I'm curious as how you heard about Salem's Lot, and your reaction to seeing it for the first time. I saw it back in 1979 by accident, as a very young boy, and I loved it. Did any one see it in 1979? Was there any hype back then for a tv movie? I didn't know it was Stephen King's work until much later. To answer my own question, I didn't know it was coming on tv, but my dad was turning the old dial(before remotes)and ended up on CBS that Saturday night.
shareI saw it back then if I recall CBS ran those ads comming Saturday night. I cant remember if it was hyped up and I as well had no idea who Stephen King was
sharedid you like it the first time you saw it? I think I was in 4th grade, and I remember talking to a buddy about the Glick kid scratching the window in school. Ah, the memories.
shareOh man I loved it the first time but it scared me stupid Lol I laid in bed staring at the windows we lived in an apt building on the first floor I thought for sure I'd get it . Such a good time I'd give anything to go back and feel it again
shareIt could have been the first time it came on TV, or I might have caught it on a later broadcast. Then again, perhaps it was the VHS tapes that I still have somewhere, although I do think it was a broadcast and not a recording.
Although I liked the mini-series, I do remember wishing that they had followed the book a bit closer and not changed so much of the story.
I'm glad I saw the film first, otherwise, I may have wanted Barlow to be closer to the book. I understand why Hooper/Kobritz wanted a monster instead though.
shareLike stones I went in as a kid with no idea who King was so I was able to enjoy it the way it was made
shareI read the book just after it came out. As a matter of fact, the book was actually set in the future when I read it. Stephen King does that sometimes.
My novel was the same way.
What happened with your book Gary is it out or online?
shareWhat happened with your book Gary is it out or online?My book is called The Pale Horse, and it is available on amazon kindle. It concerns a catastrophic act of terrorism and the aftermath. It is very long and when I wrote it (two or three years ago), the time that I had in mind was a few years in the future. I'd have to classify the genre of The Pale Horse as post-apocalyptic, but there is no supernatural stuff in it.
Good stuff is the new book about vampires?
shareGood stuff is the new book about vampires?If you mean the one I'm proofing now, then yes; it is a vampire story. Like Bram Stoker did in Dracula, I try to be as faithful as I can to the relevant folklore. I'm thinking quite seriously about having the main character be in other stories as well. Kind of like what Tom Clancy did with Jack Ryan, only my guy will deal with various,,,,shall we say?,,,,'odd' situations and they won't necessarily all be supernatural. share
Is this book like 'Behold a Pale Horse' by Henry Cooper?
It has a lot of interesting theories and documents concerning a lot of things happening in the world today.
I wrote a paper on it in 1991, a year after it was published I think.
Is this book like 'Behold a Pale Horse' by Henry Cooper?The work you mention by Mr. Cooper sounds like it was non-fiction.
It has a lot of interesting theories and documents concerning a lot of things happening in the world today.
I wrote a paper on it in 1991, a year after it was published I think.
My first time was it's original airing. I didn't even know it was about vampires until Ralphie bit Danny in the hospital.
I remember watching it with my grandfather and when Danny got Mike we were both surprised.
sounds like a good memory you had. Grandad was a fan too?
shareNah,he wasn't. I wasn't either for that matter.
As I've noted before,this movie had the same effect on me as the Marsten house had on Ben so I can remember the special moments.
you're not a fan of the film then?
shareI am now. Just not at the age of six, lol.
shareI was 9, and fell in love with it right from the start. No vampire film has come close, maybe Fright Night a tad, but it's still nowhere as good.
shareI've been a fan since then. Somehow my words have gotten twisted around.
Let me say it this way: I first saw the movie at the age of six with my grandfather. We were flipping channels and landed on it, not necessarily looking for a vampire movie because he was a fan or that I was a fan. Even though it scared the crap out of me at the age of six, which was in 1979, since then after growing up I have come to like it and it has been my favorite vampire movie as well even though it initially scared me. I used to like Fright Night too but I now realize it's too corny for me.
I was 9, and fell in love with it right from the start. No vampire film has come close, maybe Fright Night a tad, but it's still nowhere as good.This mini-series is good, but my favorite vampire adaptation is still the 1977 effort by the BBC. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the acting, just like in many British films, was truly first-rate, and another was that the script followed what SK referred to in SL as 'Bram Stoker's evil fairy tale' as well as it did.
I still can't believe this film even made it to TV in 1979 prime-time. Wasn't TV overly conservative back then?
shareYep...I have always remembered when it first aired...on the date stated on the movie's page: 11/17/79. Was watching it that night!! Impressed since age 12 & half yrs. old !
shareI was only 9 back then, and I wasn't prepared for what I saw.
shareJr. High and I was aware of the novel after seeing the paperback around. A school friend had just gotten me into King, so I made the connection and decided to check the movie out as it didn't have really much hype going in. I'm sitting here now, over 35 years later, and I can remember exactly where was sitting for lunch when everybody was talking about the famous Window scene. The two others that really got to me was Geoffrey Lewis jumping into the grave and, near the end, when they're all slowing crawling out of the basement towards an unsuspecting Mark. Needless to say, I loved the movie and so did my son...who read it in Jr. High.
shareI am one of the younger fans of the movie. I didn't see the movie until about 7 years ago. Being a fan of horror movies for my entire life I heard quite a bit about this film and my dad mentioned watching it when he was a child. He said Kurt Barlow scared the heck out of him. Anyways, I ended up finding a copy of it on VHS at the local library. It was the 112 minute version. I checked it out, watched it, and didn't really enjoy it that much. I felt like they tried to cram too much into a short running time and it felt rushed.
Then I came to this website and learned there was a version that was over 3 hours long. That explained why the film felt so truncated and choppy. I decided I might as well watch it, too, to see if it's any better; and it certainly was. After I saw the entire film the way it was meant to be seen it became a favorite film of mine right away. Now I've watched it every year since and never seem to get sick of it.
I still can't believe this film even made it to TV in 1979 prime-time. Wasn't TV overly conservative back then?
'Stones78' you raised a good point as above.
What you are saying is correct.
I think that the cast and crew for the 1979 production were a talented bunch indeed, and I also think that the movie was a lot more scary and compelling than people gave it credit for at the time.
The fact that there are a core of SL fans now on the IMDb board discussing it to this day is nothing short of a fine testimony to the abiding quality and lasting effectiveness that the film holds.
Well done, both to Stephen King as a writer, and to the cast and crew of the movie who produced such a durable and downright classic effort.
Hat's off to all involved.
Cheers for now.
I saw it either in '82 or '83 on a local channel that used to show it the weekend of Halloween in two parts. Watched it every Halloween since for several years until the channel went off the air.
shareI originally saw Salem's Lot on it's second run in the UK. It was shown over 2 consecutive nights and caused me a lack of sleep - Not to mention several nightmares! After I got over my childhood fears of the movie I read the novel and since then I have always liked both the 1979 version and the novel greatly.
So it goes.