Dark Shadows
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Short description
In 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins leave Liverpool with their young son Barnabas to start a new life in America, hoping to escape a curse on the family. Two decades later, Barnabas has become a wealthy and powerful figure in the town of Collinsport, Maine, and owner of the grand Collinwood Manor. His womanising leads him to break the heart of Angelique Bouchard, who is a witch and punishes him with a fate worse than death: she turns him into a vampire and has him buried alive. Around two hundred years later, in 1972, Barnabas is accidentally released from his coffin and emerges into a world he barely recognises. Returning to Collinwood, he finds the estate in ruins and his surviving descendants in little better shape, each with their own secrets.
The film is directed by Tim Burton, working from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, and is based on the Gothic television serial created by Dan Curtis. Johnny Depp, who also produced, plays Barnabas, with Eva Green as Angelique, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Chloë Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard and Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters. It is the eighteenth of the twenty-two films Burton has directed, coming between Frankenweenie and Big Eyes.
Released in May 2012, the film had a budget of 150 million US dollars and took about 246 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a production of that scale. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 293,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 out of 10 from around 7,700 votes. A critics' rating stands at 5.3 out of 10 from 260 reviews, so critics were somewhat harsher than general audiences.
What's left behind the scenes
- Barnabas Collins, the vampire who became the central character in the film and is played by Johnny Depp, first appeared only in the two hundredth episode of the series. This happened on March 22, 1967. At that time, the series' ratings had plummeted, and its entire existence was under threat. Barnabas Collins was initially intended to last only thirteen weeks, but with his appearance, the series' popularity increased so much that they decided to make him a permanent character until the very end.
- Johnny Depp was a huge fan of Barnabas Collins since childhood and, by his own admission, was simply obsessed with this character. Many years later, at the first opportunity, he became one of the main driving forces behind the project to create a feature film based on this series.
- Initially, in 2009, long-time collaborator of Johnny Depp, John August, was assigned to work on the script. In the summer of 2010, he was replaced by the well-known writer and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith.
- For the small town of Collinsport, where the film takes place, producers initially hoped to find a suitable fishing village in the UK or in the American state of Maine. However, searches and reconnaissance on the British coast did not yield the desired results. Production designer Rick Heinrichs had to recreate everything from scratch in the pavilions of the British Pinewood Studios.
- Compared to the original television series, the Collingwood mansion turned out to be somewhat larger in size. At the same time, it resembled the house from the series remembered by viewers in many of its architectural features.
- All the rooms of the mansion were recreated in the pavilions of Pinewood Studios. When developing their design, the artists took into account the mansion's proximity to the sea and the long-standing connection of the family owning it with fishing.
- Anne Hathaway, Lindsay Lohan, and Jennifer Lawrence auditioned for the role of Angelique.
- Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, David Selby, and Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played key roles in the original series, all make guest appearances at the ball at the Collingwood mansion. This cameo was the last on-screen appearance for 87-year-old Jonathan Frid. The renowned actor passed away on April 13, 2012, less than a month before the film's premiere.
- Preparing for his role as Barnabas Collins, Johnny Depp adhered to a special regimen and diet of green tea and low-calorie fruits. This helped him significantly reduce his weight to 63.5 kilograms.
- Tim Burton wanted the film to accurately reflect its era as much as possible. To this end, he showed cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel several vampire horror films from the 70s.
- Upon hearing about Tim Burton's upcoming film, Michelle Pfeiffer herself called Tim Burton and asked him for a role. According to the actress, she did this for the first time in her life, as she was a big fan of the original television series.
- Josette's dress was an exact replica of an 18th-century costume made from nylon with a layer of aluminum and ribbons that fluttered in the wind. The dress looked especially good underwater, which helped achieve the unique ghostly atmosphere of these scenes. They were filmed in a water-filled tank at Pinewood Studios. The water itself was then removed by the special effects team.
- At the beginning of the film, when the hero is flipping through a book of black magic, the initial letter of Mephistopheles resembles the McDonald's logo. Later, after being reborn in 1972, the hero, seeing the McDonald's sign, thinks it's a sign of Mephistopheles.
- The film is based on the eponymous cult television series that aired in the US from the mid-60s to the early 70s. The first episode aired on June 27, 1966, and the last almost five years later, on April 2, 1971. During this time, 1225 episodes were shown, making "Dark Shadows" the second-most-episodes among all series of its kind.
- In July 2007, Warner Bros. and Johnny Depp acquired the rights from the heirs of "Dark Shadows" creator Dan Curtis. Almost immediately, work on the project had to be postponed due to the writers' strike that began in Hollywood.
- The exclusive premiere of the "Dark Shadows" trailer took place on March 15, 2012, on the popular American talk show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.
- "Dark Shadows" is the eighth joint project between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.
- Key elements of the Collinsport design were two canneries facing each other. One was called “Angel Bay” and consisted of several red and white wooden structures on one side of the harbor. Opposite it, across the bay, was the Collins Cannery. The cannery buildings were not simply empty facades. They contained real canning equipment obtained from canning companies. The office spaces of these buildings, complete with all the furniture and other props, were also recreated in the Pinewood Studios pavilions.
- Built for filming on the Pinewood Studios lot, the town of Collinsport, away from the water, had several streets with a variety of establishments. These included the Blue Whale tavern, marine supply stores, clothing, electronics, and household goods stores, a restaurant, a taxidermist’s salon, and even a cinema. Its repertoire featured well-known films of the time such as “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), “Deliverance” (1972), and “Super Fly” (1972).
- The single-story facade of the Collingwood mansion was built in the pine forest of Bourne Woods, in Surrey, South-East England. For the past fifteen years, this predominantly forested area has been a filming location for many famous Hollywood films, from “Gladiator” (2000) to “Jack the Giant Slayer” (2013). Adjacent to the house was a private courtyard with a fountain. All of this was surrounded by an outer wall approximately one hundred meters long. In addition to this structure, a precise one-third scale replica of the mansion was built. The height of this 'miniature model' reached ten meters.
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