My
family and I went to see the movie "Dark Shadows" on Sunday. I have
been meaning to write about it since but every time I get ready to write my
husband starts talking to me and then I get to tired--I am trying to ignore him
now (not really). I am not sure how I feel about the movie. If I had no
knowledge of the original "Dark Shadows" soap opera I would probably
have really liked it. Depp seemed to feel comfortable with the part and was
entertaining. I am trying to think of how to describe it without giving away
anything….I could start with the year of Barnabas being freed from his chained
coffin. The soap started in 1966 and ended in 1971, Barnabas came into the
series about six months in, so that would be 1967 that he makes his appearance.
The movie takes place in 1972. This is insignificant, really, but I am curious
as to why if they were going to change the time that they chose 1972-- just
slightly more modern than the soap but not fully modern. And, in the soap the
Collins were not as well-to-do as they had been in the past but they were still
doing just fine compared to the average townsfolk. In the movie, the Collins
were on hard times. And in the movie, Elizabeth, the current family matriarch,
is aware right away that Barnabas is a vampire--that does not follow the soap
either. Certain main characters were missing in the movie, or combined, two
characters into one. Dr. Hoffman wasn't already there when Barnabas comes to
stay in the soap like she is in the movie. And the introduction of the werewolf
was, um, weird. In the soap that person was not a werewolf. Also, it seemed as
though something pertinent to the werewolf situation had been cut out of an
earlier part of the movie; I base this on a comment made when the werewolf
shows up. But there was little point in having the werewolf in the movie at
all. And there was no time travel in the movie. I remember watching "Dark
Shadows" as a little kid, it was creepy, this movie was set up to be
humorous.
The
ending was set up for a sequel; I would watch it.
We
have been watching the old soap on DVD, that is why I am sure about how things
started in the show. I was way too you young when it started. And while I
remember various scenes I do not recall story lines or how it ended. So watching it this way is kind of fun. It is
going a bit slower than I anticipated though; we have to find the money for the
DVDs and the time for all of us to sit in front of the TV for a bit.
I
mentioned I do not recall how the soap ended, I do remember not being able to
watch it in those final months because I was foolish and I remember being
chastised by my sister for causing us to not be able to watch it. There was
this one scene that scared me and so I left the TV room and told my mom when
she asked what was wrong that "Dark Shadows" had scared me. My mom
didn't watch it with my sister and I and she knew little about it, I guess, and
she didn't know that it usually didn't scare me like that. We couldn't watch it
anymore. My sister was pissed. I shouldn't have told Mom about it. Can't go
back and undo it though.
I
did watch the revival series in the 90's. I do not remember much of it, it
didn't last long. I do not recall it being bad though.
Writing
is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash
your hands afterwards.
Robert Heinlein
6 comments:
I will probably like it because I didn't watch the soap opera it's based on. The previews make it look pretty good though, and I like Johnny Depp, so...
Johnny Depp is a very good actor. I did not really take him seriously for quite a while because of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "21 Jump Street" beginnings; I was a bit closed minded, it seems. He has done many things after that shows his versatility. Have you seen "Dead Man"? WOW! It is in B&W but has a bunch of well known actors. It tells a probably more likely version of what it was like to "Go West" in the day than the regular western movie. It is well worth watching; I am almost recovered enough to watch it again. There is a movie called "The Field" with Peter O'Toole that was like that; a great movie that really should be seen but it takes a few years to recover enough to watch again.
I didn't know J. Depp was in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. As for '21 Jump Street', I actually liked that show. It's been so long since I've seen it though, I don't remember Mr. Depp's acting in it, though I think it was alright. Have not seen 'Dead Man', nor 'Go West', nor 'The Field'. What did you have to 'recover' from after seeing them? :-)
"Go West" isn't a movie, it is a partial quote; "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country" is the whole thing. It is usually attributed to Horace Greeley but was originally written by a guy named John B. L. Soule. It is/was associated with Manifest Destiny and (false) promises of how wonderful it was to leave the "civilized" east to populate the new frontier.
What did I have to recover from after watching them? They are too real; they are fictional stories but they really could of happened and after getting caught up in the story, there is some mental adjustments to make before seeing them again. Does that make sense? "Dead Man" isn't as tough as "The Field." When I watched "The Field" for te second time, I watched it with Ron after telling him he would love it and really ought to watch it. He says it is a great movie and he recommends it--but he hasn't yet been able to watch it a second time. It has been a little over ten years now--he is getting close to being ready for round two...
Oh, by the way, I said Peter O'Toole was in "The Field" but it was Richard Harris--bad me.
Ah, to "Go West...". I get it now. As for the getting over watching a movie once before watching again, I guess I've just never gotten that into a movie or book that it caused that kind of trauma.
Well, You said you haven't seen "The Field" yet...
That was the first to do it to me, "Dead Man" wasn't as bad. And I haven't heard Ron say about any other movie what he says about "The Field." It hit him harder than me also. I am ready to watch it again but Ron --is less so. I need to find it on DVD; I don't think our tape machine still works.
Post a Comment