Book Review: "Dark Shadows: The Visual Companion"
When discussing the cult followings and strange fan bases of Hollywood, the collaboration of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp is among the most famous and peculiar. From 1990’s stellar film "Edward Scissorhands", to other works such as "Sleepy Hollow", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and the billion dollar-grossing "Alice in Wonderland", this duo’s work is notorious for putting butts in the seats. Once again in 2012, the team got back together for what feels like the hundredth time with "Dark Shadows", which is based on a “cult television series” that existed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The cult television series Dark Shadows is fondly remembered by its fans—not least Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, who reunited to bring a stunning reimagining of the show to the big screen. Produced in close cooperation with Tim Burton and the production team, this lavish official companion to the film includes a Foreword by Johnny Depp, an Introduction by Tim Burton and an Afterword by producer Richard D. Zanuck, alongside scores of photos, concept drawings, production designs, and interviews with the cast and crew. 
With a horror/fantasy/sci-fi film such as this, comes a lot of preparation in terms of concept art, set designs, and all that other fun stuff that goes into making them. With that in mind, sometimes all of those cool pictures are collected into one big book that fans of the films can buy, look at, and appreciate. "Dark Shadows: The Visual Companion", by Mark Salisbury, just so happens to be one of those books, and it’s jam-packed with all that interesting stuff and more. Not only do you get an assortment of the aforementioned concept art and set pictures, but you also get various interviews of the cast and crew. And even if that still isn’t enough for you, you’ll also get a nicely-written foreword by Johnny Depp, as well as an Introduction by Tim Burton himself. 
If you’re a fan of the 2012 Dark Shadows film, a fan of Depp and Burton, or even just a plain old fan of interesting concept art and all of that behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into making a movie, this hardcover visual companion is definitely worth checking out. For a reasonable price, you’ll get loads of content that would be well-worth the time you’ll be spending looking at the pretty pictures and reading the fantastic interviews this book contains. This book was made for the fans, and if you’re one of those, this 190-page book of textbook-like proportions, is definitely worth checking out. 
To get your copy of "Dark Shadows: The Visual Companion" head to Titan Books' website! Tim Burton is one of those directors that people either really like or really don't. Which side are you on, Trash Mutant reader? Tell us in the comments! 
|
|
|
Social Trash Mutant |
|
Friendly & associated sites
|
© 2012-2020 TRASH MUTANT. All rights reserved. Some materials used are © their respective copyright owners.
