Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

zachary_a_erickson-26701 One of the best television shows ever. This has a cast member named Joan Bennett, who in fact is a great actress; she was in my second favourite movie of all time ( the Dario Argento Gallo horror motion picture Suspiria 1977), playing the role of Madame Blanc. Anyways this has the perfect cast members which fits every character perfectly. I suggest this television show for people that actually have a good taste! FYI this show has over a thousand episodes!Best show ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TheLittleSongbird Being familiar with Dan Curtis through his 1968 and 1974 adaptations of 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and 'Dracula'(both starring Jack Palance), both recommended especially the former, re-watching 'Dark Shadows' over the past few months as uni slowly became less intense brought many a day and hour of sheer joy.It does get off to a slow start, with the characters not being as interesting and the budget limitations coming through quite loud and clear. However, 'Dark Shadows' improves significantly with the switch to colour and once the show's most iconic character Barnabas Collins is introduced, and it is very easy to see why it was so popular and why it is considered a classic still now.The budget limitations are still obvious in the switch to colour, though not as badly affected. From this point on, there is more atmosphere with some quite sumptuous and suitably ominous at times lighting, the sets are less threadbare if not exactly sumptuous and the costumes are nice. Bob Cobert does a great job with the music, with 'Dark Shadows' in particular boasting one of early television's most haunting and unforgettably memorable theme tunes. Check out his scores for 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and 'Dracula', both of which demonstrate how well music can add to the atmosphere.'Dark Shadows' is always a lot of fun in the writing, sometimes because there is some unintentional corniness but often because there are some well-written fun moments, and the writing is always smartly written with some meaningful moments and a real sense of fear at times. The stories are always compelling, the slow pace never posing a problem at all, helped by a genuine creepy Gothic atmosphere and they are well-developed with any issues explored intelligently and in some considerable detail. The characters are likeably kooky, with the most memorable being the show's most popular asset Barnabas.The acting is mostly fine, apart from some overacting, underplaying and fumbling of lines from some of the less major roles in the earlier seasons. On the whole though, everything is played straight with no pantomime and no things taken too seriously. The chemistry between the cast is also one of the show's best assets, especially between Barnabas and Julia. The main cast are great, with Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall for examples being very well cast and Jonathan Frid is just magnetic as Barnabas and can't be topped.Overall, despite a slow start 'Dark Shadows' at its best was a classic, it is easy to see why it was popular at the time and it is equally easy to see why it is so loved and remembered with fondness now. 9/10 Bethany Cox

mark.waltz Unless you are referring to Grayson Hall by her real name of Shirley Grayson, do not call anybody Shirley here. The tongue is in the cheek, the gloves are off and the blood is flowing in this serial which used vampires, witches and werewolves to create conflict in the foggy Massachusetts town of Collinsport. repeated as both of brief 1990 TV series and a recent movie that failed to live up to the original success, this still has to the steps of time and is among the most rerun of daytime soap operas ever produced. Of course that is and rarity in rebroadcasting, but recently, other day time soaps has been brought back as well and with all of the vintage TV shows making comeback, the medium of soap opera which has pretty much disappeared anyway, is looked on now as a special form of art.Dark Shadows cakes on both of cereal and the soap opera, utilizing plot devices of the chapter plays of the 1930s 1940s and 1950s, and while those were certainly better made then this video taped TV show, there are definite influences of that mixed in with a continuing bedtime stories that has been popular for close to two decades by the time dark shadows made its premiere.Headlined by Hollywood veteran Joan Bennett as the matriarch of a wealthy family, this story took some time to develop and it was with the presence of vampire Barnabas Collins, played by stage actor Jonathan Frid, that it took off, and being broadcast late in the afternoon attracted a school age audience. Then there were many other creatures of the night who popped in and out, it was Barnabas and a werewolf named Quentin that attracted the bulk of the attention, with a witch named Angelique as the villainous who had influences on both character's fates. Future night time TV soap actor David Selby was first seen in this, while a beautiful blonde named Lara Parker was an excellent Angelique, the gorgeous which who unlike Bewitched's Samantha Stevens, had nothing but evil up her sleeve. But any supernatural story like this needs a mad doctor, from somebody to destroy them or to help them recover from their cursed lives, and that came in the presence of the very eccentric Dr. Julia Hoffman, played by Oscar nominee Grayson Hall who became like Frid extremely popular, and dominated the show by appearing almost daily. The story went into various time periods and even in two parallel time, allowing Hoffman's character to cross paths with a quite different version of her character. The quality of the video was often static, actors often fought to find their places on the teleprompter or had to deal with intrusions such as flies, noises from the backdrops and other minor annoyances, but this made it all the more fun to watch. Always expect the unexpected, that seem to be the rule of fun for Dark Shadows. Now 50 years since its original premiere, it is as popular as ever, and even though its only ran for a short five years, it has made it onto home video via VHS and DVD, and has been we broadcast on television over the years many times. Dark Shadows obviously was an influence for many soap opera writers who remembered the fun story lines from theirs youth and utilize similar themes in supposedly more realistic settings.The lovely Joan Bennett was still very glamorous when she made the switch from movies to television, and while not as hard as some of her film noir vixens, there is definitely something mysterious about her. Lewis Edmonds, who went on to play a con man turned alleged professor on All My Children, first one day time same playing for rather Stern brother. There were several young characters to mix out the veterans with newcomers, and while some of them seem to pale in comparison to the older actors, they certainly were attractive, a trend that has continued on daytime TV until this day. Dark Shadows remains a controversial show that people I do remember with fondness or with laughter or with the comment to that camp show. Yeah I remember that from when I was a kid, but isn't it rather juvenile now? The shows from the sixties that stand the test of time, and those who don't. Some are simply just fun reminders have any more innocent time in our lives, and it is a thrill to see that shows like this can still stay up memories of how great entertainment used to be. Television may indeed be a medium, but I will certainly call this a definite classic.

calvinnme I didn't even see Dark Shadows on TV until it began running as reruns back in 1976. Even though these episodes were ten years old at the time, I was instantly hooked. I had never seen anything like it - a Gothic soap opera with a vampire as both heartthrob and sympathetic villain. The 1976 reruns did the same thing the initial DVD collection did. It ignored the fact that the first 210 episodes ever existed and started with the appearance of Barnabus Collins in Collinsport, Maine, and the simultaneous disappearance of Willie Loomis, the Collins' handyman. I've never seen the first 210 episodes, but I've read their descriptions. Apparently they revolved around a series of love triangles and mysteries that just weren't that interesting to viewers, and so the storyline was radically changed and TV history was made as a result.Jonathan Frid was really born to play the part of Barnabus. He is not a good looking guy in the classical sense, but he's got style, dignity, and class and was extremely magnetic in the role. Barnabus is a vampire in the mold of Lugosi's Dracula. However, rather than looking to expand an ever-growing harem as Dracula did, Barnabus is a romantic, intent on reclaiming only one lost love. That is the initial emphasis. Even with the magnetic Barnabus, you'll notice the show moves at a snail's pace compared to later episodes. However, what you are seeing is pretty much the way most soap operas progressed up through the early 1970's. The formula for most soap operas in those days was that there was one dynastic and wealthy family, and lots of middle class families with ordinary problems. Problems generally had to do with affairs of the heart with the occasional crime mystery thrown in, and resolution was very slow. Not until 1975 or so did you see everyone in town being CEO of their own company with fashion models as the cast. So have patience, because the pace is definitely worth the overall storyline and the atmosphere.