Dawn of the Dead [Blu-ray] [1978]

Product Information

The super 8 footage is great. There’s some real gold from on set and the commentaries are fun, helping explain what we’re watching. George A. Romero's classic low budget horror and sequel to 'Night of the Living Dead' where the dead now roam the entire American continent, feeding off the flesh of the living. TV reporter Francine (Gaylen Ross), her boyfriend Stephen (David Emge) and two SWAT team cops seek refuge in a deserted shopping mall. However, despite their best efforts their temporary haven is put in jeopardy when a gang of marauding bikers tear down the barricades thus allowing the undead to infiltrate the shopping mall. UHD DISC 1: THE THEATRICAL CUT I skimmed through the original cut of ‘Document of the Dead’ though and that doesn’t go as far into looking at the influences of the Dead movies and doesn’t have anything about the post-Dawn entries into the franchise. So if you want something more closely examining the making of Dawn, this cut might be your best bet. Sadly, the surround remix is the least favorite of the three, as it largely feels exaggerated and artificial. In fact, the music and effects come off annoyingly forced with odd placement in several places, making the original design feel overly-extended and significantly thinning out the mid-range, which then makes for a rather flat and limited soundstage. At the same time, the bass is overstated and sounds distractingly muddled.

added brightness/contrast/color levels. Disc Three ( 4K UHD as well) features the Dario Argento cut of the film and was So there’s a perfect balance between the commentaries. I was initially dubious about having so many but they’re all markedly different and each offer something well worth listening to. I used to feel Dawn of the Dead was a little overlong, dragging its feet more than Night, but I didn’t get that sense at all this time around. It’s long because it crams a lot in, but never feels slow. There’s a slight lull before the epic finale but, everywhere else, the film races along. The pause towards the end does the climax a lot of favours too and is where we get a lot of the emotional weight and satire, seeing how cold the characters have become towards each other after being isolated with all they need for too long.

Remember the name Richard P. Rubinstein? Yeah? Good. As the producer of Dawn of the Dead and co-founder of Laurel Entertainment (which would later become a part of the Spelling Entertainment Group and eventually Viacom), Rubinstein, still owns the rights to the film ( just like he did with Dune until recently). Over the years, Dawn of the Dead has seen several DVD and Blu-ray releases (more on those in a bit) but the film is in between distributors (at least the U.S. version of the horror classic), but why?

The Argento cut has an enjoyable commentary by the principal cast. It’s less informative than the others but it’s a lot of fun to listen to them get together and laugh and joke about the shoot and film. They have a few great anecdotes to share too. monsters. As Ana finds herself at a mall, she encounters Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Michael (Jake Weber), Andre (Mekhi Phifer), and Steve (Ty The ‘Argento’ cut is the version of the film Dario Argento edited together for European audiences. This was part of the agreement made, as Argento’s company financed much of the film and he felt some tweaks would need to be made for non-American markets. From what I can gather, this cut omits much of the relationship drama and comedy elements (though surprisingly keeps the infamous pie scene) and amps up the bleak tone. This is aided by a full Goblin score that some consider a little overbearing. This version is shorter and tighter though and has a number of fans.Richard P Rubinstein, CEO of New Amsterdam Entertainment said: "I was pleased that we could reach an agreement with Second Sight in the UK for the Home reissue. Chris Holden and his team have a deep appreciation for the films as do I." Finally, the ‘Zombies and Bikers’ extended featurette offers an entertaining look at what it was like to be one of the film’s many extras. The stories of the bikers are particularly enjoyable and don’t crop up elsewhere as a lot of the zombie anecdotes do. There’s a tribute to the fans in this video too. Burrell). The former strangers become intwined with each-others lives in a bid for survival against a horde of flesh-eating zombies. Can Ana and Produced using 4K scan of the Theatrical Cut Original Camera Negative and 4K scan of the Extended Cut Colour Reversal Internegative Abraham ( The Last Exorcism, In Time), Dawn of the Dead is based on the original screenplay by George A.

balancing these human elements alongside the fright-fest terror of zombies. For a production in the early 2000's, the script helped to set NEW Zombies and Bikers with John Amplas, Roy Frumkes, Tom Savini, Christine Forrest, Tom Dubensky, Tony Buba, Taso Stavrakis and a whole host of zombies and bikers! (59 mins) The Richard France interview is quite heartfelt and he’s an honest and interesting speaker, who offers a different angle on the film than many of the other contributors do.

Dead is a brisk and well-cut zombie film. The pacing is excellent and the edit does a solid job of helping to highlight the key visuals. The George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was a hugely influential film, not only in the horror genre, where it established the classic tropes of the zombie movie, but also in terms of low budget independent filmmaking. It made over 150 times its budget, a feat big Hollywood productions could only dream of. One of the things that sets Dawn of the Dead apart from other horror films is the focus on the characters. The characters are Tom Savini is his usual talkative, excitable self in his interview. He’s honest about some weaker effects (largely the blood colour) and talks about how his work advanced from this on to Day of the Dead.

These adult elements aren't always given adequate attention in the horror genre and Dawn of the Dead does a good job of Whichever version you watch, the film remains a cast-iron classic. Smart, punchy and occasionally quite disturbing, Romero takes his zombie concept to the next level with Dawn. With a bigger canvas and way more blood-soaked carnage, it’s somewhat of an epic, despite the restricted setting. With a great balance of satire, action and horror, it transcends any minor flaws it may have, to more than justify its lofty status in the pantheon of genre movies. Zombies and Bikers – New hour long documentary feature with contributions from John Amplas, Roy Frumkes, Tom Savini, Christine Forrest, Tom Dubensky, Tony Buba, Taso Stavrakis.Film grain is intact and in keeping with this film’s hyper-stylized presentation. Grain hasn’t ever been subtle in this film and it still maintains a strong presence on 4K without any signs of smoothing or edge enhancement anomalies. Details are cleaner and more precise than Scream's own 2017 release and again miles better than the old 2008 and 2007 Blu-rays and HD-DVD discs. Facial features, clothing details, and all of the great gnarly makeup effects get plenty of care and attention. For the facial features especially I felt there were finer details and cleaner pigmentation for the cast and the hoard of the speedy undead. The only softness of note are for some of those CGI shots and enhanced gore effects still come off a little soft and weightless - but they always have so that’s not a surprise. As the lead hero, Sarah Polley is simultaneously beautiful and badass in Dawn of the Dead. There is a sense of dedication from The first audio commentary for the theatrical version from Disc One is the classic Laserdisc and DVD commentary with George A. Romero, Christine Forrest, and Tom Savini, with Perry Martin serving as moderator. They watch the film and discuss the ins and outs of making it, commenting upon it specifically as it unfolds. It goes without saying that it’s been a favorite of many fans over the years. The second is a new commentary that features writer and film journalist Travis Crawford. Although he only specifically comments occasionally while watching it, he mostly spends his time delving into George’s body of work and the context of the film in relation to it, as well as the film’s various versions and thematic material. The audio commentary for the extended “Cannes” version from Disc Two features Richard P. Rubinstein and Perry Martin. It’s not quite as classic as its Disc One counterpart, but Rubinstein provides valuable, at times even frank, details on the nuts of bolts of the business side of the film from his point of view. The final audio commentary for the European version from Disc Three features the main cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross. It’s a very upbeat discussion of the film as they watch it together, and is much more on the lighter side of things compared to the previous commentary.