Friday, May 11, 2012

Dark Shadows Is Released Today

Today the new Dark Shadows movie from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp is released in cinemas, following more than five years of production. We've chronicled the project from its earliest announcement, and you can re-visit all our coverage by clicking here

Dark Shadows has already done brisk business in France, where the movie released midweek, commanding double the audience of blockbuster The Avengers. "Dark Shadows could beat Avengers in certain territories but might not be able to match Avengers' overall weekend international gross," comments The Hollywood Reporter. "Burton's film got off to a strong start Wednesday in France, grossing roughly $770,000 to beat Avengers on its third Wednesday."

It is now over 41 years since the original show left television screens, but its influence remains far-reaching, in the work of Tim Burton and many others working in the film industry today. The new movie is dedicated to the memory of Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, but perhaps this also is a good time to remember some of the show's other creative leading lights – writers Art Wallace, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, Violet Welles, Malcolm Marmorstein, Ron Sproat and Joe Caldwell, directors Lela Swift, John Sedwick and Henry Kaplan, original producer Robert Costello, and most of all, our recently-departed original Barnabas, Jonathan Frid.

14 comments:

vderricks said...

Stuart, Do you have any biographical information on Violet Welles? I thought "Dark Shadows" especially rocked when she was a part of the writing team. I love this site.

ffghtr49 said...

Will not give anything away, but this true fan who grew up with the show, I was very pleased with the movie!!!!

StuartM said...

I know very little about Violet, I'm afraid, beyond that she wasn't a full-time writer – she was a theatre publicist. She had such a flair for dialogue, her episodes were always standouts.

rehbda said...

Saw the film. Loved their take on it. Hoping for more!

kelly said...

excellent work by people who love DS for people who love DS.
very pleased!

Anonymous said...

Stuart, I simply cannot thank you enough for making me feel included in this new production of DarK ShadowS. Your legend grows, kind sir. May I ask when we can look forward to your review of the film? Also, is there to be a novelisation of the film script? Many, many, many, thanks! ~Kassandra

Tom said...

I, too, am one of the original fans - I started watching in 1967 -I saw the movie last night and really enjoyed it! It may not be a perfectly realized film, but it certainly doesn't deserve the negative attention it has gotten. Johnny Depp is brilliant in it. I hope it does great box office and there are lots of sequels!

Unknown said...

I saw the movie last night and loved it. I was initially skeptical because of the first trailer, but I thought it was highly entertaining. Love the nods to the original show and the news twists. I encourage die-hard fans who are hesitant to give it a shot. -Wiley

lonn4670 said...

As a diehard fan of the original series, I was skeptical when I heard there would be a remake of my favorite show of all time. I was one of the kids who ran home from school to watch Dark Shadows daily. At 55, I am still having a love affair with the series.
Last night, my brother and I went to see Tim Burton's Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp stepping into the shoes of the late Jonathan Frid.
As Barnabas Collins, Johnny Depp did an incredible job. I throughly enjoyed Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's take on the series. I just wish that Jonathan Frid's take with the other original cast members was not so rushed. I understand he was not well at the time of filming.
All in all, I enjoyed the film. Although not perfect, it was enjoyable.

imfunnytoo said...

I'm quite fond of most of it and I'm going to go again :) Nice to see Collinwood and the Collins family again.

I was also a young fan of the original in 1967

Jake Mabe said...

I am a die-hard, traditionalist fan who said some bad things based on the trailer. I was wrong. I loved it. The darn thing is "Dark Shadows." It has made me very, very happy!

Quentin Collins said...

"Dark Shadows" is also my all-time favorite television series. I was skeptical at first, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film for a variety of reasons. Thankfully, the film didn't come across as a comedy at all to me.

I'm really pleased to read that the DVD or Blu-ray versions are going to have deleted scenes, and I'm hopeful that what I've been reading regarding the possibility of there being an eventual extended (three-hour!) version of the film will come to fruition. I would scoop that up in a heartbeat. :)

Joe Smith said...

I thought the movie was 100% epic!

Sonny Drysdale said...

I've seen it twice with different people and plan on seeing it again soon on IMAX - just because I don't expect to ever have that opportunity again. ... but I'd like to hear what our host Stuart M, thought of the new incarnation.