Search - House of Dark Shadows on DVD

Mark D. from N DARTMOUTH, MA
Reviewed on 12/8/2012...

Actor Roger Davis (who stars in this film) once described this as the "best vampire movie ever made" and i agree. I have seen this film in its many incarnations (network tv, cable tv, VHS, 16mm film print and in theaters as well) and this film has never looked better than it does on this DVD. Obviously remastered from great pre-print material, the video quality is sharp, clear and bright with very few noticeable blemishes in the picture (i can't wait to buy the BD of this movie!). Contrary to another review on the web, this film is the UNCUT version shown in theaters back in October 1970 (when i first saw the film).
The soundtrack is MONO but is very crisp, clear and if the volume on your sound system is turned up loud enough, bears a striking resemblance to an actual stereo track in both music, sound effects and super crisp, super clear dialogue (you can understand everything being said by characters in the film). As a matter of fact, the sound is soooo clear, that in one scene i actually heard sound effects i had never heard before in the 40+ times I have seen the film.
For example: the scene where Maggie is lying in bed and being guarded by a police officer sitting in a nearby chair. The 175 year old incarnation of Barnabas Collins the vampire quietly enters the room through a secret panel in the wall, strangles the police officer and inflicts his bite on Maggie. During the actual bite, there is a crescendo of creepy music and you can actually hear the slurping and gurgling sound of blood being drained from her neck!
Don't let the fact that there are no extras (aside from a beat-up print of the original theatrical trailer), sway you from buying this DVD. I have never really been a fan of extras on DVDs anyway but i guess i am an exception to the rule.
After years of waiting for this high definition transfer to become available, i am actually satisfied with Warners end result.
And....that's coming from a die-hard DARK SHADOWS fan who settles for nothing less than very good to excellent quality on all the DVD/BD that i buy.

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