DVD Review: Greatest Hits Releases For Classic ‘Dark Shadows’

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CHICAGO – Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are teaming yet again for next month’s sure-to-be-hit “Dark Shadows,” a reboot/remake/whatever of the cult soap opera hit from the ’60s. People are insanely loyal to the legend of Barnabas Collins and the occassion of the Hollywood attempt to inject life into again has brought a number of DVD releases to the market, including a MASSIVE collection of all of the episodes of “Dark Shadows” ever produced (at, wait for it, 27,420 minutes). We didn’t get our hands on that set (and probably couldn’t lift it if we did) but we did get a chance to check out two of the stand-alone releases — “Dark Shadows: The Greatest Episodes Collection: The Best of Barnabas” and “Dark Shadows: The Greatest Episodes Collection: Fan Favorites.”

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

The draw for old fans of “Dark Shadows” will be not only having some of their favorites on one DVD but new introductions to each of them. Sadly, that’s it in terms of new special features. I would have loved a retrospective featurette about the lasting power of the show. Maybe on the movie’s Blu-ray or DVD. Until then, the episodes have to stand on their own and they do offer a nice sampler plate of what people loved about this series. It was part soap opera, part vampire movie. Honestly, it was “Twilight” before any of the movie’s stars were born. See what Burton and Depp are trying to bring back before checking out their version of “Dark Shadows” mania.

Dark Shadows: The Greatest Episodes Collection
Photo credit: MPI

Synopsis:
From 1966 to 1971, the spooky ABC-TV suspense series Dark Shadows thrilled an audience of 20 million viewers with a unique blend of Gothic romance and supernatural horror.

Dark Shadows became a pop culture phenomenon with the introduction of vulnerable vampire Barnabas Collins, a legendary role made famous by Jonathan Frid and, more recently, Johnny Depp in the motion picture remake.

This collection offers 9 complete TV episodes that are among the most popular in the history of Dark Shadows, serving as an ideal introduction to new viewers as well as an enticing overview for veteran devotees. As a bonus, new introductions for each episode are included.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com