I'm the same way, Gerard.  I've seen so many of these things now that what gives me real pleasure is the quality of the performances, how the story is told, whether the dialogue is of a superior calibre, etc. 

It takes a really devious inventive mind to surprise me.  Two movies where I was at least jolted were Carrie and The Crying Game (where the "big reveal" was less of a surprise than how the director chose to reveal it).  I thought I couldn't ever be shocked like that again but it happened a couple of years ago when I saw the 1989 film The Woman in Black (recently re-made by a coalition of production companies including a revived aegis of Hammer studios).  A friend told me that there was no attempt in the remake to re-stage the shocking scene in the 1989 version.  Which was probably just as well.

cheers, G.

I believe it was shown on UK Sci Fi at some point in the 1990s.  In one of Nancy Barrett's cabaret performances, she did some patter about being in London and how DS was on at 3 a.m. to accommodate the viewing habits of the vampires!

I wonder whether house or Night of DS were released in the UK.  I was just thinking about it and realized I have seen promotional materials for the films for a number of countries, but none for the UK.

G.

Interesting to see that an official UK issue of DS has finally happened.  A 3 disc set was released on April 30.  I have no idea whether further discs will be issued.  The series has already received a glowing review from a knowledgeable fan on Amazon UK.  It will be interesting to see a review of this specific release:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Shadows-Original-Barnabas-Episodes/dp/B0077NF7AQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1336021777&sr=1-1

A number of vintage UK series from the 1960s and 1970s have been released in the past few years that have production values and styles similar to DS, so I could really see it taking off in the UK, provided it is marketed properly.

G.

These are a hoot! Thanks for sharing.  I had never heard of the project.  Looks like great fun.

G.

A blessed Walpurgis night and, for those who celebrate, Blessed Beltane to all.

G.

Cool detail I noticed from watching the "Why have you done this to me" clip:

[spoiler]Angelique's boardroom has walls lined with portraits of herself, each one painted in a different historical epoch.  That's a pretty neat allusion to all the plot points that revolved around portraits over the years on DS.[/spoiler]

This movie definitely has fantastic art direction...

G.

I think it takes a certain temperament to appreciate the OS.  It is even more firmly rooted in Sixties culture than was Star Trek--the budget was much lower and it is much more theatrical, on every level.

I have a friend who likes a lot of the same movies and TV shows that I do, and he can't get into DS.  He always finds it "too slow."  He's only about six years younger than me.

I am rather curious as to what impact the new movie will have on the public's image of Barnabas.  To me at least he comes off as a goofy freak in the clips.  Frid's Barnabas was such a haunting figure of mystery... those eyes ... that voice.  There was this sense of an inner sorrow that could never find solace.  Even with the Ben Cross interpretation, there was this tragic sense of wounded dignity that fed his anger and, at times, arrogance.  In the original 1967 Barnabas narrative, in the Maggie kidnapping storyline, Barnabas really did seem hyper-insane in a number of those scenes where he was trying to harrow the girl into becoming "my Josette."  It was some of the scariest stuff ever seen on television IMO.

Depp's performance makes me think of inspired lunacy on the scale of Dieter from Sprockets on SNL.  I wrote to a friend yesterday that having seen the clips, it would seem that the entire movie had to be tilted towards the absurd in order to accommodate the craziness of Depp's take on Barnabas and, in a sense, provide a frame or a context for it.  Sort of the way you would redecorate a room in your house before hanging some really unusual painting in it. 

I do think that Pfeiffer does a fabulous job of provided a much needed counterpoint of realism that somehow helps to make what Depp does work, in the context of the movie--to judge from the scenes posted yesterday.

cheers, G.

Thank you for those thoughts, Penny.  Of course what people think about DS matters to you.  How can it not?

More than any other television show I have ever been engaged with, DS speaks to my heart.  Collinwood was my refuge at the most difficult, awkward moment in my life.  I actually don't mind the laughter since I often laugh along as well, but I do mind the perception that "it was so awful" or "so boring, how could you watch it."

I don't have any answers, but I want you to know that I can sympathize with the discomfort all of this makes you feel. 

hugs, Uncle Gothick