harlmar expect renisha
Salomon Thoj
Press Release: MPI Media Group, premier independent producer and distributor of films, TV series, and specialized programming, today announced a major new avenue for the company: a subscription streaming service of one of its crown jewels - DARK SHADOWS. The gothic TV series, which MPI has distributed for decades on VHS and DVD, will be available for the first time in its entirety for unlimited streaming, beginning October 31, 2017.
The new streaming service will give fans access to the entire original series at www.darkshadows.tv, as well as exclusive bonus content and behind-the-scenes archival footage. Subscribers also will get a first look at the DARK SHADOWS feature-length documentary due out in 2018.
Fans can have streaming access to the series at a subscription price of $7.99 a month, or $79.99 a year. The company is offering a free 14-day trial. Customers signing on before November 22, 2017, will be entered in a contest to win a free lifetime subscription to the complete series at www.darkshadows.tv.
The remarkable DARK SHADOWS has rarely been out of the public consciousness over the last 50 years. Creator Dan Curtis' one-of-a-kind series was a first for daytime television when it debuted on ABC in 1966. What began as a soap opera with an eerie edge grew into a gothic horror and supernatural drama. In the years before VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs, fans in growing numbers tuned in every afternoon to catch the ongoing saga at Collinwood, an immense, gloomy mansion situated high above the rocky Maine shore. With the introduction of Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid), a vampire released after more than a century chained inside a coffin, the series had a bona fide hero who would remain its tormented heart and soul until the show's end in 1971.
MPI is home to the largest Dark Shadows library in the world. The company has been catering to fans for years, releasing various collections of episodes on VHS and DVD, supplemented by new interviews and bonus material, as well as the deluxe "coffin box" containing all 1,225 episodes on 131 discs. MPI has also been instrumental in organizing conventions where fans can meet the stars.
The streaming service, available through the Vimeo subsidiary VHX, will also offer curated playlists of select episodes grouped by theme - e.g., episodes set in 1897 or 1795, the "parallel time" arc, werewolves! - to give viewers a different way to experience the series. Additional bonus content will be added regularly.
MPI Media Group President and Co-founder Malik Ali said, "Like vampire Barnabas Collins himself, DARK SHADOWS can never die, and this exciting new digital service puts the entire series at the fingertips of fans old and new."
About MPI and Dark Sky Films
The MPI Media Group is a leading producer, distributor, and licensor of films. Founded in 1976, Chicago-based MPI Media Group remains one of the largest independent entertainment companies producing and distributing a compelling slate of the world's most respected cinema, documentaries, performances and television programs. MPI's wholly owned subsidiary, Dark Sky Films is an independent film production and distribution label founded in 2008, working with emerging talent as well as established veterans to develop, package, produce and finance feature films and episodic television projects. Representing films from some of most talented directors working today, such as Ti West's The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, and Jim Mickle's Stake Land, Dark Sky continues to identify original talent and projects to bring a vibrant slate of films to the world market, with original productions and releases such as We Are Still Here, Deathgasm, Emelie, Catfight and, most recently, Bitch and M.F.A. Follow us on twitter: @darkskyfilms @mpimediagroup
Tamika hails from North Beach, Maryland, a tiny town inches from the Chesapeake Bay.She knew she wanted to be an actor after reciting a soliloquy by Sojourner Truth in front of her entire fifth grade class. Since then, she's appeared in over 20 film and television projects. In addition to acting, Tamika is the Indie Spotlight manager for Daily Dead, where she brings readers news on independent horror projects every weekend.
The first horror film Tamika watched was Child's Play. Being eight years old at the time, she remembers being so scared when Chucky came to life that she projectile vomited. It's tough for her to choose only one movie as her favorite horror film, so she picked two: Nosferatu and The Stepford Wives (1975).
Watching Barnabas and his primary ally, Dr. Julia Hoffman, in their first months on the original show is a real eye-opener. You wonder how the characters became so popular because they do some horrible things -- like Barnabas killing Julia's medical school friend, Dr. Woodard, when he deduces Barnabas' secret, Julia hypnotizing the governess, Victoria Winters, to recoil from Barnabas, and Barnabas trying to gaslight the young boy, David Collins.
I do love the early episodes in black & white. The production staff were really able to make Collinwood look like a dark and foreboding place in black & white, especially whenever Collinwood lost power (which was all the time.)
The introduction of Barnabas in spring 1967 and Julia in summer 1967 definitely saved the show, which had been on the road to cancellation. But I do like the look and atmosphere of the pre- and early Barnabas episodes. You really did feel like you had been transported to this rambling mansion perched above the perpetually storm-tossed fishing village of Collinsport.
I adore Grayson Hall but she would be a strong contender for the title of 'Most Theatrical New York Actress Ever,' especially for her portrayal of the gypsy, Magda, during the 1897 time travel storyline.
I hurried home from school to watch the original version back in the day -- most of us were familiar with our mother's soap operas (long summer holidays and sick days from school) and we all thought that DS was ever so much more sophisticated!
In my favorite moment, Angelique's terrified minion was trying to tell someone else who the witch was. When he tried to speak, the witch caused him to choke, so he wrote the initial in the dust. He made a "V", and the witness said "'V' for Victoria." (This may have been the Friday cliffhanger.). Then the minion put in the crossbar, and the witness exclaimed, "'A' for Angelique!!!"
What made Dark Shadows a pop culture sensation -- it's teenage and early twentysomething audience -- is also what killed it (haha - pun intended!). dirac is exactly right that the audience Dark Shadows had wasn't the audience advertisers were trying to reach. Advertisers of that era were trying to reach women who were at home during the daytime and were making the purchasing decisions for the home. (This was long before the all-important demos encompassing ages 16-24 had come into being.) The irony of it is that a show which had the kind of audience Dark Shadows had 50 years ago would run forever today.
Dark Shadows was very fortunate because producer Dan Curtis saw the value in maintaining the masters. It's possible to watch the entire run of the show, which is not the case for most other soaps of that era. For instance, ABC debuted All My Children in 1970 but didn't start preserving the masters until the mid-70s. So it's impossible to see much of a young Susan Lucci during her formative years on the show because very few episodes have survived. (Dark Shadows, in contrast, moved to network syndication, then to cable television, then to VHS, then to DVD and now to on-demand.)
One more thing: Dark Shadows died a quick death (in soap opera terms) because it became very repetitive. In 1968, the show had the ghosts of Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez possess the children, David Collins and Amy Jennings. In summer 1970, the ghosts of Gerard Stiles and Daphne Harridge (played by a very young Kate Jackson) possessed the children, David Collins and Hallie Stokes. It was the exact same story just with some name changes!
What made Dark Shadows a pop culture sensation -- it's teenage and early twentysomething audience -- is also what killed it (haha - pun intended!). dirac is exactly right that the audience Dark Shadows had wasn't the audience advertisers were trying to reach. Advertisers of that era were trying to reach women who were at home during the daytime and were making the purchasing decisions for the home. (This was long before the all-important demos encompassing ages 16-24 had come into being.) The irony of it is that a show which today had the kind of audience Dark Shadows had 50 years ago would run forever.
I would direct people's attention to the 7:00-10:00 mark where Jonathan Frid (as Barnabas) recounts the death of Josette DuPres in 1795 to the governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) and Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett) in what is now known in Dark Shadows fandom as the 'Josette Soliloquy'. What really adds to Frid's performance is the tremendous job the production staff did in lighting the entire scene. The set-up for Barnabas' speech is that there has been a power failure at Collinwood and the only things lighting the drawing room are candles, the fireplace and the flashes of lightning from the storm raging overhead. The lighting and sound effects work the crew did on this episode is worthy of anything Universal Pictures did with its horror movies of the 30s and 40s.
90f70e40cf