Monday, July 9, 2012

Come, see how the vampires do it in 1080p*

House of Dark Shadows/Night of Dark Shadows 
coming to DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 30

A press release is making the rounds claiming that both House of Dark Shadows AND Night of Dark Shadows will hit DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 30 this year. The bad news is that it doesn't look as though we will be getting the restored version of Night of Dark Shadows.

Even worse: the only bonus features to be included on the discs are trailers for the films, which is intensely disappointing. I understand that restoring a 40-year-old film is expensive, but where are the commentary tracks? And why aren't we getting featurettes on the Lyndhurst Estate, the annual Dark Shadows Festival or something resembling a tribute to Jonathan Frid?

Still, this is good news. Especially for those of us who have been making do with the old VHS releases, or the inconsistent Amazon digital downloads.

The press release:

BURBANK, Calif., July 9, 2012 - Rejoice, night creatures! Drafting off Dark Shadows, the 2012 horror-comedy film directed by Tim Burton and just in time for Halloween, two gothic fan favorites, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and the sequel Night of Dark Shadows (1971) creep onto Blu-ray and DVD Oct. 30 from Warner Home Video. Based on Dark Shadows, the popular occult soap opera that originally aired on weekdays from ABC from June 1966 to April 1971, both films have maintained a loyal cult following since their original release. House of Dark Shadows and the sequel Night of Dark Shadows will each have a suggested retail price of $19.98 (Blu-ray) and $14,96 (DVD.) Orders are due Sept. 25.


House of Dark Shadows features the talents of Jonathan Frid (Dark Shadows, Seizure, The Devil's Daughter), best known for his role as the vampire Barnabas Collins in the original TV series, Grayson Hall (TV's One Life to Live, "All My Children") and Kathryn Leigh Scott (Dark Shadows, Parasomnia, TV's "Huff"). In this film expansion, Vampire Barnabas Collins searches for a cure so he can marry the lovely woman who resembles his long-lost fiancee Josette. Night of Dark Shadows, the sequel to House of Dark Shadows, centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine. David Selvy (Dark Shadows, The Social Network, Inhale), Lara Parker (TV's "Dark Shadows," Race with the Devil), John Karlen (TV's "Dark Shadows," "Cagney & Lacey"), Kate Jackson (TV's Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Charlie's Angels"), Grayson Hall (TV's "One Life to Live," All My Children") and Nancy Barrett (TV's "Dark Shadows," "Ryan's Hope") star.
 
HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS

BLU-RAY DISC™ AND DVD
Run Time: 97 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG
U.S. Street Date: October 30, 2012
Order Due Date: September 25, 2012
Blu-ray Disc Cat / UPC: 1000298903 / 883929248469
DVD Cat / UPC: 1000299888 / 883929248926
Blu-ray SRP: $19.98
DVD SRP: $14.96

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS 

BLU-RAY DISC™ AND DVD
Run Time: 95 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG
U.S. Street Date: October 30, 2012
Order Due Date: September 25, 2012
Blu-ray Disc Cat / UPC: 1000298882 / 883929248452
DVD Cat / UPC: 1000298875 / 883929247042
Blu-ray SRP: $19.98
DVD SRP: $14.96

Note: All enhanced content/special features listed above is subject to change.


*Thanks to Will McKinley for the much-improved headline for this post.

5 comments:

Erica said...

Sorry to be a Negative Nellie, but I think this sucks. We'll still get the chopped-up versions, with no extras. Trailers? Big whoop! The trailers have been on YouTube for years!

Not going to bother with this one. NODS, without the restored footage, is an awful film. And HODS comes on TCM periodically. Next time I'll record it and keep it.

retzev said...

Studios often release "special editions" if sales of the regular release are strong enough. Please, vote with your pocket-book. Buy these when they come out, for the team.

Nathan said...

I'm happy with what we're getting, frankly - it could be worse: a double-feature cutting into the transfer quality. Here's hoping these are both in their original aspect ratios as opposed to the pan & scan transfers on the VHS.

Cousin Barnabas said...

I'm torn about these bare-boned DVDs. The important thing is that we're getting the movies, and it's almost impossible that these won't be release in anamorphic widescreen. I'm also looking forward to seeing the HD versions of these movies.

Still, I'm not sure why MPI wasn't called on to assist in putting together special features for the disc. It just seems lazy on the part of WB.

Unknown said...

This news makes me furious. We've waited for these films for years and they expect us to pay $15 each for nothing more than we have already? Sorry, I'm not taking this one "for the team." First Warner Bros. delivers that unspeakable remake and now this? Guess what -- my old VHS tapes still function and they'll do for the one time a year I may want to watch these films. What an insult to the fans.

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