Shooting on the new Dark Shadows movie has moved to Cornwall, where unofficial photographers have captured the first photographs of Johnny Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins. The images show scenes staged on the Devon coast with actress Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters. As can be seen, Depp's Barnabas retains the character's familiar Inverness cape and cane, as featured on the original show.
It's fascinating to reflect on early glimpses such as these, without context and post production treatment. Undoubtedly these are not the pictures the film's producers would have chosen to be the initial views, but by being the first seen, they naturally become iconic. It will be very interesting over the coming months to see how they compare to the finished film.
8 comments:
"It's interesting to reflect on early glimpses such as these, without context and post production treatment."
These look like they are "post treatment" to me. The sun looks pretty bright for Barnabas to be out otherwise.
I am hoping this is a "night scene" where a dark tint is added later. That would offer hope that his makeup is not as silly as it currently looks. My understanding is night scenes are often filmed in this way (brightly lit and tinted) as it gives a better result than actually filming in low light...
Given that Depp is wearing sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat in broad daylight, I think it's safe to guess that his white pallor is sun screen.
Maybe it's a daytime scene and Barnabas is wearing alot of sunscreen.
Interesting - if it is a day scene, what is Barnabas doing strolling along the beach with Victoria? If it is a night scene (to be tinted later) why is Barnabas wearing sunglasses? More and more I'm looking forward to the finished product.
I trust that the movie will portray Barnabas along the spirit of his original character. Being another of the generation to run home from school to watch the original series, we all have a certain reverence for the character of Barnabas. One of the main fascinations for Barnabas arises from his being a true human underneath the monster, and indeed his evolution in Dark Shadows brings him from a monster unleashed to a sympathetic protagonist. The audiences begins by fearing and loathing him to rooting for him.
After several remakes of Dark Shadows and 2 full length movies it would be unnecessary to make another clone of the series so it will be refreshing to get Tim Burton's unique vision adding a new dimension to the story. My own appreciation of Barnabas caused my to write a song about him that captures his complexity and inner struggle, with his hope for personal redemption. You can hear a rough draft along with accompanying footage from the original series here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jXQ652Q7LM
Let's not jump to conclusions too fast here. A lot of post production effects are probably going to be added to this scene. The while pallor face makeup could be there to make CGI effects on his face easier to do.
This also could be a dream, or parallel universe sequence, with all sorts of special effects added.
I'm sure there are lots of surprises ahead.
Barnabas Collins and Dr. Julia Hoffman in the hands of Mr. Depp and Ms. Bonham Carter? Collinwood in the hands of Tim Burton. I don't think DS fans could have asked for more.
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