The "Dark Shadows" Feature Film: I Won't Ask For My Money Back…BUT… - Herbie J Pilato

I enjoyed director Tim Burton39s feature film edition of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp as the iconic Barnabas Collins originally portrayed by the equally iconic actor Jonathan Frid in the original ABC classic 1960s gothic soap opera Ironically Frid passed away only weeks before the new Shadows premiered But I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasonsIt was said that the original Shadows series was campy This is not true The showrunners simply did not have the extended funds to produce the show the way they really wanted to produce it so it was perceived as campyBut the original production always played it straight and took itself seriously As a result the audience respected the show39s intentionsAs to the bigscreen Shadows it was kind of like a Carol Burnett Show satire on the original series instead of a feature film adaptation And in the big picture scheme of things that is not high praiseon many levelsFirst of all as wonderful as it was to see Michelle Pfeiffer back in theatres and looking beautiful she was one of toomanyblondes in this production Pfeiffer39s Elizabeth Collins character was originally a brunette as played by Joan Bennett in the original series and by Jean Simmons in the 1991 NBCTV remake but Pfeiffer was allowed to retain her fairhair while playing ElizabethNot good and inconsistent with the Shadows mythologyAnd that white makeup of Depp39s I realize he wanted to present a quotrealistic vampirequot but did he have to look like that throughout the entire film Couldn39t he just have gone quotallwhitequot whenever he went on the attack for blood and retained his quotregularquot human form look at all other timesThat was one of the things about Frid39s original Barnabas he was quoteveryvampirequotrelatable He was accessible to the viewers who could strangely enough identify with himbecause he made Barnabas humanSuch is not the case with Depp39s Barnabas Depp under Burton39s guidance made Barnabas a jokeAnd although the script by Seth GrahamSmith story by John August is compelling the production design and cinematography is Executive Level A the casting pitchperfect and the original mythology is intact thanks in part I39m sure to consultant Jim Pierson righthand man for years to Shadows creator the late Dan Curtis where the heck is the iconic opening theme sequences and musicAnd why in heaven39s name couldn39t they have upgraded the cameos of original Shadows actors Frid Lara Parker the original witch Angelique played in the film by Eva Green Kathryn Leigh Scott the original Josette DuPresMaggie EvansVictoria Winters played in the new film by Bella Heathcote and David Selby seen on the original series as manzombie Quentin Collins To have these legendary performers downgraded to glorified quotextrasquot in a party scene is well purely insulting to the integrity of these beloved performers and their millions of fansAgain the bigscreen Dark Shadows film is a fine production but it could have been great and it could have easily outdistanced at the boxoffice the Twilight franchise which was inspired by it in the first place if it just would have taken a step back and thought more productively about the main objectiveTo have a hit filmBurtonDepp would have met this objective if they would have just played it straight all the way through been more respectful of the original Shadows actors and had just a little bit more respect for the material all the way around while still retaining nods to popculture and a sense of humor throughout the scriptFor example Buffy the Vampire Slayer the TV series created by Joss Whedon the new king of Hollywood due to his superperforming superhero feature film The Avengers Buffy39s scripts were topnotch and the performers were stellar There were constant references to popculture and subtle winks to the audience but the actors played it straight throughoutSecond example Whedon39s The Avengers The script is sprinkled with humor and again winks to the audience but the actors play it straight throughout the entire productionThis is not the case with Burton39s Dark Shadows Instead he directs his actors to chew the scenery a little bit too much and his popculture references Depp39s heartbroken Barnabas reading Eric Segal39s Love Story are just a little bit too over the topAnd the ending I39m gonna spoil it here for those who don39t like spoilersJosette turned into a vampireToo bittersweetBarnabas and everyone Angelique cursed remains cursed even after her deathDoesn39t make sense No logic within the illogic No consistencyEach and every one of Angelique39s curses should have died with herAnd then Barnabas burns a little bit when the sun touches him just a tad inside the Collinwood mansionamp8230but he can still walk completely outside in the broad daylight and not even be tingedAgain doesn39t make senseAnd would it have been such a terrible thing if Dark Shadows had a happy ending Where Barnabas finally vampirefree from Angelique39s curse just walked into the sunset with Josette his dearbeloved for centuriesDoesn39t anyone much less Tim Burton know how to end a movie anymoreDidn39t he want his movie to be a hit To have the audience walk out of the theatre with tears of joy spreading the word saying to everyone they know Shadowites and Dark novices alike quotYou HAVE to see this moviequotWouldn39t that have been great For Dark Shadows have been able to become everything that a director like Burton and a star like Depp are capable of making it becomeInstead the movie has now become a passing fancy ironically campy leaving the Dark Shadows franchise like Barnabas Collins to remain dead for another two hundred yearsHerbie J Pilato is an actorwriterproducerexecutive who has worked for Syfy AampampE TLC Bravo The Discovery Channel Universal Warner Bros and Sony The author of a number of acclaimed classic TV tiein books The Bionic Book Life Story The Book of Life Goes On The Bewitched Book Bewitched Forever The Kung Fu Book of CaineThe Kung Fu Book of Wisdom and NBC ampamp ME My Life As A Page In A Book Herbie J is also the Founder and Executive Director for The Classic TV Preservation Society a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gap between positive TV shows and education wwwClassicTVPSblogspotcom the Creative Director for Erie Street Entertainment a TV production company that is geared toward scififantasy and familyoriented material wwwErieStreetEntertainmentblogspotcom and the President of PopCulture Consultants an entertainment consulting firm wwwPopCultureConsultantsblogspotcom He appears frequently on TV in shows like the TV Guide Channel39s new series 100 Moments That Changed TV and Entertainment Tonight He has performed on daytime soaps like General Hospital and The Bold and The Beautiful as well as classic TV shows like The Golden Girls and Highway to Heaven Herbie Jamp8217s new book TWITCH UPON A STAR THE BEWITCHED LIFE AND CAREER OF ELIZABETEH MONTGOMERY will be published in November by Taylor Trade Publishing To preorder the book click on this link httpsrowmancomISBN9781589797499 andor for more information please email hjpilatoyahoocomRead all Herbie J39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Herbie J39s Classic TV CornerCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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The "Dark Shadows" Feature Film: I Won't Ask For My Money Back…BUT… - Herbie J Pilato

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