Salem's Lot...sheesh!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Derrik Draven]

I'm a fan of this movie. Seen the TV version a handful of times, starting back in the 80's.
I always thought that the hour and a half long movie (plus commercials) was rather entertaining, even if it was a bit on the "B" side of the fence. Kind of liked the atmosphere of the whole thing.
On a whim, I bought the DVD. Just got in in the mail 2 days ago and watched it last night.
This IS NOT quite the movie I remember from television. After sitting there for 2 hours, realizing that I'm about only 2/3 of the way through, and seeing MANY scenes I never saw before, I decided to look at the box and, sure enough, total time of movie...183min!?!!?
What the f***?!!?!
Talk about gutting and cutting a movie for tv!!!!! I had NO IDEA that the movie was originally just over 3 hours long. Hell...it's as long a Braveheart!??!
I never thought that anyone would take a movie and literally rip it in half for tv.
But, to be honest...even though every single movie I've watched so far, with material added back in, I've enjoyed, this movie; however, seemed to move alot better with alot of the extra cut out.
I was getting bored by the 2nd hour.
This is the 1st movie I've watched where, I have to agree with the cuts. Not all of them but, alot of them. It really dragged in it's full glory.
...still a pretty cool vamp movie, however.
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"...better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it". - Slater, True Romance

 

[Greg_S_H]

No comment about the cuts, as I haven't seen the shorter version (and haven't seen the long version in years), but I just want to make sure you know every version was a TV version. It was a mini-series.
Also, off-topic, but I hear there are TWO new versions coming out in the near future: a feature film and another TV mini-series. Kind of overkill, but it's probably my favorite King book. Still, I'd rather him just write a sequel.

 

[ChrisR]

I just got done reading this book a couple weeks ago. Very cool. I'm looking forward to renting the dvd.

 

[Bill McA]

Greg is correct....Salem's Lot was first shown as a 2-part CBS mini-series, totalling 4 hours (including commercials).
The DVD is the 4-hour version minus the commercials, plus a little bit of extra gore that was included in overseas theatrical prints.
CBS later telecast a shortened 3-hour (including commercials) version.
There has never been a 90 minute version to my knowledge.
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[Christina_DQ]

Actually the shortest version i know of.....is title Salem's Lot:The Movie & is only 114mn!
I've never bothered renting it,even though i could if i wanted to. I've only seen the full 183mn version & while it may be very long-i still liked it & prefer it that way.
I finnaly read the book months ago & thought it was great. the mini-series definatly left out & changed around alot of intersting/good things that hoepfully the new version(s) will do justice?
But the movie is still pretty scary,which is what matters most,since not many adaptions resemble a book anyway.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

It's funny but I actually remember watching the first run of it when it premiered back in the late 70's, and I was only like 6 or so at the time too, so needless to say it gave me nightmares that lasted for weeks!
I've only ever seen the full 3+ hours cut of the film, and that's the cut that I prefer. I don't have this dvd, but talking about it like this makes me have the need to get it so I think I will this weekend. That first apperance of Mr. Barlow (aka very friggen scary head vampire) in the jail cell, makes me jump out of my skin everytime I see it! Man, what a fiendish face!
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God bless the USA and the men and woman of our military and their families!

 

[TonyD]

i think christina is right it was released theatrically(sp) probably in england with a shorter run time (114 mins?)

 

[Brian Kidd]

The dvd of this is pretty good. The picture and sound are what one would expect from a TV film from the Seventies, but for $9.99 at Target, you can't beat it!

 

[Christina_DQ]

As for the length of the movie & it being hard to sit through after awhile since it's slow........
I'd recomend watching the movie in however many installments it was shown in! It works out better + keep things interesting leaving off with a cliff hanger,then seeing the rest the next day or so. Much like a book chapter ending with a punch,leaving you wanting more.
Anytime i watch The Stand,which is a great mini-series. I always watch each installment one at a time,day by day. It's over 6hrs all together,and i would'nt wanna sit through the whole thing at once + it has a more epic feel seeing it in intallments as it progress's(+was originaly shown n).
The only time i ever sat through a long min-series in one sitting was when i rented V:The Final Battle. I haven't seen it in years & since it was a 1 day rental,id have to watch the whole thing that night since i was busy the next day + had to get it back by a certain time.
It was VERY long i have to say,but the movie rules-though once it evercomes out on dvd. I'm watching it one at a time

 

[Adam Tyner]

According to the British Board of Film Classification, a 105m 44s cut was given an '18' rating on May 22, 1986.
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[Ernest Rister]

Tobe Hooper did a great job on this. I love this movie -- 70's cheese and all. Just last New Years, I showed this movie to my 12-yr. old niece and her giggling friends round about 2:00 a.m. One of them was a rabid Anne Rice fan, and I prefaced the showing with an explanation of how Anne Rice humanized vampires (turning them into a soap opera worthy of teen angst), while earlier Vampire films focused on their more primal evil...creatures that crawled into your house while you were asleep and killed you.

By the time the prison scene in Salem's Lot flashed on screen, the "Anne Rice" vampire fan was *hyperventilating*, she was so scared. She had both hands up to her mouth, balled in a fist, and was literally sucking air through clinched fingers.