From 'Twilight' to 'True Blood': Today's vampire franchises owe everything to ...
Kathryn Leigh Scott, "Dark Shadows" regularLet's see. Start with a deeply conflicted vampire irresistibly drawn to a beautiful young human while battling his predatory instincts. Give him a conscience. Give him a tortured back story.
Got it? OK, now surround him with werewolves, ghosts, witches and all sorts of other supernatural creatures. Now put him on the cover of national magazines and use him as the driving force for a pop-culture phenomenon spawning all manner of licensed merchandising.
So are we talking about "True Blood," which begins its fourth HBO season at 9 p.m. Sunday? Or does this describe the "Twilight" saga, with its fourth movie slated to hit theaters Nov. 18? Or maybe "The Vampire Diaries," which starts its third CW season at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, on WBNX Channel 55?
It fits all of these current vampire franchises like a custom-made casket, but the blood pattern was set in the 1960s by ABC's supernatural soap opera, "Dark Shadows." Decades before anyone had ever heard of Edward Cullen or Bill Compton, this daytime serial had America falling in love with a reluctant vampire named Barnabas Collins.
It doesn't get the credit it deserves, but "Dark Shadows" forever altered the direction of vampire stories on television, on the big screen, in novels and in comic books. Its influence is inestimable, and, without "Dark Shadows" making the vampire both human and heroic, it's unlikely that "True Blood," "Twilight" and "The Vampire Diaries" would be haunting our dreams and nightmares in 2011.
Monday marks the 45th anniversary of that spooky soaper's premiere, and with "True Blood" returning tonight and Johnny Depp playing Barnabas in a big-screen version of "Dark Shadows," the time couldn't be better to recognize how a vampire named Collins started this particular bloodline.
"Without question, without the character of Barnabas Collins, you wouldn't have the vampires of today," "Dark Shadows" regular Kathryn Leigh Scott said during a telephone interview. "The romantic and sympathetic vampire is absolutely iconic, and that all started with Barnabas and 'Dark Shadows.' "
She's not overstating the case. Before Barnabas came along with his wolf's-head cane, black onyx ring and Inverness cape, the vampire's job description was fairly limited. He was, for the most part, predator -- often seductive and dashing, but still predator.
There were hints of weariness and remorse in such films as "Dracula's Daughter" (1936) and "House of Dracula" (1945), but between the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and the introduction of the Barnabas character in 1967, there really was no significant advance on the vampire character.
Dark Shadows Dvd - News
Their devotion to "Dark Shadows" led to airings of the series on PBS stations and the Sci-Fi Channel. It was released by MPI Home Video on VHS, then DVD, allowing fans to spot the many goofs, from muffed lines to trees and tombstones being knocked over
He names Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Killer and Tim Burton's Dark Shadows among the candidates. Also on Warner Bros list of releases for 2012 are Clash of the Titans 2; Clint Eastwood's J Edgar,
Audio, presented in DD 5.1, sounds fine, but nothing that will test your system. A second audio track is available in DD 2.0. English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided. Seven trailers are included: Shadows and Lies, Blitz, Elephant White,
The ever-present sun defines the shadows, they aren't just there to look cool (no pun intended). Regardless of its faults, Rango is a nice surprise. It's a pleasant step away from the noisy kiddie fair that the non-Pixar studios peddling computer
Philippe Grandrieux's images tremble and blur, they come into surgical focus and are then consumed by shadows. The French director's feature films induce anxiety and confusion as they progress in a dazzle and haze of visual tactics.
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Confession: watching campy old Dark Shadows on DVD. Barnabas Collins lives. So fun. Awful lines. Pretty darned good acting. Dark Shadows Dvd - Bookshelf
The television horrors of Dan Curtis, Dark shadows, The night stalker and other productions, 1966-2006
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The Official Dark Shadows DVD Membership Club
DVD Collections. Club Login. Web Chats. Merchandise. View Cart. DarkShadowsDVD.com is part of the MPI Media Group. Privacy Policy. Copyright © 2007 MPI Media Group. ...
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Dark Shadows is now available on DVD! Enjoy the complete series, starting with THE BEGINNING DVD COLLECTIONS 1-6 and continuing through Original DVD COLLECTIONS 1-26. ...
Dark Shadows (TV Series 1966–1971) - IMDb
Created by Dan Curtis. With Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Nancy Barrett, Joan Bennett. The rich Collins family of Collinsport, Maine is tormented by strange occurrences.
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Dark Shadows news, information and features ... New on DVD for the first time is this acclaimed 1991 remake of Dark Shadows, boasting lavish production values and a star cast, ...
