Dark Shadows Collection 01

Got my package just now thank you so much.This show was on way before I was born. I begin watching dark shadows after the did the remake of dark shadows with Ben cross played Barnabas.And I have the decades channel they showing the original dark shadows. But they only show certain episodes and go back when Barnabas comes out of the coffin. So best bet to start collecting the DVD's.

Someone once told me that he didn't like black and white movies because they "didn't seem real". He had decided long ago that he would rather watch a mediocre color movie than a classic (even "Casablanca") in black and white.By contrast, I began watching "Dark Shadows" on the Sci-Fi channel, seeing the last year of the series in all its campy glory (think about the 1970s, and how popular avocado-colored refrigerators were during that period - that gives you an idea of the color scheme). I had a hard time understanding the passion people had for Jonathon Frid or how any TV show could justify the position of "governess" in a modern drama.But then I began watching the first year of "DS", compiled here on DVD for the first time, shining in its original black and white photography. Rather than taking away from the viewing experience, the B&W adds to the gloomy charm, and frames the story in a timeless place where ghost stories can come true. The stately manor of Collinswood and Eagle Hill cemetary don't look so much like stage sets here, but like something sketched out of a dream, with dark corners and cobwebs.One of the other reviewers here compared DS to a theater play, which gives you an idea of what troopers these actors are. For some reason, ordinary people consider soap players to be the dregs of the acting world - when in reality, playing in a soap is possibly the hardest job an actor can take. There are daily shoots and rewrites, and on DS, actors often had to rely on a teleprompter to help them with their lines. (And this is not shameful - Marilyn Monroe supposedly had to have her lines pasted inside of a drawer she was using as a prop in a Billy Wilder flick. Even the President gets help from a prompter.)Joan Bennett, that great classic film star, stumbles a few times with her lines, but never loses her cool or her grace. Disc 2 is a real standout here, as Maggie Collins, played wonderfully (without a hint of camp) by Katheryn Leigh Scott, is slowly seduced by Barnabas Collins, vagabond vampire. As handsome as Joel Crothers is (and that's a lot of handsome), as Maggie's boyfriend Joe -- middle-aged Jonathan Frid's turn as Barnabas is all charm, with only a gleam of menace. It's not hard to see *here* why so many women viewers became obsessed with Frid, fantasizing that he'd crawl into their bedroom window.Anne Rice's Louis - not to mention Nick Knight of "Forever Knight", "Vampire: the Masquerade" RPGers, and Joss Whedon's creation "Angel" - should be paying royalties to Frid and series creator Dan Curtis. Frid turned a two-week stint (maybe) as a supernatural baddie into five years as daytime drama's unlikeliest hero, permanently changing the face of horror. Quite honestly, even froth like "Teen Wolf" could never have been made in a world without dear, angst-ridden, grieving Barnabas and the rest of the DS clan.The intro/menu screen has dramatic, creepy animation drifting through tangled trees, with each selected episode "zooming" into a bright window at Collinwood. Extras include short interviews with John Karlen, Leigh Scott and Frid, and a recap on Disc 1 bringing the series "up to date", prior to Barnabas showing up. Several hours of TV are boiled down to just 25 minutes, although it is a very well edited 25 minutes! This is the collection's main flaw.The first hundred and fifty episodes of "DS" were unpopular, more like a tepid gothic romance - lots of mood, no major payoff. However, the show turned around with the introduction of spectre Josette Collins (a saintly ghost who plays an even bigger role later in the series), and literal phoenix Laura Collins, and none of those episodes are on this DVD set.Yes, Barnabas Collins is the primary reason behind the success of DS, along with the later introduction of Angelique, his tormentor... and yes, the seduction of Maggie Collins is really the first great storyline. But like all great daytime and continuing drama, it's the slow build-up and day to day details that create classic moments of tension and release. We don't see how dreadful Willie Loomis is before his run-in with Barnabas - those episodes aren't here - so his subsequent turnaround, into a tongue-tied good samaritan, is less special. Without seeing more about Laura Collins, it's hard to understand how little David Collins can fudge up a car in an attempt at homicide. He just seems like a really rotten kid from the 25 minute "recap", so why should we sympathize with him about Josette Collins' missing portrait? (Hilarious fan editor Graeme Cree refers to David simply as "Devil Tot".)Still, I wish I'd had the pleasure of seeing the show for the first time through these episodes, and this set is a terrific introduction and/or gift for a fan of gothic romance, gothic horror, and supernatural drama. The Sci-Fi channel has cancelled "Dark Shadows," meaning it will not be airing somewhere on TV for the first time in over 30 years - so this is it (unless SoapNet picks it up). This group of DVDs, 20 episodes per DVD, is much more cost-effective than buying similar VHS episodes.Happy howling!

My daughter and I approached the new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp big screen version of TV's Dark Shadows with some caution, not because we were worried about the comic aspects promised by the trailers (which turned out to be deceptive), but simply because it may not have been very good, since the buzz was less than overwhelming.It turned out to be a highly entertaining celebration of the original series, with exactly the touches you might expect from the parties involved - horror, blood, pathos, humor, goth and irony.Dark Shadows was made into a feature film before, in 1970, when the series was still on the air. MGM, which was going through one of its many financial downturns, was buoyed by the film's success. Unlike the series, it was filmed in several real locations, but like the series, it starred many of the original cast members. The film was more graphic in its violent, bloody retelling of the Barnabas storyline, but did so with the kind of brisk economy a daytime soap could not have.However, no feature film or series revival could ever capture the magnetic power of the original series. Looking beyond the low budget and relishing the occasional flubs and shaking tombstones, the original Dark Shadows was able to dig deeper into its characters and pull viewers into the day-to-day "reality" of the lives of the denizens of Collinsport.There were several kinds of characters, generally. The main protagonists were the supernatural creatures, and they all had a sort of awareness of each other, from werewolves, zombies, witches to of course, vampires. Like the witches and warlocks of Bewitched, they were a society unto themselves, either in opposition or alliance with each other.Then there were the crossover characters who knew about the supernatural creatures but didn't necessarily have any powers of their own. Dr. Julia Hoffman was chief among them, moving and shaking among the Barnabases, Quentins and Angeliques.Then there were what we like to call the "clueless" characters, who were drawn in and out of involvement with the supernatural people and events yet seemed to live on the periphery. Roger Collins, Elizabeth Collins and even Victoria Winters fell into this category.Watching the series again on DVD is loads of fun, especially sharing it with your kids (I know it requires patience with the leisurely pace of the show, but they'll get drawn in).You have to admire the clever way the writers protracted each storyline to maximum stretchability, but gave you just enough to keep hanging on, adding in wonderful moments that add more and more facets to each character. For example, the "B" story of Elizabeth's marriage to Jason McGuire is pretty tedious, but it brings out the gallantry of Barnabas and helps form him into the landmark sympathetic vampire that set the standard for all to come. Joan Bennett and Jonathan Frid have a fine scene in which she's thinking of jumping off a cliff and he talks about death -- each talking about different things, unaware of what the other is expressing, yet affecting each other. Those moments occur a lot on the original series, born of necessity to keep the series going, but also adding to the viewer's attachment to the characters.There never was anything like it and there may never be again. But fortunately, all 1,225 shows are on DVD. You don't have to wait days between episodes like we did in the "old" days, and without commercials each show moves much faster and runs about 23 minutes.As the series went on, things got more wild. There was parallel time in the present, trips back to 1795 and 1840 and parallels inside there, too. The cast was like a repertory group, playing numerous roles. Keeping track of everything was part of the fun.And yes, it was fun. Outlandish fantasy, but much like a fairy tale cut off from the real world for pure escapism. A getaway from the troubles of the day into a world of people with problems so off the wall that it's kind of cathartic. And it's often funny without meaning to be in its melodramatic fervor.If you've never watched it before, start with Collection #1, which picks up when Barnabas joined the show and it skyrocketed. Continue to the end of the series as you please, and then if desired, there's a DVD series called "The Beginning," which covers the less-successful, pre-Barnabas shows in which the pedestrian gothic story was given jolts by the entrance of a ghost and a phoenix.How much you get into it is up to you. But you'll never experience anything like it in any other form, no matter how much CG and 3-D and dazzling digital stuff comes along.

The quality is like old dvd at best, but the story line I find FASINATING! It's as if I've become possessed buy this intriguing series!If ONLY I knew before buying this that AMAZON PRIME has the ENTIRE SERIES for $7.99 a MONTH?!!!!!! It's ok though, I like having Barnabas Collins face looking out from my movie library cabinet!

Un dvd che merita, che consiglio a chi ama le soap operas. peccato non esista in versione regione 2, comunque sul pc va benissmo. unica pecca: nessun sottotitolo in inglese

Really enjoyed all of the episode, will be picking up the next group. Brought back a lot of great memories

After seeing the first season of Dark Shadows at my local video store at the price of 93$ I figured that amazon.ca had a great price. It was shipped sooner then expected. Would buy from this site, or from this buyer again!