tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post3809678770207045005..comments2024-03-25T13:25:19.911-05:00Comments on My Pretty Baby Cried She Was a Bird: Dark Shadows/An Open Letter to Tim BurtonLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16842611749073935723noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-13952874779104527642012-07-02T11:29:16.315-05:002012-07-02T11:29:16.315-05:00did you see the movie? it wasn't as bad as the...did you see the movie? it wasn't as bad as the trailer made it look, but it was by no means good. i've had the orginal series in my netflix queue for a while, i need to start watching. i need a new obsession.Rae - Say It Aint Sohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16066975427295830641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-34601976718512990712012-03-23T10:20:20.324-05:002012-03-23T10:20:20.324-05:00Great "open letter," most fans can relat...Great "open letter," most fans can relate. I'm an avid Dark Shadows fan myself, watched the original series (like so many others) by running home from school when I was a kid. About ten years ago I caught DS on dvd and got my wife hooked --- along with a bunch of friends who remembered bits and pieces from the original show. The storyline is a classic gothic love story, about torment and excess and power and redemption. The original series worked so well because Barnabas (as well as Quentin) was a good-hearted, tragic character whose demons sometimes got the better of him. It worked because we can all relate to human suffering, to lost love, to loyalty. Tim Burton's version doesn't have any of this, at least as it is portrayed in the comedic trailer. He has reduced a grand story to a teenage sexual romp, a "vampire -vs - the witch" comedic sprawl in which neither character has any depth. Barnabas Collins would never pull out the insides of a tv set and talk to it like he was looking for some ghost. Why not? Because Barnabas knew who he was.... a member of the Collins family. The tragedy that made the original DS series so special is that we are "in" on Barnabas' secret, even though he is desperate to keep "the truth" hidden from our eyes. The Burton-Depp remake is really nothing more than an Addams Family meets Beattlejuice. A lot of freaks who have no depth, no emotional pull, no substance. Its a comedy, a farce, that makes fun of the very thing that the original Dark Shadows knew not to laugh at: the brokenness of the human condition. So, so much potential lost, so much good will squandered! Imagine if Burton had at least held true to the inner demons that surround the Barnabas/Josette storyline, propelling Vicky Winters back to 1795, etc. They could have made a dynamite franchise out of this story --- including future films that included other storylines (such as Quentin and Daphne, parallel time, etc.). Instead, we have a remake of Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein --- sadly, without Bud and Lou. I was hoping against hope that Burton and Depp wouldn't blow this, as they appear to have done. I won't see this on a first-run screen, it is too heart-breaking. Imagine Barnabas sitting at the family table telling everyone that "I'm a vampire." Stupid, there is no empathy in that. Its too obvious, too mundane, too --- well, it represents a supreme lack of sophistication that the Collins family once had. A 1970's disco fever in the Collins mansion? Poor Dan Curtis, RIP, dear friend. Your vision remains supreme, you accomplished a masterpiece with nickels and dimes, while Burton & Co. have millions. They blew it, I mean they really blew it. And they could have hit a grand slam. Too bad.....Spinozahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15701528713590384895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-91914595210375281902012-03-22T18:34:48.198-05:002012-03-22T18:34:48.198-05:00The only positive thing I can say about this remak...The only positive thing I can say about this remake is that it doesn't LOOK like every other TB film...just like every other TB film does. Frankly, his 'look' is getting old and dated to me, so that at least was a plus. And hearing that Johnny Depp was in it (big surprise...it's as if no one else exists in Burton's little world but Johnny and Helena B-C.) I mean, I've had a massive crush on Johnny since I was about 8 and saw him in 21 Jump Street (which also didn't need a shitty remake either, IMO...not that Holly "no original ideas" Wood cares about my opinion...).<br />In retrospect, now that I've seen what his version of one of my faves is going to be, well, I almost wish he'd stuck with his usual, tired, worn out gothic style. At least it would have given some reverence to the feel and vibe of the original...and even the '90s remake, which actually wasn't too bad!<br />Anyhoo...rant over. I'm with ya on this one. Not something that should have been remade to begin with, but DEFINITELY deserved a better and more respectful send up if they HAD to remake it.<br />Oh well, it'll give me an excuse to do a post on my 'Dark Shadows'/'Fearless Vampire Killers' inspired dress I did a few years ago...Dolly the Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474700945219253368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-52322349431084308242012-03-20T15:29:28.840-05:002012-03-20T15:29:28.840-05:00Thank you! I felt I died a little inside when I sa...Thank you! I felt I died a little inside when I saw the trailer yesterday. My dad is a huge fan of the original series, so I have a passing familiarity with Barnabas Collins. The best thing about the episodes I've seen is the atmosphere and now it's going to be a comedy? I got tired of the lame jokes by the end of the trailer; I can't imagine what torture sitting through the entire movie would be.Lauren Hairstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18037717621464819611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-65321930285844795472012-03-19T12:51:13.098-05:002012-03-19T12:51:13.098-05:00Is Tim Burton making a comedy? More like a comedy...Is Tim Burton making a comedy? More like a comedy of errors! I love Dark Shadows and am saddened to see the trailer for this new film. The original Dark Shadows was so creepy...and I wish they kept it that way for the film version.SUZY8-TRACKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847632296019432948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1978925481748522797.post-48777091785024264962012-03-19T10:21:30.836-05:002012-03-19T10:21:30.836-05:00What? On? EARTH?? Good lord. Just...good lord. Why...What? On? EARTH?? Good lord. Just...good lord. Why didn't he just make a movie about some random vampire? Why even have a Dark Shadows tie-in? It might as well just have Will Ferrell in it. Or Owen Wilson. Uggh. <br /><br />And we thought that Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was a disgrace.Eartha Kitschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08189308677139650882noreply@blogger.com