|
|
 |
| |
 | The Apocalypse is here! A helicopter pilot, a pregnant woman and two SWAT Team members escape from the city of Pittsburgh as hordes of flesh eating zombies take over the world. On their travels they discover a shopping mall, which they decide to make their home. As the days turn into months they discover that the consumerist paradise they have created for themselves is not all that it has cracked up to be… Then a group of marauding bikers come and take it all away. |
| video | | This is the best I have ever seen of all of the different versions. The blood looks gooey and to coin Tom Savini's description of the type that was used "Like liquid crayons". The zombie's colours sometimes look blue and sometimes look greenish even though they are all meant to be painted grey (go figure) but it all adds to the comic book feel. On the whole the transfers look sublime. |
| sound | | Only the best will do for this baby (although some THX would not have gone amiss). The original theatrical version is presented in Dolby and Mono, the extended cut is in Mono and so is the European cut! Not bad but not good but I have to say that even if it were presented as a Charlie Chaplin silent movie I would still have brought it! |
  |
| extras | This is the best collection of extras I have (quite literally) come across for Dawn of the Dead. The packaging looks neat, kind of like the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, which are like big fat books (not as fat as War and Peace but I am illiterate after all). The Dawn Logo has been embossed on the front cover.
There are some pictures (in red) of Roger et al in their various states of zombie decay. As I opened this gorgeous dvd up I found a copy of the first comic book that has hit the shelves by now (and to be honest it is not very well drawn but Hell it is the first time I have seen a comic book for this movie). Then we get to the good stuff - each disc has a groovy looking print on it in red. The first disc (the original theatrical release) has the guy with the machete through the side of his head on it. The second disc (the extended version) has the silhouette of Peter in his gas mask with the outline of all four of the protagonists. The third disc (the European cut) has a little cartoonish collection of some of the key and iconic zombies from the film and finally we come to the fourth disc (documentaries), which I have to say freaked me out a little as I had to stare at it for quite some time before figuring out that it was not a woman's vagina but a zombie of some kind, doing something or other with his hands - boy I was scared even before watching the films! |
  |
Disc One: We have an audio commentary with George A. Romero, his lovely (but insane wife) Christine Romero, the even more insane but lovely Tom Savini and some guy from Anchor Bay who I could have done without. The commentary itself is interesting as George, Christine and Tom all seem to have different recollections about the times and places and obstacles they encountered while filming, which is pretty funny to listen to as I am sure if the Anchor Bay guy had not have been there Christine would have slapped Tom a couple of times. We also have the original theatrical trailers, TV spots, Radio spots, Poster and Advertising Gallery, a George A. Romero bio and Comic Book Preview (you can see why it had taken me a while to get down to this review).
Disc Two: An audio commentary by Richard P. Rubinstein and the Anchor Bay guy again (he seems to get everywhere). Richard is not in my good books for selling on the rights to this film, I guess when you are a producer and you have sold you ass so many times you just do not know who you sold it to and will do anything to make a buck or two! Anyway, that is enough bitching, Richard is a pretty cool man and he did help to make this glorious film so fair dues. His commentary is good as well, very informative blah, blah, blah. There is also a Monroeville Mall Commercial, Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery, a Memorabilia Gallery and Production Stills.
Disc Three: We have a great commentary by David Emge, Ken (why are you not a star) Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Gaylen (pretty lady) Ross (Hey! Where did the Anchor Bay guy go? I was starting to like him). Seems funny that they the cast is doing this for the European cut of the film, which is missing some hefty exposition (acting scenes, nothing Shakespeare but still). I am sure there are no Machiavellian shenanigans going on behind this as I am sure they would have been pleased to talk about the fun they had making this film even if they were only allowed two minutes for one of the trailers. Also on the disc we have the International Theatrical Trailers, U.K TV Spots, International Lobby Card Gallery, International Poster and Advertising Gallery, International Pressbook Gallery, Home Video and Soundtrack Artwork and a Dario Argento Bio.
Disc Four: There is an all-new "The Dead Will Walk" documentary with interviews with the key players including George, Christine, Tom and Dario, Claudio Argento pops up and so does Simonetti. It is a great follow on to the Roy Frumkes "Document of the Dead" (which is also on the disc). There are some really funny stories about the collaboration between George and Dario, as neither could speak Italian or English (I would have loved to have seen these two discuss movies). As well as the two documentaries we have On-Set Home Movies with optional audio commentary by zombie extra Robert Langer and the Monroeville Mall Tour with Ken Foree.
|
| conclusion | I can only say that this is probably the best dvd edition of Dawn of the Dead I have ever seen (obviously and perversely until the Ultimate-Ultimate edition comes out - consumerism rules!). People who love the comic book vibe of this film will love it, those who love the satirical jabs at consumerism will love it and if you are like me (a sociopath) you will love the idea of killing people while on the obligatory shopping trip around your local shopping centre (mall). You know what I mean if you have ever had to fight your way to the counter at Blue Water. Snap this up quickly if you are a fan - sell your grandmother into slavery if you cannot afford to buy it, Hell sell your ass on a street corner if you must - it is well worth the money.
Dawn is a seminal film and it has influenced every zombie film that has been made after it and it will continue to influence every zombie film that will be made well into the future.
|
| main menu |
 |
| chapter menu |
 |
|
|
|
| |
search
forum
reviews
quotes
bibliography
|
|
 |
| |
DAWN OF THE DEAD - ULTIMATE EDITION
ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT; US
dvd specification
original year of release: 1978
approximate running time: 140 mins (extended cut), 114 mins (european cut), 126mins (theatrical cut)
aspect ratio: anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1
system: NTSC (colour)
rating: unrated
sound: 5.1 DTS, dolby digital 5.1 surround, dolby digital 2.0 surround, dolby digital 1.0
dvd release: anchor bay entertainment
region: 1
region coding: 1
dvd extras
biographies/filmographies
commentaries with cast and crew
trailers
documentaries
photo gallery
home movies
document of the dead (one hour documentary about the making of the film) |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
home
