's...i hope that they're not edited.

Do anyone know if MPI will re-release the DVDs that were heavily edited?

If you use the forum's search feature to check the older topics about the DVD edits, you'll see that none of them were heavily edited. Bits and pieces of certain bloopers have been trimmed.