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#1
01-05-2012, 03:26 AM
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Night Of The Living Dead DVD Retrospective
PART I: THE 1968 CLASSIC - A
Hello. My name is JohnIan, some of you are readers (hopefully) of my weekly write-ups (Thursdays); a look back at previous store exclusives called "Past Tense" (within my tread, "Free Bonuses With DVD Releases - Part 2"). Check it out if you haven't. Oh yeah, the current version of "Past Tense" started with the August 18th, 2011 post - before that I was just treading water. What you see here is a side project from that weekly feature. The idea started in late November of last year. What would be cool thing to write about? I think this all started one night looking about on Ebay, NOTLD collectables. Hmmm, there's a thought. As far as I can tell, this hasn't been done before; collected and indexed. If I'm wrong, please excuse me. I hope I'm not redundant. First off, I own most of this stuff, I'm anal. The few exceptions will be noted where needed. Oh man, getting this written was hard - blame the feet of procrastination and dread. I had to climb this big ass tower that kept getting larger and more complicated. I initially just want to go through the relevant DVD releases to the George A. Romero classic. But then I started to think about the laser discs and the CD soundtracks. Then popped in my head was the remakes, the re-imagining and colorized edition - more and more subjects to include. I began working on the images on November 23rd, took about a week to complete (at first - pretty much kept working on additional images throughout). Looking at the result it became apparent that I would need to break this article up. Each post/reply has a limit of ten images. I have way more than ten. Then another popped in my noggin'. Why not write-up this whole project and post them, one part at a time - each week. I have a month worth of material. Sounds like a grand idea. So there you have it. I hope you enjoy this, a labor of love. This is gonna be huge. Shadows crawlin'! - - - - - - - - - -  Released on March 12th, 2002 from Elite Entertainment for $24.95 was the "Millennium Edition" (#EE1117). This DVD came in a blood red case (the first I ever saw) and a red foil wraparound, well the top and bottom of the front were foil. There were two inserts. The first was a chapter listing with liner notes by Stephen King on both sides, he had a lot to say. The second was a single sided advertisement from Elite Entertainment which read "Got Blood?" Their collection of horror titles. I'm not going to list them; I counted, the sheet showcases forty-one releases. The motion picture is ninety-six minutes long. - - - Extras: * Commentary 1: director/co-writer George A. Romero, co-writer/actor/film editor John Russo, producer/actor/make-up/electronic sound effects/still photographer Karl Hardman and actress Marilyn Eastman * Commenatry 2: producer/actor Russell Streiner, director of photography/actor/assistant camera Bill Hinzman, actress Judith O' Dea, actor Keith Wayne, actress Kyra Schon and production director/actor Vince Survinski * Treatment/Original Script (frame advance) * Personal Scrapbook And Memorabila gallery (159 images) * "Night Of The Living Bread" short (1990, full screen, 8:25 minutes) * "Duane Jone's Last Interview" December 13th, 1987 (audio only with stills from the movie, 16:21 minutes) * Judith Ridley Inteview (full screen, 10:39 minutes) * Beginnings: The Latent Image/Hardman Eastman Studios - About The Studio (frame advance lecture) - Commericals (by The Latent Image): Magic Lantern, Awrey, Guiness Book/Chevy Dealers #1, Guiness Book/Chevy Dealers #2, The Calgon Story, Iron City Beer, Kennywood Park and Duke Beer (all full screen) - Outtakes from "The Derelict" (a short starring Karl Hardman, full screen, 1:22 minutes, no audio) - Breaking Out Of Commericals About Image Ten (frame advance lecture) * Scenes From "There's Always Vanilla" (a.k.a. "The Affair", lost film by Romero, starring Judith Ridley, full screen, 5:09 minutes) * "There's Always Vanilla" gallery (7 images) * Theatrical Trailer * TV Spot * THX Opimizer - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) * Dolby Digital 5.1 - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are no subtitle options. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). The DD 5.1 remix is different (newer) than the remix used in the "30th Anniversary" edition from Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999). For those of you who don't know, this is a full screen motion picture. It was not filmed for widescreen, lensed on 35mm stock. So don't try looking for it. If you DO find it, you're getting less of the movie. The "Millennium Edition" was transfered from the laser disc (1994) remastered print (supervised by film's producers).  All of the extras on the disc originated from the "25th Anniversary Collector's Edition" LD (#EE1114). I still have mine (with good reason). This was a two disc, laser disc set (CLV/CAV) that streeted on October 26th ('94) and retailed for $89.95. I remember being all giddy upon learning of its release and saved my money to buy that. If I'm not mistaken (it's been seventeen years), I found out about it through Laser Craze, an LD store/mail order shop. Never visited their store in Massachusetts, I'm in Southern California. They were awesome; pre-order titles and get 20% off. Bought a lot from them, great deals - considering the prices at other places. For those of you jotting down facts. This was Elite Entertainment's very first laser disc release. And the very first black and white movie get the THX treatment. The "Millennium Edition" has 12 chapers which is kinda weak, the LD had 31. I still remember being real excited when the package finally arrived, carefully opening it, reading all the liner notes and specs. But I didn't play it. This was a big deal for me at the time. Laser discs were expensive. The 17th of the following month was my birthday - that's when I wanted to see it, making it a special day indeed. On that Thursday (looked it up), I pulled out disc 1 and gently placed it into my laser disc player. *play* My jaw dropped. WTF!?! The movie starts and the worst possible print plays; all scratched up with blots and hairs. My heart sank. A moment later the Elite Entertainment logo crashed through the screen, things went black and the film played for real. Okay, you got me! I have to say I was impressed by the image quality I saw. There were no DVDs back then, nor Blu-Rays or HD-DVDs. You HAD video cassettes, VHS or Betamax. This LD presentation blew them both away. The commentaries are good, very informative. But of the two, the first one was better, more livelier. As if a group of friends got together, joked around and reminisce. The second is dry and proper; except for the comment on Kyra Schon's breasts, that was weird. Oh yeah, the Stephen King liner notes is from the laser disc gatefold jacket. It also has notes from Romero, Tom Savini and Sam Raimi. The "Millennium Edition" does not include the false (damage print) start. My favorite TV commercial is "The Calgon Story", a parody of "Fantastic Voyage" (1966). A group of 'Calgonauts' are shunk to mirco size and inserted into a washing machine (why the hell would anybody do that?), they become trapped in the fibers of a t-shirt. Engines clogged by left-over detergent film. The explorer release Calgon and film be gone, free! Oh God, I'm old enough to have seen this ad originally air. I was a wee little boy. Okay. The low down... Did all the extras carry over? No it didn't. *sigh* As you read above the main gallery has 159 pictures, minus the stills with text explaining what category you're looking at. The laser disc's gallery is bigger. How much more? Nearly 400 images! Hundreds of production and publicity stills - including very rare color photographs from the set. That alone is my reason for keeping the LD. And I don't know if it will ever appear on DVD. Too bad. Getting ahead of myself; the gallery on the recent "40th Anniversary Edition" (2008) does in fact have production stills missing from this 2002 release. But that number is only 68 pictures. All together that 227, we're still lacking over a hundred and fifty images. While true, 40th does have some color stills - not all of them. So for avid fans, hold on to that laser disc. Man, I have a problem. So this color picture thing had me thinking. I have some of those color photos - in card form, "25th Anniversary" set. An eight card... well, trading card collection, published by Imagine, Inc. in 1993, long out of print. There was a time I was very into collecting non-sport trading cards. Not ashamed, I have quite a library (a good chunk of it feminine, bikini and nudes; there were even a couple of gentlemen clubs which had sets - oh pre-internet). Since I can't take screen snaps off my laser disc, this would be the next best thing. So I took a hi-res scan of two cards, #1 and #8. Both of these images are exclusive to the LD. Cropped off the black boarders with the text "Night Of The Living Dead" in gold. Say thank you. I'm dead serious. You have no idea what a mess I made trying to locate them.   It was a hair puller. I haven't seen this set in well over a decade. Where the hell did I put them? So I played amateur detective and found them. Where's MY Scooby Snack? The text. Card 1 "On Location: The Entire Cast & Crew!" Card 8: "On Location: Duane, Judy, Marilyn, And Karl". I should mentioned that I have cards #2 and #3 autographed by Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman, it was part of the set. I can't recall what I paid. The image on card 1 appeared inside the gatefold of the laser disc. Where's Romero? He's the fellow next to the 35mm camera. Weird - like looking at old family pictures. Who were these guys? Last edited by JohnIan; 08-27-2012 at 12:54 AM.. 
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#2
01-05-2012, 03:28 AM
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PART I: THE 1968 CLASSIC - B
Never ran into this error message before; had to break Part I into two... Quote:
OTHER COPIES The "Millennium Edition" was the second attempt by Elite Entertainment for a deluxe release.  The first happend five years earlier. Streeted on August 6th, 1997 for $29.95 was the "Special Collector’s Edition" DVD (#EE1116). I do not own this. Information comes from various locales online and my archive. Good. This version had less bonuses than the "Millennium Edition". I'm taking a guess; since there were no subtitles on the 2002 DVD, there probably was none here either. Same goes for the dubbed option, not present. As to be expected, this is ninety-six minutes. - - - Extras: * Commentary 1: director/co-writer George A. Romero, co-writer/actor/film editor John Russo, producer/actor/make-up/electronic sound effects/still photographer Karl Hardman and actress Marilyn Eastman * Commenatry 2: producer/actor Russell Streiner, director of photography/actor/assistant camera Bill Hinzman, actress Judith O' Dea, actor Keith Wayne, actress Kyra Schon and production director/actor Vince Survinski * "Night Of The Living Bread" short (full screen, 8:25 minutes) * The Latent Image Commericals: Guiness Book/Chevy Dealers #1, Guiness Book/Chevy Dealers #2, The Calgon Story, Iron City Beer (all full screen) * Theatrical Trailer * TV Spot - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) - - - NOTES Since this is also from the laser disc print, it too has the THX treatment. The big selling point was that DVD had the best possible image presentation. Looking at the picture of the rear cover (found online), it's different. I'm not used to seeing the chapters listed in back. It came in a black case. Oh yeah, no insert included with this release. This edition did include the false start. The odd thing is that this release has 31 chapters. Why didn't this carry over to the later, better DVD?  Since were talking about other editions, I should include this. Yes, I hate that image too. On November 27th, 1996 Elite Entertainment released a bare bones, budget, single disc LD (#EE1115), CLV only. This sold for $34.95 and like the other laser disc has 31 chapters. The only extra was the trailer. I do not own this. Why would I? The 25th anniversary set is way better. - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACKS PART I Up until two years ago, there's been a single official soundtrack to the horror classic. Released by Varése Sarabande in 1982 was "Night Of The Living Dead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" (#STV 81151). The catch? It was issued exclusively on vinyl. The LP had 15 tracks and LONG out of print. I do not own this... format. Like the feature film, the soundtrack has had various bootlegs. I'm guilty of owning two of them.  The first one was bought from Monsters In Motion website in 2003, don't remember the price. I thought it was real, nope. It's a CD-R, it plays in my CD player, but what it's lacking is quality. It is as if the person responsible just hooked up a record player to his computer. Zero attempt to clean up the audio. It was awful, like poor radio reception. What the hell? I lost money on that. The covers (came in a CD case) was printed off an ink jet printer that was running low on pigment. Man, I had to work on the above picture to make it look as good as it does. Which is pretty amazing, I thought I threw that piece of crap away years ago. Why do I still own this? I'm not joking, that's a serious question. It's shit. The second was pure digital. Thank you, interwebs. This happened in the Summer of 2006. I was reading IMDb's messageboard for NOTLD and saw someone posted a link for a download, the soundtrack - presented in 192 bits. Awesome! So I did. As I recall, he/she didn't do it. They found the link elsewhere and included it in their reply to the soundtrack question. This was bare bones, no tagging. But the sound quality was great. Who ever did this, took the time to make it as good as it could be. So I tagged the hell out of them. Looked online and found the various track information (complete artist data) and a copy of the liner notes by Romero himself (inserted into Lyrics). I did a good job, nay I did a fantastic job! Found a good image of the vinyl cover and included that too. BUT... It still needed work. So I took up the cause in 2010. Did I not mention I kinda procrastinate? For those who don't know, as a hobby I do audio restoration. As I wrote above, I'm anal. You would be surprised how many albums are released wrong; snaps, pops and clicks. Someone is definitely asleep at quality control. When I rip my CDs (which I own) into MP3s. I sometimes need to extract the AIF documents and repair them. I'm anal, it bugs me. One of the big offenders was the soundtrack to "A View To A Kill" (2003), remastered my ass!!! I had to fix several BIG snaps on it. What the hell? How could they NOT hear that? Okay sorry, taking a step back. So I took all the MP3s and converted into AIF documents. There isn't some super spiffy program like from Star Trek to clean up snaps and such with a single push of button. You have to do it by hand - second per second. My restoration took a week an a half to complete. Some were far too embedded for removal. I did the best I could to make them as unnoticeable as they could be. In addition to mending, some tracks and track portions were amplified because of low audio. They were then ripped back as 192 MP3s (and retagged). I know what some of you are thinking. Yes, a bit of fidelity was lost. But that loss is negligible. The album was in mono, there shouldn't be any noticeable degradation (the source was 192 bits) - unless you have serious hardware. The outcome was the best possible solution to that situation.  I also improved my original tagging, now with movie trivia on each track. Plus I recreated the Varése Sarabande cover. The image is a composite of six elements and color corrected. You can read the text clearly. I learned much in that four years. It looks mighty swift. *nods* Important. The soundtrack was made up of existing library music, not made for the movie. It saved the production money as it was an indie flick. - - - TRACKS 1. Driveway To The Cemetary (Main Title) 2. At The Gravesite/Flight/Refuge 3. Farmhouse/First Approach 4. Ghoulash (JR's Demise) 5. Boarding Up 6. First Radio Report/Torch On The Porch 7. Boarding Up 2/Discovery: Gun 'N Ammo 8. Cleaning House 9. First Advance 10. Discovery Of TV/Preparing To Escape/Tom And Judy 11. Attempted Escape 12. Truck On Fire/Ben Attacks Harry/Leg Of Leg 13. Beat 'Em Or Burn 'Em/Final Advance 14. Helen's Death/Dawn/Posse In The Fields/Ben Awakes 15. OK Vince/Funeral Pyre (End Title) - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACKS PART II  Things changed in 2010 (May 25th). For the first time an official CD was created, "They Won't Stay Dead!: Music From The Soundtrack Of Night Of The Living Dead", put out by Zero Day Releasing (#ZDCD21). I don't own this, but will soon enough. I pretty much own all the 'Dead' CD soundtracks. I will be buying this, I'm just waiting for a nice Ebay price. Look... I didn't know about this. If I did, I would've have wasted so much time remastering that bootleg, seems all so pointless now. Well at least my repairs for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" CD soundtrack (1992) hasn't been in vain. Yet. Anyhow, the company ZDR also released a NOTLD documentary called "Autopsy Of The Dead" (2009), haven't seen it. I will eventually. This new soundtrack is remastered from original (mono) sources from Capitol Hi-Q's production library. The track names are the original titles'. Due to copyright issues, they couldn't rename them as they did for the 1982 album. Which means the old Varése Sarabande release is kinda illegal. How cute. - - - TRACKS 1. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1204) 2. Night Suspense (JB-33) 3. Heavy Agitato (TC 416) 4. Light Suspense (JB-37) 5. Fateful Fire (TC 151) 6. Dreary Danger (TC 157) 7. Weird Eerie (ZR-87C) 8. Small Disaster (TC 130) 9. Reserved Disaster (TC 127) 10. Space Drama 11. Black Night (TC 155) 12. Shock Suspense 13. Dream 14. The Music Box 15. Mystery Hour 16. Curious Danger (TC 158) 17. Dramatic Eerie (PG 190) 18. Mysterioso (8-ZR-8) 19. Danger In The Night (Take 9) 20. Mysterioso (ZR-68) 21. Emotional Bridge 22. Somber Emotional (L-33) 23. Punch Disaster (TC 132) 24. Attack at the Window (Medley) 25. Shock/Stormy 26. Acoustic Space Station (Take 8) 27. Weird Suspense 28. Mysterioso (ZR-65) 29. Mysterioso (ZR-9) 30. Serene Heart (TC-306) 31. Tension (TC 402) 32. Sting 44 (TC 344)/Sting 27 (TC 329) 33. Fire (JB-28) 34. Chase (ZR-62) 35. Heavy Dramatic (CB 16B) 36. Heavy Dramatic (CB 54) 37. Heavy Dramatic (CB 15A) 38. Heavy Dramatic (CB 15B) 39. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1216) 40. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1214) - - - - - - - - - - EASTER EGG  There is a hidden gem within the "Millennium Edition", a vintage ad for the Monroeville Mall (circa 1969). The same Pennsylvania mall where "Dawn Of The Dead" (1978) was filmed. I do not know if this TV commercial was made by Latent Image, could very well be. *nods* Bonus Materials -> Next -> "Beginnings: The Latent Image/Hardman Eastman Studios" -> "Outtakes From 'The Derelict'" -> hit previous chapter button, once it starts to play. This egg also appeared on the "25th Anniversary Collector's Edition" laser disc; at the end of chapter 15, side 4. And with that we conclude Part I of this retrospective. Keep reading, I have more to tell - much, much more in the weeks to come. WAIT!!! There's more, as in now - not next Thursday. I forgot to give an explanation of laser disc. Man, I feel old. Laser disc or sometimes called Laserdisc was a video format that began in 1978 and died in 2001. The discs were LP sized (think giant double sided compact discs) and came in two types, CLV and CAV. CAV is an acronym for Constant Angular Velocity, also known as Standard Play. Discs are encoded at a rate of one frame per disc revolution and disc is played at a fix speed of 1,800 rpms. The time per side is 30 minutes (54,000 individual frames). Users have the ability with these discs to frame advance and smooth multi-speed playback (foward and reverse), plus the option to go to an individual frame. CLV is Constant Linear Velocity, also known as Extended Play. The rotational speed during playback varies from 1,800 rpms for the innermost tracks to 600 rpms for the outermost. The length per side is one hour. Movement on fast-foward and reverse is choppy. Fancy players (which I didn't own) overcome that problem and behave like CAV discs. Both types have chapters like DVDs. Laser disc was the format that introduced consumers to the now common movie extras; restored/remastered films, commentaries, deleted scenes, screenplays (whole or excerpts), teasers/trailers, bloopers/outtakes, galleries, making-of featurettes, documentaries, interviews, presentation in stereo, isolated music, Matrix Surround Sound (simulated Surround Sound), liner notes on the jacket/sleeve and director's cut; LD got there first - it was in fact the first interactive video format. Many of the early DVDs had their extras culled from materials originally appearing on laser disc. Almost forgot, they also presented audio in either digital mono/stereo or analog mono/stereo. Some discs were encoded with AC-3 and/or Dolby Surround. Not to mention, closed captioned. A good chunk of the discs were encoded with CX (Compatible eXpansion), a noise reduction system for the hiss/hum, analog audio only. One of the big selling points (beyond chapers, though some disc didn't have them) is that laser disc was the only format you could watch movies in widescreen. Yeah, everything back in the day was Full. And of course the superior picture quality (at the time). In that era, VHS was king. Video cassettes have a resolution of 240 lines, LD has 425. Not to mention since no contact is made with the disc (like DVDs), there wasn't damage occurring with each and every playback, unlike tapes. Movies on laser disc had to be broken into parts/discs (depending on the length) and side flip(s) to continue/conclude the feature. High end machines did this automatically. This is the one feature I don't understand that isn't in current DVD players. So many TV box sets have double side discs. Why don't the players, play both sides without flipping? How hard can it be? The very first special edition LD was from Criterion, their release of "Citizen Kane" (1941) in 1984, two disc set. I used to have that. Yup. Today's word is Verbose. Can you say "verbose"? I knew you could. Okay, NOW I'm done with Part I. Last edited by JohnIan; 05-30-2012 at 03:55 PM..
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#3
01-12-2012, 02:33 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - A
Welcome to part two! This week's "Living Dead" reflection takes us on a trip to a familiar, yet different farmhouse. Today we cover the NOTLD remakes. I wanted this installment to be shorter, wanted. Man, I had a lot to say - it just grew in numbers like the infected. *nods* Since this was made after 1982 I have access to various theatrical stats. We'll dive-in here first. Our first redo is "George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead". The feature opened on October 19th, 1990. It was made with a budget of $4,200,000 (estimated) and grossed over 5.8 million during its U.S. theatrical run. The movie opened number six at the box office, the following week it dropped to number fourteen. The feature opened against "Quigley Down Under", "Ghost", "Memphis Belle" and "Goodfellas". Some big titles there, minus "Quigley". I saw this on opening day. I still have my ticket stub. As I wrote, I'm anal. Some things about me; I only see movies in theaters on opening day - I like the rush of a fresh audience and I keep my ticket stubs. It's my place in cinema, a witness to when it happened. It's stupid, I know, but I continue to do it. I started with "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade", May 24th, 1989. The last one seen (as of this writing) in the big dark room was "The Thing" (prequel), October 14th, 2011. That theater (from 1990) has long disappeared into history. The building was turned into a high end, consumer electronic store. Bought a few laser discs there back in the day. And now? That store died late last year, a victim of the crummy economy. It's a cool looking building. Would take a lot to renovate it, but it would make a really cool large house. Keep one of the smaller screening rooms and turn it into... a home theater. Sorry, reminiscing. Saw a good chuck of the movies in my youth there. Moon don't look friendly.  Released on October 6th, 1999 from Columbia TriStar Home Video for $24.95 was the special edition DVD (ISBN# 0-7678-2783-X). To date that is the only edition for the 1990 version available. It came in a common DVD case, normal wraparound. There was an insert, a two page booklet; production notes and chapter listing, twenty-eight of them. The re-release (2005) fails to include the insert. I hate that. The motion picture is ninety-two minutes long. - - - Extras: * Newly remastered print * Commentary: director Tom Savini * "The Dead Walk: Remaking A Classic" making-of featurette (full screen, 24:52 minutes) * Talent Files * Theatrical Trailer (full screen) * Additional Trailer: "The Tingler" (full screen, black & white, 1959) - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround * Dobly Digital 2.0 (mono; Portuguese dub) - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai. The odd thing is, the English subtitles is auto on when the film starts, you have to turn them off. Can't recall another release that particular. The DVD is double sided and presents the movie in anamorphic widescreen on S-A, full screen S-B. The extras are identical on each side. Too bad they could include more. I remember the home video for "Wrong Turn" (2003), same deal - double sided, but S-A and S-B had different extras. Oh yeah, the disc labels are reversed, full screen is wide and vise versa. The commentary was solid, Savini talked mostly throughout. Various things pointed out such as the name of the home owner is "M. Celeste". As in the Mary Celeste, yes that Celeste. I own this, bought from Best Buy for ten bucks, I want to say 2004. For me the featurette just scratches the surfaces. My favorite part was the merging of 1968 footage with 1990, the cemetery zombie that breaks the car's window, very seamless. The program shows a few poor looking deleted scenes, culled from a VHS tape. They had to make cuts to get an R rating. The original pass at the MPAA resulted in an X. The lost bit that sticks out is when Tom (William Butler), Judy Rose (Katie Finneran) and Ben (Tony Todd) are in the pickup going for gas. Tom is in the flatbed and shoots a zombie, point blank range with his shotgun, its head ceased to exist in a shower of blood. What this movie needs is a deluxe edition. The longer gorier version, commentary with the cast, production artwork (would love to see that, some of the early drafts on the zombies), home videos, storyboards, bloopers and more featurettes on the making. And a better remastered picture with sound (though the back of the case claims this feature was digitally remastered). Plus something else? Can't say for certain, I just don't know. The DVD has an item listed as 'Trailer', the thing is - this feels like a teaser. Trailers tend to be around two minutes or so long. This thing has a run time of 1:09 (including the green MPAA rating screen). That feels wrong, teasers are roughly a minute in length. So I would like to see the trailer, if it existed. The big point here that was gingerly mentioned; Savini had trouble making the movie. Not from the Hollywood end, but from the local mob. They had their teeth in the production. It's only mentioned once, probably for good reason. And maybe that's why we won't get that better version. Dogs best left sleeping. This was an enjoyable remake, some have gone as far as saying this equals Romero's version. Can't say I disagree. It was the first picture to introduce me to Tony Todd. I can't imagine him NOT being Ben, intense fellow.  And some nice eye candy with Barbara (Patricia Tallman). I'm not into short haired girls, but she definitely an exception. I'm glad she made it beyond the massacre. What really shines here are the zombie effects. The gaunt bald fellow who pops through the window (Jay McDowell). I remember seeing that for the first time. My mouth was wide open. How the hell? 'They're shooting him, skin is breaking, but it's not regular squibs. I see flesh.' Just fracking outstanding!  He looked so freaky, yellowish, skinny, disturbing. As with the half burnt zombie from "Dawn Of The Dead" (1978), this guy became iconic. Well... there is a weak point, Johnnie (Bill Mosley). No, not like that. He was fine. I'm talking about his death. The dummy head that hits the tombstone, breaking the neck. It looked so fake. The problem was it lingered a second too long, should've been a very quick cut. Boom! Dead.  There is another. The DVD cover. It's barely passable. CGI zombies? Yeah, I know, the cover foreshadows things to come. Granted the ghoul with the open maw is traditional drawing. The cover works, it gets the message across, true. But why? The film's poster was WAY better and ominous. They should've gone with that.  I have this too, the laser disc. This was a single disc release (CLV only), it streeted on November 4th, 1991 for $34.95 (#77176) from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. In full screen, the horror (plus no chapters!). The only extra is that same, so called 'trailer'. The issue I have with this is the cover (beyond the lack of chapters and not in widescreen). Gets the job done, but gives away the ending - a zombified Ben. Okay, yes, everybody knows that Ben dies in the end. But since this was a remake, it coud've gone a different route as it did with Barbara. What if newbies saw this? The surprise is gone. Anyhow, the cover works and IS superior to the DVD's. Now THE question... who was the hotter MILF, McKee Anderson or Marilyn Eastman as Helen Cooper? I think I'm gonna side with Anderson. I was going to include Johanna Black from the next remake, thought about it... nah. She was perfect for that interpretation and leave it at that, though she seems like a cool person to party with, hilarious. Why does the dead woman with the doll look like she just broke major foul wind? By the way, the cause for the apocalypse was never given. There has been speculation, but no definitive answer(s). As it should; the world comes to an end, the reason why at that point is purely trivial - not much you can do about it. So? The back of the DVD says different... Quote:
SOUNDTRACKS PART III  Another item I own, "Night Of The Living Dead: Original Score From The Motion Picture". This limited CD was released in late August of 2002 from Numenorean Music (#NMCD 002). Only 3,000 was produced. This isn't so much a regular soundtrack as it is a redo. The CD is a re-recording by Paul McCollough (composer) utilizing most of the same equipment used during the scoring of the film. The original tapes were preserved, but McCollough believed he could improve upon their sound. I don't have an issue with that. The booklet (eight pages) contains liner notes from him. And original artwork commissioned exclusively for this release from Ron Pegenkoop and Cliff Cramp. There is something missing. The chase music where Barbara has abandoned the car and has gone on foot, two hungry graveyard ghouls pursuing. Don't have an answer why it's absent. There was room, the album is 62 minutes long. My favorite tracks are "Cemetary", "Passage To Normal" and "Pump Run". Damn it, just looked, Numenorean doesn't exist any more and they only released three soundtracks before dying. The last CD was in 2003. Holy crap!!! This soundtrack is selling, used for $199.99 on Amazon! I paid twenty-four (when you count shipping and tax). - - - TRACKS 1. Cemetery 2. Farmhouse 3. Tensionizer 4. Twin Geeks 5. The Pity Of Angels 6. Boarding School 7. Talking Points 8. Courage To Go 9. Pump Run 10. Zombies Win! Zombies Win! 11. Passage To Normal - - - - - - - - - - The next and final remake is often considered an atrocity, some would go as far as call it an abomination (wait until next week's installment). I don't, they went a different direction and were blunt with their intentions. I'll explain in a few. Last edited by JohnIan; 01-01-2013 at 11:12 PM..
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#4
01-12-2012, 02:38 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - B
The second remake, "Night Of The Living Dead 3D" opened in limited release (145 screens) on November 12th, 2006. It was made with a budget of $750,000 (estimated) and grossed about $215,300 during its U.S. theatrical run. When including foreign receipts, the feature made $1.2 million (not including domestic home video sales). The movie opened number twenty-seven at the box office, the following week it dropped off the chart. Not kidding. The remake is known as "House Of The Dead 3D" in Argentina and "Zombie 3D" in Japan. The feature opened against "Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan", "Flushed Away", "Saw III" and "The Departed".  Released on home video on October 9th, 2007 from Lionsgate (UPC# 0 31398 21889 0) for $26.98 in two separate editions, 3D and 2D. The anaglyph (3D) version came with four pairs of red/cyan glasses. There were reports that some 3D copies didn't have the glasses. Mine did, bought from Wal-Mart, fifteen bucks on release day. Last month I picked up the 2D version (UPC# 0 31398 21891 3 00), used, mint off Amazon (reseller). There is no insert/booklet. The DVD has sixteen chapters. The motion picture is eighty minutes long. - - - Extras: * Commentary: director/producer Jeff Broadstreet, screenwriter/assistant director/digital effects/editor Robert Valding, director of photography Andrew Parke and actor Sid Haig. * "Night Of The Living Dead 3D: Behind The Scenes" featurette (anamorphic, 18:48 minutes) * "Filming In 3D: A Behind-The-Scenes Special Look" featurette (anamorphic, 6:23 minutes) * "Q&A With The Filmmakers And Actor Sig Haig At The New Beverly Cinema" May 2007 interview (full screen, 11:54 minutes) * Blooper Reel (full screen, 5:32 minutes) * 3D Still Gallery (12 images) * Theatrical Trailer (anamorphic) * TV Spot (anamorphic) * Radio Spot * Home Video Ads: "Fido" (non-anamorphic, 2006), "Zombie Nation" (non-anamorphic, red band, 2004), "Return Of The Living Dead: Rave To The Grave" (full screen, red band, 2005), "Holla" (non-anamorphic, 2006) and "Captivity" (non-anamorphic, 2007). - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are subtitles in English and Spanish. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). It is presented in anamorphic widescreen, but...  Here's a picture of two screen shots (same frame, both copies). The 3D edition, though widescreen does not touch the side boarders, while the 2D version does. What makes things odder still is that while the 3D copy look smaller, it does in fact have more of the image then the 2D, that is weird. In the end credits (3D) the image does touch the sides. *shrugs* As I was saying; this remake wasn't made with the intent to out do or out class the original film. It was made for one reason only - to make money. The man responsible, Jeff Broadstreet didn't bullshit about making some great cinema. No, he wanted to make a movie for direct to video that was in public domain, easy money. The early plan was to remake "I Bury The Living" (1958). But it was changed to NOTLD, more commercial; built in audience. I appreciate that honesty, damn refreshing. So many Hollywood films have this big spiel of how GREAT their movie is and how it's a commentary on [fill in the blank]. C'mon, dude we know it's bull. Unless you're so full of yourself that you believe your own hype; Michael Bay - I'm looking at you. So when I take that in account, I see this feature as a different take on the Romero classic. Broadstreet and Valding didn't stick too strongly to the source material and went their own direction, its own movie. I like that. The same way the "Resident Evil" movies are. I will admit, I was upset with how they didn't follow the video games (they could've very easily re-adapted the novel adaptations by S.D. Perry; good reads). But in the end - was I entertained? Yes. Yes I was. Same here. I'm not gonna argue if this was necessary. It is what it is, an entertaining piece of fluff. Zero social commentary, nothing wrong with that. There was a back-up plan should the film's title need to be changed for legal reasons. The working alternative was "Curse Of The Living Dead". This wasn't even going to be in 3D, but the financier changed his minds and wanted it in three dimensions (for the same amount of money), so it could have a limited theatrical release before going to home video. They had to create new technology to do it. This is the very first feature to utilize a hand held 3D camera system. Neat. Two custom built 3D rigs; cameras A and B. The film opens with footage from the original film; the beginning, the road - then pulls back revealing the movie is playing on an old black and white TV; we're now in color (and in 3D). The television is playing at an abandoned gas station. More footage appears at the Copper home, the family is watching the movie; the moment before Barbra (Judy O'Dea) is killed, Johnny (Russell Streiner) returns. I thought that was inspired. It recognizes what it is - a zombie movie. Some folks need to lighten up, stop being so cynical. I suppose at this time, I'm in the minority. Didn't watch it with the supplied glasses, they're still sealed. I'm anal. What I did use was something I already had - a pair from 1987; "Eye On L.A." red/blue glasses from their "Hawaiian Swimsuit Spectacular" in 3D! Remember that?. You got your glasses from participating 7-Elevens. From boobs to ghouls. The 3D gags? They were okay. Some were way too blatant. As for the zombie effects, they're okay, nothing extravagant. Different? Lets say everything from this point forward are spoilers. The film still has Barbara 'Barb' (Brianna Brown) and Johnny (Ken Ward) going to a distant - rural cemetery. Not the burial of their mother, but their aunt; their mother (Marcia Ann Burrs) is already there awaiting her kids. Tom (Andrew Yost) and Judy (Cristin Michelle) do appear here, but have limited screen time, sex in the barn - their orgasmic moans sounding like they've being feasted on, soon that becomes fact. The main character here isn't Ben (Joshua DesRoches), it's Barb. We see the nightmare through her eyes. Unlike O'Dea's portrayal, this Barbara isn't dazed or cowering. She's more like the Patricia Tallman's evocation; proactive (only more feminine). What can I say? Brianna Brown is a hottie.   It's funny. When I first saw this, for a short time I thought Brown was adult film starlet Briana Banks. Their faces kinda look the same, plus they both have a mole near their left eye. Maybe Ms. Banks was trying to break into mainstream films? Nope, different woman. I say this since some XXX stars actually use their real names, such as Lisa Ann; Briana/Brianna sound alike. Anyhow, some might remember her from "Spider-Man 2" (2004), she had a bit part as the train passenger with baby when Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) attacks, single line of dialog: 'Is he still alive?' Of all the changes the biggest one is Ben, he is not black here, he's white. I'm not going to make a big deal about this, nor should you. At the graveyard, Johnny is attacked, bitten and flees in his car without Barb; great family love. Their mom is already undead. Barb takes off and runs into Gerald Tovar, Jr. (Sid Haig) the owner of the local funeral parlor, he's no help as there are more walking dead here as well. Ben saves Barb on his motorcyle and take her to the Coopers. This farm house does not belong to Tom's uncle Regis. The Coopers own this farm. Harry (Greg Travis), his wife Hellie (Johanna Black) and daughter Karen (Alynia Phillips) - from his first marriage. The next big change is the introduction of a new character to the mythos; Owen (Adam Chambers), the handyman. He's mostly here for comic relief. Owen gets bitten and slowly dies through the film. New Harry isn't like old Harry (Karl Hardman). He's a laid-back kind of fellow, a pacifist. Hellie is a hippy chick (a recovered addict). The Coopers don't believe Barb's fantastic story. She want to call the police, they are reluctant to make that call. You see, the Cooper Farm is a marijuana one. Nope, this isn't a fractured fairy tale. And Ben... he's a pusher who was coming back with the cash from selling their weed. That's original! I can understand why some have a serious problem with that. Ben is supose to be the good guy. And he is - he just so happens to be a seller too, he only deals pot; hubcap diamond-star halo. Before Barb can convince them, the siege happen - the dead have arrived. Tom and Judy are the first to die, she spends the rest of the film as nude zombie. The phone line gets pulled, isolation. Karen is killed, resurrects and bites Harry. Tovar comes to the house, the nearest home. His business was ground zero. He never cremated the bodies (afraid of fire). He inherited his job from his dead father, Tovar senior. All the bodies meant for cremation were just pied piled up and stored near chemicals. Junior offset his cash flow by allowing illegal storage, exotic materials. He had to flee from work since it became overrun. Hoping to get help since the phone line is down; Barb, Ben and Tovar leave. Harry and Hellie stay behind. They die. Out on the road, Tovar betrays them and knocks Ben unconscious, abducting Barb. He want to retake his mortuary... and to silence Barb. He plans to have her embraced as it were. I've explained too much and will stop here. You'll have to watch to see how it comes together. The only real problem I had was with the surviving character, that person just gave up. True, all the people who were dear were killed, that character had a good thirty seconds to run - anywhere! There was still a chance to survive. Granted a lot happened, perhaps it was all just too much. But still, it's an awful way to die. The original ending was to have Ben and Barb reaching the gas station seen at the start before falling to their fates. It wasn't filmed - not enough time, not enough money.  For a low budget feature it has a good collection of extras. I like the behind the scenes footage of Brown reacting to something that scared her then realizing it was stupid. It's so cute. Plus the on set antics of the actors and crew. I just wish she was part of the commentary, Brown is the star after all. Yes I know Sid Haig got top billing, but she had far more screen time. If you got them, put on your glasses - you're welcome.  Movies collide, there is a stinger at the end credits. The background for the crawl is the opening shot from the original film; the road leading to the cemetery. In the last few seconds, Barb re-appears, now lost inside the '68 classic being chased by a zombie coming up the road - inventive. Quote:
Oh yeah, I can not confirm, but I suspect the voiceover guy on the trailer/TV spot is none other than Tony Todd. He has a very distinctive voice. By the way, the idea behind Gerald Tovar, Jr.'s character not cremating the bodies was inspired by an actual police investigation in Georgia. A son had inherited his father's mortuary, but was unable to cremate the bodies. The crematorium broke down and for whatever reason he procrastinated on getting it repaired. Authorities found corpses littered everywhere, stacked and stored on any available space on the property in various states of decomposition. The man was changed and sentenced to prison. Can you imagine the smell? The mortuary scenes were filmed in a real, defunct one; "Conner-Johnson Mortuary" (4700 Avalon Blvd.) in Los Angeles, California. Anyhow, I have both editions in a double disc DVD case with the 3D version as the wraparound. - - - There's another remake coming out this year, "Night Of The Living Dead: Resurrection". Take the concept, but move it from Pennsylvania to West Wales, United Kingdom. It's still an isolated farm house, set in the present. I'll give it a watch when it hits DVD in America. Not much info other than that, don't know any of the film stars. Saw the teaser a couple weeks back, different. It's Ben who coming for Barbara, not Johnny. - - - News to me. There is a prequel coming next year. Once again, Jeff Broadstreet; "Night Of The Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation". None of the cast members return for this installment; Andrew Divoff takes over the Sid Haig role. Written by Broadstreet and Robert Valding. Quote:
The eighty-eight minute film is in the can and has an April 10th, 2012 release date. It also stars Jeffrey Combs as the younger sibling. Color me curious. - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACKS PART IV  I own this too, "Night Of The Living Dead 3D: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". As with the other remake, this is a limited CD. Released by Lakeshore Records (#LKS 33882) on October 6th, 2006, only 1,000 copies produced. This is composer Jason Brandt's first CD release. Brandt has a cameo as the ghoul Gerald Tovar strikes in the head (twice) with a shovel when he first meets Barb. The CD booklet is two pages, no liner notes, just track names and times. Even though this is a limited edition the price currently from $9.83 to $16.71. This was the movie/soundtrack that introduced me to the band, Radford - their song, "Control". Have bought their self-titled album (2000), "Sleepwalker" (2003) and digital EP, "Black Out The Sun" (2006). - - - TRACKS 1. Black & White World/Main Title 2. Graveside And The Mortuary 3. Road Attack And Rescue 4. Karen's Curiosity 5. A Warning & The Assault Begins 6. The Barn And Resignation 7. Alone In The Truck/Zombies Everywhere 8. Where's Karen? 9. Bullet In The Brain And The Showdown 10. God Didn't Cause This And Ben's Money 11. Attack On The Stairs 12. Please Let Me In! 13. Gerald Tovar, Jr. And The Undead 14. Who's Dead? And Shovel Work 15. Leaving The Farm And Two Bullets 16. Family Reunion 17. Betrayal And The Tovar Family 18. The Beginning Of The End/Barb & One Bullet Left 19. Control 20. Night Of The Living Dead 3D Trailer Music - - - Oh yeah, almost forgot, the 2D version omits the 3D Still Gallery. And the Home Video Ads for both are not a menu choice, a single long clip. You're being warned... Get your arms ready for some vigorous fisting shakings? Next week we'll devour the bad side of Uncle Regis' farm, the reworked editions. That ain't my zombie movie - is it??? Last edited by JohnIan; 01-01-2013 at 11:14 PM..
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#5
01-19-2012, 03:20 AM
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PART III: ANTIPATHY - A
Got your 'Hater' t-shirt on? Go ahead, I'll wait. Yeah buddy, this week's "Living Dead" rumination waddles onto our darling like a tipsy hobo (like there isn't any other) and tries to clean their car's windshield - only making the once clear glass, murky. Good job bro. Yeah, no. Today we cover the two NOTLD tinkers; the DVD releases which manipulated or if you so choose, tampered with the 1968 horror masterpiece. Lookout for the darkness. Our first is the recut with then newly filmed footage re-do, "Night Of The Living Dead: 30th Anniversary". Man, I could've sworn this had a limited theatrical release in 1999. The date I found was August 24th, but that's the DVD release date. I looked at my archives and confirmed the home video street. There's a glitch in the Matrix, maybe. So in lieu of any stats, I'm going to dive in.  As mentioned a moment ago, this was released on DVD (a gold disc, before the standard silver) on August 24th, 1999 from Anchor Bay Entertainment (#DV10951) in two separate editions; single disc $24.95 (#DV10889) and a two disc, Limited Edition (only 15,000 produced) for $34.95. I have the latter, bought new off Ebay dirt cheap - for good reason. Looking at my records, this happened sometime in 2004. I have a listings of what became part of my library; month per month, year per year. I'm anal. I'm going to be talking about the "Limited Edition". There are two inserts, a mini thirty-two page booklet; I've haven't run into another one of those. And a chapter listing (printed on cardstock), thirty for the 30th and twenty-four for the remastered 1998 version. The other side of that is what appears to be the poster for the re-do. The single disc version omits the booklet. The DVD case is an Alpha, the thick kind of case that has two openings. I hate these, it's designed for scratching. You need to use your finger under the disc to pry it, there event a slot that reads "Lift Here". Planned obsolesce, if you ask me. The motion picture is ninety-six minutes long (both editions). - - - Extras: * Newly remastered print * Fifteen minutes of new film footage * New score by Scott Vladimir Licina * 1998 Edition, original cut, remastered with new score * Commentary: writer/director John A. Russo, executive producer Bill Hinzman, producer Russell Streiner and art director/associate director Bob Michelucci (30th Anniversary) * Behind The Scenes Featurette (30th, full screen, black and white, 9:14 minutes) * Scene From The Bill Hinzman Film "Flesheater" (1994, full screen, black and white, 1:04 minutes) * "Dance Of The Dead" music video by Scott Vladimir Licina (full screen, color tinted, 3:37 minutes) * Slide Show Gallery (30th, full screen, 4:09 minutes, 40 images) * Trailer (full screen) - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (both editions) - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are no subtitle options. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). This is the first time the film has received a DD 5.1 remix. The second disc is the CD sountrack.  The booklet features interviews with John Russo, Bill Hinzman, Debbie Rochon and Licina. Since there is no CD track listings, the last page has the track names. Man, reading this is amazing. Either they really believed their own hype and thought they made a truely awesome film or... drugs. Lots of a lots of nose candy. 'Best movie evar!' Dark-sided!!! Where to begin? *long deep sigh* How about with a quote... Quote:
Russo (Washington Military Reporter in the 1968 film) wrote and directed the new scenes. Originally Romero was to have co-written and directed the new material, but it failed to happen. Why? Zombies. George was working on a screenplay for Capcom, the aborted "Resident Evil" adaptation. It also went in a different direction as did the final film, Google it. In the end, Romero DID NOT participate in the re-do. The only thing that can be said is that he gave Russo his blessing to try and that he did liked the new score. The new footage include: * The grave diggers (Danny played by Grant Cramer and Mike by Adam Knox) brings the coffin of a child killer/molester from prison (where he was executed) to the cemetery; this is same pick-up truck Ben (Duane Jones) finds and drives from Beekman's Diner. * The parents (Arthur Krantz played by George Drennen and Hilda Krantz by Julie Wallace Deklavon) of the slain child are at the gave site - making sure he's dead, one final look before he's buried. Rev. Hicks (Licina) says a pray before leaving the diggers to their business. The body re-animates and attacks Mike, they drive off. This is the same ghoul who attacks Barbra (Judy O'Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) later. * The aftermath of the dinner massacre is shown, undead feasting on a car crash victim. Hinzman's daughter Heidi, plays Rosie, the waitress from Beekman's. * Additional footage of zombies coming to the house. * Footage of the ghouls eating the remains of Judy (Judith Ridley) and Tom (Keith Wayne). * A television reporter (Darlene Davis played by Debbie Rochon) and camera man back at the cemetery the following day, interviews Reverend Hicks (Appalachian much?). While the locals kill off more zombies. * Hicks confronts patient zero (as it were - returned to the graveyard) with his bible and is bitten in the face. The ghoul is killed by the posse. * One year later at Ormsby Medical Center, Darlene interviews Hicks again. He didn't turn, the preacher is still human (Hicks attributes his survival to God). The man is under constant observation, fearful that he may become one of them. His blood is being studied. He has a guard dog, a tiny canine, Mushu. The critter isn't for his protection, but ours. Should he turn, the dog will be the first one eaten and its screams will give notice to that fact. Hicks then goes on a rant that the undead are possessed by demons and must be spiked. This frightens Ms. Davis and she leaves. - - - Fifteen minutes of new footage at the expensive of fifteen minutes of original footage *head shakes*; gone is various character development. Gone is Ben seaching for wood and nails to fortified the house. Barbara's long recap of what happened to her and her brother is shortened. Gone are the marital problems of Harry (Karl Hardman) and Helen Cooper (Marilyn Eastman), they don't bicker. Harry's ego is check too. Mention of the Venus probe is abbreviated, probably since the new cause is supernatual; taking a cue from "Dawn Of The Dead" (1979), 'When there is no room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.' And all that's left of Barbra is hysterics; the pieces of her mind are thrown. As noted above, there is no official explanation why the dead have risen; people has latched on to the exploded satellite (which had strange radiation). But that may NOT be source. For this iteration, the cause is a vengeful God. Others have mentioned that society began to collapse weeks after the dead rose ("Dawn Of The Dead"); one year later things are pretty much normal in this new ending. - - -   The biggest tripe is expecting us to believe the cemetery ghoul is the same. Hinzman was thirty-one when he did it the first time, he was sixty-two when he reprised his role. It shows, c'mon who are we kidding? The idea is cute, but should've been executed with an actor who looks like Hinzman (maybe with a mask involved). Some have complained that the radio announcer (heard in the house) is a bad impersonation of the original. Sorry folks, that's the same guy, reprising his voice - Charles Craig (also the TV news anchor). The broadcast IS different since it was modified for the new footage.  A nice bit; when the grave diggers leave the prison in the background a tanker truck is seen driving by; the same tanker Ben describes to Barbra that was on fire. A nice touch - I will give them that. You gotta love these quotes from the commentary, both from Russell Streiner... Quote:
Quote:
You can understand why so many people hold this version in contempt. Try to imagine - learning that pandas don't naturally have those dark circles around their eyes. And there's a guy in the zoo whose job it is punch them in the face every few days to keep up appearances; that's a close approximation, emotionally speaking. I know, you're picturing it too; poor, poor Ling-Ling. The original music appears when Barbra and Johnny search for their father's grave. When the first zombie attack happen in the house, before we met the rest of the players in the basement. When Ben goes up stairs to take care of eaten corpse. When the second wave of ghouls attack the house. When Ben, Tom and Judy leave to get gas and subsequent explosion. When Ben gets back to the house. When all hell breaks loose, Ben shoots Harry; ghouls almost get Helen. When the zombies finally get in. And lastly when the posse is close to farm house.  Amazon reviewer, Bill Robinson noted a flub. At the car crash, one of the kids who got killed. Her shoes are contemporary, what appears to be Sketchers. A product that didn't exist in the late 1960s, duh! Another is by commenter, XQuester; how come the passeners of that crashed car are still 'perfectly seated' even though they were NOT wearing seatbelts? The car crashed, hard into a tree. They would've shoot through the windshield, like those clowns blasted out of cannons. A good example would be during the opening credits of "Zombieland" (2009), the woman who crashed (that's reality based, not pretty).  I think it's on purpose that Rev. Hicks looks like Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church Of Satan. Man, at least I hope so. Dude? That featurette isn't one - false advertising, it's just home video clips edited together. Meh. The only thing interesting is an on set visit by none other than Karl Hardman, smoking a cigar. For an abomination, the picture quality is very good. Even though this is full screen, the image does not touch the sides, fuzzy black boarders. The audio was good to okay, I don't have a sound system so I can't give a better review here. But what I caught immediately was the simulated stereo. I remember hearing this on episodes of "MASH" when it aired on channel 11 here, Fox, Los Angeles. After viewing it (he bought a copy), Harry Knowles, webmaster of Ain't It Cool News made the following edict on September 19th, 1999: Quote:
My thoughts? It's superflatulistichalitosis or excrementainment. BUT I am okay with the overall notion. It would make a cool expanded motion picture, like the paperback novelization by Christopher Andrews (Rising Star Visionary Press, 2009; this on my list, I have read a sample chapter and various positive reviews, I like what I've seen). What happened here is they had a high concept that was carried out with limited budget and a talent pool which couldn't execute it properly. Add to the mix bad actors, hamming it up to the camera. And the gumption to believe they improved on the original. A bad combination. Plus they took out so much of what gave the film, flavor - what made it feel true and not hokey. We all know people like these characters, it's not so removed from real life. Well, minus the dead rising to feast on the living of course. As written in The Seattle Times on August 20th, 1999 (Mark Rahner, reporting); the production has a budget of $300,000. It needed at least twice that much to get it done proper. There is one dead body in the new footage, the above referred car crash. The corpse looks like a puppet, it has NO weight to it. So very fake. Why did it look like Hardman? Last edited by JohnIan; 10-12-2012 at 12:09 AM..
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#6
01-19-2012, 03:25 AM
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PART III: ANTIPATHY - B
SOUNDTRACKS PART V As touched on, the "Limited Edition" came with a CD soundtrack. The tracks are a mixture of music and film dialog. It also contains a bonus track. - - - TRACKS 1. "This Radio Station Will Remain On The Air" 2. The Dead Walk 3. "I Gotta Get Back To Beekman's" 4. Night Of The Living Dead 5. "That's The Lord's Way Of Punishing Sinners" 6. Resurrection 7. "Boy, You'll Be Damned To Hell" 8. They're Coming To Get You 9. Heads 10. Sanctuary 11. "They Know We're In Here Now" 12. The Congregation Gathers 13. "Is There A Key?" 14. The Beginning Of The End 15. "We Have To Go Out & Get Johnny" 16. Ashes To Ashes 17. "Your Brother Is Dead" 18. Music Box 19. "You Know A Place Back Down The Road Called Beekman's?" 20. Ben's Tale 21. "The Unburied Dead" 22. Tension 23. "In The Cold Room" 24. Window Into Hell 25. Isolation 26. "The Killers Are Eating The Flesh" 27. Feast 28. Isolation Reprise 29. "The Dead Are Rising" 30. The Secret Door 31. "I'm Boss Up Here" 32. The Siege Begins 33. "The Cellar's The Safest Place" 34. The Safest Place 35. "We'll See Who's Right" 36. Tragic Love 37. "Helen" 38. Alone 39. "I Oughta Drag You Out There & Feed You To Those Things" 40. Rhapsody In Crimson 41. "The Scream" 42. Mother's Milk 43. "The Posse" 44. Hell On Earth 45. "They're Dead" 46. Decay 47. "Shoot 'Em In The Head" 48. Dawn 49. "Somebody Had A Cookout Here" 50. The Hunt 51. "Hit Him In The Head" 52. The Killing Stroke 53. Innocent Blood 54. "He's A Dead One" 55. Tragedy 56. "The Dead Must Be Spiked" 57. Descent Into Madness/The Dead Walk: Movement Two 58. The Dead Walk: Movement Three 59. Dance Of The Dead 60. Night Of The Living Dead 1968 (special bonus track) - - - Repeating... I bought the deluxe set in 2004 - that was the first time I had ever seen the 30th Anniversary remix. I had read the various reviews before which had condemned it. I knew going it that this was going to be a train wreck. But before that, I hadn't. I surfaced online in the Spring of 1999, dial-up (still on it). I've always been collecting soundtracks, before CDs it was cassette tapes. DVDs didn't enter my life until November of 2003. So at this time in '99 I was actively pursuing laser discs. To my surprise, the company which produced the new score, Screem Jams Productions had a website which was selling the soundtrack by itself, no DVD attached. I have always been a fan of Ain't It Cool News, but during those early internet days, that website kept crashing my browser, Netscape. So my ability to read content/reviews was very limited; surfing the web on a 14K modem on a computer with a 75 MHz processor. I dared to dream!  I found out that I could buy this soundtrack by check or money order, I picked a postal money order and sent it off. A week or so later the above came to my home. This CD has a different disc image than the one used in the "Limited Edition". It came in a printed cardboard sleeve (cover art by Alex Ross) with a flap to seal/re-seal. The back of the sleeve listed the track names - minus one. I remember emailing them since track 60 was a mystery to me. I received a reply with the name. This soundtrack was mostly exclusive to that DVD set and had a far lesser release individually, less than 15,000. I like what I heard and wanted more. - - -  Also available in even limited numbers was the enhanced CD single, "Dance Of The Dead". Sent over my postal M.O. and shortly there after received this as well. The enhanced part is the music video (as seen on the DVD), presented as an MPG. This too came in a printed cardboard sleeve with flap (cover by Talon Nightshade). The difference here is my copy, under the flap is autographed by the composer. I can barely find a couple mentions online; like it never existed, making this one of the rarest CDs in my collection. Even the website Soundtrack Collector doesn't have a listing. Once again I had to email them to find out what that bonus track was. Both CDs were released in 1999. I have no catalog numbers (or UPC), they do not have them. Anyhow, I have both inside that Alpha case in near mint condition; sleeve and discs. And I don't remember what I paid for them. TRACKS 1. Dance Of The Dead ('They're Coming To Dance With You, Barbara' Mix) 2. Waltz Of The Dead (Featuring Russ "Johnny" Streiner) 3. Dance Of The Dead (Album Version) 4. Waltz Of The Raving Dead (Featuring Russ "Johnny" Streiner) (bonus unlisted track) - - - So many people complain about the Scott Vladimir Licina score. As you can tell, I'm not among them. It kinda works, I said kinda. It needed to be more subtler. Something else about me. I like atmosphere music, fan of the genre. Such bands as Midnight Syndicate (have all their albums - minus one since it was a 'best of' with zero new material), Nox Arcana (working on getting them all) and Buzz-Works. The odds are if you have been to Knotts Scary Farm or Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights you have heard their music; the first two have created music for Halloween attractions, both have been doing it for nearly a decade. I suppose it could be an acquired taste. Then again I also have the entire "Big Screams Scarround Sound Environment FX" CDs (nine of them). The ones that gets heavy rotations are "Wind!" (#8) and "Thunder Storm" (#3). I like getting in the mood when I write. Though if I really want to get real creepy I'll play "Liquid Prism" by Laocoön, every time I hear that I think of Stephen King's "The Mist". It's an eerie instrumental, parts sounds like distant moans. - - - Discovered something while researching this entry. In 2001 there was a SEQUEL to this balderdash, "Children Of The Living Dead". I remember a comic by that name in 1998, but didn't know there was a real flick. The movie is different. Pure crap from the reviews I've read. They must've had some kind of compromising photos of him, Tom Savini stars. - - - - - - - - - -  Released on September 7th, 2004 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for $14.98 was the colorized edition (UPC-A# 0 24543 11970 8). It came in a regular DVD case. I believe this is still in print. The DVD streeted against "The Island At The Top Of The World: 30th Anniversary Edition", "Resident Evil: Deluxe Edition", "Alias: The Complete Third Season" and "Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles" (NBC mini-series; January 27th - 29th, 1980). I own this, bought last month for this project (from Ebay). Well... it was just an excuse to own it. It's been on my list for a few years, now part of my collection. There is an insert, double sided single sheet. One side is the chapter listing (with colorized stills), sixteen of them; the other is a variant of the DVD cover. There something about the chapters I want to mention, but I'll do that in a few. The motion picture is ninety-six minutes long. - - - Extras: * Newly colorized print * Black and white version * Commentary: Mike Nelson of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" * "Separated At Death" non-game * Theatrical Trailers (colorized) * Additional Trailers: "Carnival Of Souls" (full screen, colorized, 1962) and "The Flesh Eaters" (full screen, black & white, 1964) - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono, both editions) * Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (colorized) * DTS (colorized) - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are no subtitle options. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s).  Is this frowned upon? Yes, by purists. Not by me. The big question is... how is the colorization? I would say, very impressive. If you are expecting some kind of technicolor experience, you WILL BE disappointed. The colors are muted, but well defined. No edges, if you know what I mean. It looks quite nice. I'm old enough to remember way back in 1986 when Hal Roach Studios released the first colorized attempt on home video cassette, it was big news. One of the first films to be injected with color. I rented it from a store that no longer exist, the pharmacy that was next door, bought the space; it's now their storeroom, had some good times there. Anyhow, I remember being unsatisfied, all the colors bled. It wasn't rotoscoping, early digital as I recall. The job looked amateurish. Plus the pigment choice sucked. All the zombies were this green, pea/vomit hue. They now look decent with a gray (just a slight green) tone to them. It works. There was an alleged second color release in 1997 from Anchor Bay Entertainment. I've never seen this nor can I find any information or its cover. I've been to their official website. Their catalog only goes back to March of 1998. It appears that everybody is copying the entry from Wikipedia. I've checked my archives - squat. As far as I can tell, there was no DVD released from them in 1997 for the film. I've reached a dead end. There could be a very minor possibility; this colorized release could be VHS only. I know they did release a couple titles, cassette exclusive, like "Curse Of The Black Widow" (September 16th, 1977; ABC TV movie, a Dan Curtis production). So until I read different, I say alleged. Anyway, the color job (2004) was done by Off Color Films. The problem here is the print used to colorize, not all that great. I don't know; the video appears to have a contrast problem, maybe this is because of the colorization process. But even then, the black and white version shouldn't have that affliction. There are some specks here and there. A dark vertical line across the screen from time to time. There is a lot of grain, not so much that it gets in the way. There is missing details in this DVD, feels washed out - 'bleached' would be a good word. The stuff that happens at night (without lights) have a surreal, dark and blue appearance. This might be part of the process, perhaps it can't handle the lack of color. I would like to see this redone with the print from the 40th Anniversary. Plus the technical advancement since '04. It could look incredible. Oh yeah, the TV reports in the film are still in black and white.  There is once instance of a bleed, not a color issue, but over lapping images. I'm guessing Little Miss Barbra's coat was an algorithm victim. Oh yes, the video appears to be zoomed/blown-up, one reviewer called it a ten percent video loss. I've seen the comparisons, I agree. Not as bad as it could've been, I guess. What is curious is that the framing changes throughout the film; for some scenes there are boarders around the picture, some times not, sometimes just the sides. Weird.  What don't I like? This is me nitpicking. I get the impression that the color scheme was up to them. As you can see in Part I - A, there were some color photos that could've been used for reference. Different colors were used on clothes. Ben's shirt was slightly pink, not light blue. Tom's tee isn't red, it's light blue. Harry shirt was light blue, not gray; the tie is sort of the correct color though. Stuff like that. As previously mentioned, I don't have a sound system. So my audio review is only basic. What I can say is the sound is a big improvement over the 30th Anniversary - which sounded artificial. This is the first time NOTLD has been presented in DTS. The commentary? Lame. It wasn't funny at all. If you're into dull humor, then this is a winner. I couldn't get through the whole thing; maybe a quarter of the film, then gave up. The "Separated At Death" game isn't one. It's a ghoul still from the movie, then a picture of a celebrity who looks like that zombie. There is no choice at all OR anything game related. Why is this even here? It's stupid and a waste of time. The best I can say, 'it's interactive.' Both movie trailers are colorized, the first was altered for the new colored feature, the second is the original - in color. The reason why "The Flesh Eaters" trailer is here is because Bill Hinzman had a role in the feature. - - -  This was re-packaged in 2009 by Legend Films (UPC# 8 44503 00134 4) for $9.95. The new cover still showcases the '04 cover without "The Classic Is Now In Deadly Color!" text on the top. The re-release emphases Mike Nelson's commentary, now called "Rifftrax: Night Of The Living Dead". All the extras from the '04 release was cut, minus the commentary. The DVD came with a free voucher to download a podcast from Rifftraxs website. The film is presented in black and white. Something else I uncovered while researching (fits into this week's catagory), there was another re-do, released in 1991. All the audio was removed and redubbed by James Riffel. The project was titled, "Night Of The Day Of The Dawn Of The Son Of The Bride Of The Return Of The Revenge Of The Terror Of The Attack Of The Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Crawling, Zombified Living Dead Part 2: In Shocking 2-D" (quite the mouthful). It does not have an official DVD, it had a limited VHS release back in the day, some 500 copies. From what I've read it was very politically incorrect and hilarious. I'm going to seek that out (DVD-R), if I can. I like this quote from Enemycoke: Quote:
 I apologise for the picture quality. I did the best I could do, it's a composite of two images; same one, broken up to fix the distortion - from the best pix I could find on the web. What you can't see (very well) is that there are dark veins on his head. That fellow has been deceased for a few days. Why is it here? As you know NOTLD is in public domain; when they were forced to change the title from "Night Of The Flesh Eaters" (since a varient was already in use - "The Flesh Eaters" [1964])) and forgot to include the copyright notice. Boom! Anybody can copy and sell this movie, legally. The film makers have seen very little profits from what is the most successful independent film in cinema history. There are TONS of crappy copies out there (VHS, DVD and Betamax). Far too many to list - what do they all have in common, regardless of format? They have awful covers, as if the artwork was done by someone who got a C- in their art class. A few have the poster with added junk. Some are a potpourri of random images from the film slapped together like a kindergartener's collage. Hell, I've even seen art that is best described as stick figure theater. So when I ran into this cover, I took notice. I guarantee this DVD is off a poor condition print; too dark, too scratchy and or too washed out with bad audio - just barely watchable. But... I would like a copy, would pay no more than a dollar for it, but I would care to own it as a novelty. Whoever released this did something unique, they gave the movie an original, real cover. While that dead guy does not appear in the film (though he kinda looks like the cemetery autopsy zombie from the 1990 remake), looks sway. Good job on a crappy product. The release year or company? *shrugs* So when the world has fallen to those damn dirty apes and Man is rendered a mute savage; among the long forgotten relics WILL BE public domain copies of NOTLD - take comfort or despair in that, I'll let you decide which. There you have it. We've come to the end of another ghoulish and long winded chapter. Chapter! Okay not so few. The insert has the names for each of the sixteen, unlike the usual which has serious titles, this goes for laughs. 1. One Way Trip 2. They're Coming To Get You Barbra 3. Zombies Hate Clotheslines 4. Fun With A Tire Iron 5. Let The Board Nailing Begin! 6. Barbra Wigs Out 7. Nothing Like A Loaded Gun 8. Enter Scuff Head 9. Ben The Alpha Dog 10. Barbra's Still Out To Lunch 11. Willard 12. Barbra's STILL Out To Lunch 13. Einstein At The Gas Pump 14. Feast Of The Living Dead 15. Dad, Your Arm Taste Great! 16. Ending Credits - - - It's not over yet kids, I've saved the best for last. So don't worry, that taste will wash away next week. I'll include some additional odds and ends, a couple of them X rated. Oh boy! That got your attention. *smile* Last edited by JohnIan; 01-01-2013 at 11:15 PM..
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#7
01-26-2012, 04:02 AM
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PART IV: THE 1968 CLASSIC RELOADED - A
The dead will slumber once more after this week (or not), but before they return to their graves (with full tummies and bloody chins) we have one more relevant home video release to talk about. And I've saved the best for last, "George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead: 40th Anniversary Edition". *jazz hands*  It was released on May 20th, 2008 from Genius Products (#81174WRP1) for $19.98. It came in a regular DVD case. The DVD streeted against "George A. Romero’s Diary Of The Dead", "Killing Zelda Sparks" and "24: Season One - Special Edition". This release originally came with a cardboard foil slipcover which mirrored the case's wraparound. It also came with a single sided advertisement for this very release and "Diary Of The Dead". The motion picture is ninety-six minutes long. - - - Extras: * Newly remastered print * Commentary 1: director/co-writer George A. Romero, co-writer/actor/film editor John Russo, producer/actor/make-up/electronic sound effects/still photographer Karl Hardman and actress Marilyn Eastman * Commenatry 2: producer/actor Russell Streiner, director of photography/actor/assistant camera Bill Hinzman, actress Judith O' Dea, actor Keith Wayne, actress Kyra Schon and production director/actor Vince Survinski * "One For The Fire: The Legacy Of 'Night Of The Living Dead'" documentary (anamorphic, 83:48 minutes) * "Speak With The Dead: A Conversation With George A. Romero" August 26th, 2007 interview (anamorphic, 15:48 minutes) * "Ben Speaks: The Last Interview With Duane Jones" December 13th, 1987 (audio only with stills from the movie, 16:46 minutes) * Still Gallery (68 images) * Theatrical Trailer * Additional Trailers: "George A. Romero's Diary Of The Dead" (non-anamorphic, 2007), "Halloween" (non-anamorphic, 2007) and "W∆Z" (anamorphic, 2007 - also known as "The Killing Gene") * Home Video Ads: "Inside: Unrated" (non-anamorphic, 2007) and "Automaton Tranfusion" (non-anamorphic, 2006) * DVD-ROM: Original Screenplay (PDF) - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 2.0 (remastered mono) - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are subtitles in English and Spanish. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). Some bits before we get to the meat (as it were) of the review. There was an early misprint when the 40th was announced - it was to have Dolby Digital 5.1. Not true. If you want that kind of audio you need to seek out Elite Entertainment's "Millennium Edition" or 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's 2004 colorized version, that also came with DTS. The commentaries are once again from the 1994 laser disc special edition, not a bad thing. Both were very thorough, nothing to complain. It could be a statement of how great they were. *nods* As mentioned in Part I - A, the gallery here is abbreviated. Elite Entertainment's 2002 "Millennium Edition" has 159 pictures. Both releases (this and that) are dwarfed by the "25th Anniversary Collector's Edition" LD ('94) also from Elite Entertainment; some 400 images. Just a reminder for those keeping track. - - - When I first reviewed this in 2008 I wrote that the film has an 'ever so slightly blue hue'. I wish to recant that. When that was written I was watching it on my laptop. As I cull the specs for the disc I'm viewing it on my portable DVD player. I don't see any of that indigo, looks very black and white. I may have been tired at the time of writing, I'm a night owl so it may have effected my viewing. Hell, I'm writing this at 4:38 in the morning. *shrugs* So, there. Yeah. The film has never looked as good as it does now. I mean NEVER. The release prints (1968) were done on out of date film stock and left overs, Walter Reade (distributor) went the cheap route. This 40th outshines the previous best, the "Millennium Edition". All these fine details are now to be seen, like the very lite stripes on Ben's shirt. While its true this edition has more grain, it doesn't get in the way. Double edge sword, some are bothered by that sort of thing. As I wrote, this was never printed on grade-A stock. You get what you get and compared to the rest, it's a massive improvement. Okay. This is a hot topic among die hard fans - framing. The presentation on the "Millennium Edition" is actually window boxed; fuzzy black frame around the screen. This boarder was taken out for the 40th. A lot of people are claiming it's digital zoom. I don't think so. I believe they struck a new master from a better print. Here an example...  One the left is the 2002 release, the right 2008. As you can see there is a boarder on the ME. The boarder is gone in the 40th, but there is MORE of the image shown! That's a moth flying across the camera on the lower, right hand side. Before this new master, people were claiming that was a goof; some guy's hand waving slightly across camera, telling the actor to move way from the bodies (the edge of his fingers), nope - it's a moth. Here's another example.  When Barbra (Judy O'Dea) first enters the farm house she's freaked out by the stuffed boar head. This is a real goof, there's a hand in front of the camera moving it into position (it's there for four frames). Once again, left '02, right '08. You can see the specks in the ME that are gone in the 40th. But there two specs in the 40th (upper center) that are not present in the ME. There are some scenes like where Ben (Duane Jones) disassembles a table that looks like a digital zoom. Not so much, that zoom is also in the "Millennium Edition" - caught my eye when I was comparing the two, it's present. So, there you have it. The 40th edition is from a newer master, struck from a better print. This is a non-issue and should be celebrated if anything - we're getting a little more of the movie than the past three decade of home video (re-)releases. You don't need to lug around Dr. Theopolis to know this is a very good thing. *nods* The biggest extra present is the near, feature length documentary. Damn impressive. Minus a few who are no longer with us, the doc has interviews with all the cast members. It was nice to see it dedicated to the late Karl Hardman (1927 - 2007). Well, minus O'Dea. For some reason she has really shunned her participation, but then again so did the late Jones. I suppose she wants to be known for something other than NOTLD. Whatever, if it were me? I would be riding that gravy train till I die. Anyhow, this features the very last interview with Hardman. What's sucks is that so much matertial is forever gone. Back in the day there was flood where the posters, press kits, outtakes and deleted scenes were stored (basement; The Latent Image offices). All destroyed. Scenes? Some eight minutes were trimmed. These include another shot of the ghouls and an extended basement moment with Harry and Helen (Marilyn Eastman). Not to mention ALL the early commercials and shorts by Latent Image have fallen into oblivion. I want to believe that somewhere, someone has this stuff stored away in their attic - long forgotten, just wating to be recovered. It does makes sense. But that pipe dream is as wishful as finding that missing spider-crab sequence from King Kong (1933). Anyhow, as I wrote weeks ago, if you really want all the extras (well... most) for the motion picture; you need to have both the 40th and "Millennium Edition" DVDs. If you are just interested in the best looking version, then you only need the 40th. The Home Video Ads and Additional Trailers are not a menu choice, it's a single long clip that runs at the start of disc play. A good companion to the documentary is "Night of the Living Dead: Behind The Scenes Of The Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever" by Joe Kane from Citadel (2010; 272 pages), $16.95. I need to pick that up. Another good book is "BFI Classics: Night Of The Living Dead" from British Film Institute (2008; 128 pages), $14.95. Film historian Benjamin A. Hervey looks at the social commentary contained in the film. I've read some of it at the bookstore, need to pick this up too. What I want is "Night Of The Living Dead: Studies In The Horror Film" from Centipede Press (2011; 368 pages), $125.00, (decorative cloth) hardcover (only). Editors Jerad Walters and Marco Lanzagorta collect eighteen essays covering various topics. And two interviews with George A. Romero - from 1979 and 2006. Plus black and white and color stills. As understand it's limited to 200 copies, can't afford it. Okay, now for the rest... - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACKS PART VI  Now here's a true oddity, not really a soundtrack, but I'm gonna allow it. In 2009 400 Lonely Things released "Tonight Of The Living Dead". It was by pure accident that I learned of it. This is a concept album based off the library music used for NOTLD. This CD was over a year in the making; pet project of 400 Lonely Things. A collage of treated audio from the horror classic. There is no dialog, just music and sound effects - remixed. The stuff is dark ambient, experimental music; sixty-five minutes. The twelve page booklet has a foreward from actress Judy O'Dea; who was given an advance copy. The album has four dedications. The imagery to O'Dea. Audio to the late Karl Hardman. Music box to Kyra Schon. And the concept album to George A. Romero. I'm very glad I bought this. It originally sold for $10.00, now it goes for $15.00 from Pimalia records. 1. It Begins 2. Tonight 3. This Old House 4. No Answer 5. The Music Box 6. Cricket Window 7. Cellar Company 8. Another Fire Always Smiles Wait, I'm not doing this justice. Here are two excerpt from the booklet: Quote:
Quote:
 In case you're curious, the album cover is a mixture of two frames from the film; the moment before Barbra runs inside the farm house. At first I thought that picture was something they snapped for the CD. Nope, two frames Photoshopped together, looks creepy. Sway. There is a music video for "Tonight" - not on the disc. Type out 'Tonight Of The Living Dead by 400 Lonely Things' on YouTube. The video is 9:14 minutes long, very phantasmagorical. - - - Continuing with the audio motif. They don't make enough of these nowadays - audio dramas, the Golden Age of radio. Wait, GOOD audio dramas. Granted there are a few going on right now, like "We're Alive" (awesome zombie series/podcast - DO seek it out).  I still have this, bought back in the day from B. Dalton bookstore (long gone) in my local mall, "Night Of The Living Dead: A Fully Dramatized Tale Of Absolute Terror!" The cassette was released by Simon & Schuster under their Audioworks line in 1988 to cash in on NOTLD's 20th anniversary. It retailed for $9.95. I still have the folded single sheet catalog inside the cardboard case. Well... the cassette holder is plastic. There are three performers doing all the voices; Ed Bishop, Bill Hootkins and Linda Hayes. They needed either better voice talent OR more performers. The voices were not very different which can break a presentation like this. As you might expect, Hayes does all the female roles - all her voices sound the same. What makes it worse, Barbra now sounds like a cartoon character. *shakes head* Man, I have complaints about this adaptation, the voice actors leave a lot to be desired. The word 'cheesy' comes to mind. And the biggest bitch, they altered the ghouls. Zombies do not talk and they don't take breaks from hunting people. One of them rest after chasing Barbra; leans against a tree. The revised story (fifty-three minutes) takes place in '88; Ronald Regan is the President calling for calm as the plague escalates (bad Regan impersonation too). All the characters sound lame.  For collectors this is a curious piece of history, which is why I re-purchased it on CD. It was re-released on compact disc in 2004 also for $9.95 (you can find this cheaper on Ebay). Would I recommend this to non-die hards? HELL NO! This reworking suck balls then comes back for seconds. It could've been good - even great. What we got here is bad radio. Shame on you, M'Lou Zahner (executive producer) and Michael Brooks (audio adaptation), you're not fans. The CD has 22 tracks, the last one has fifteen seconds of silence. And the new cover sucks too! At least with the cassette they tired something different. The original release came with a cardboard slipcover which mirrored the jewel case art, not many CDs do that. Okay, what the hell; the cover? Hands rise from the gave and hold on to? Is that suppose to be lightening as seen in the background? There is some kind of distortion in that sphere. Is it a metaphor? The dead eating the souls of the living? That CD cover makes no sense. Just added frosting to this crap cake. Last edited by JohnIan; 02-11-2013 at 09:17 PM..
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#8
01-26-2012, 04:12 AM
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PART IV: THE 1968 CLASSIC RELOADED - B
BLUE CINEMA Nudies! You've been waiting for this mention. There have some parodies, but few XXX ones. I can name off the top of my head just two. Before you ask, sorry, both covers feature nudity so I won't post them. I just made you sad in the pants. It did me, I had to read the detailed review for the one below. Get this crap over with - "Porn Of The Dead". Released in April 2005 from Metro Studios under its Loaded Digital line, directed by Rob Rotten. Oh man, this is messy and disgusting, take a real Hollywood zombie splatterfest then mix it with a porno. I'm glad I've never seen this. The stills were bad enough, gory sex. NO. I'll pass. There is no central plot, this is a gonzo release; five unrelated scenes featuring the undead with little to no dialog. There two scenes that I'm lightly going to mention as examples. Think oral sex, now make that member a bloody one. Take the reverse situation - now make that bloody too. Sick sad world, Daria. Sick, sad world. Should you care, there's a porno version of "Re-Animator" called "Re-Penetrator". I'll pass too. What I can tell you is that this DVD features an all death metal soundtrack (why of course), behind-the-scenes featurette (forty-eight minutes), trailers and slide show gallery. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Retails for $25.99. The runtime is 101 minutes. This repulsion stars Sierra Sinn, Hillary Scott, Trina Michaels, Ruby Knox, Nikki Jett, Dirty Harry (not that one - Clint isn't that hard up; oh a double entendre), Alec Knight, Buster Good, Trent Tesoro, Joey Ray, Jenner, Rob Rotten and Johnny Thrust. As mentioned this is a Rotten film (another one - zing!). Let me make this crystal clear. Rotten is the kind of director that Christian groups rally against porn to, lumping his movies with the rest. The man makes extreme videos. Not the normal, happy-fun porn (Tori Black). The kind that very, very, very few people are into. The sick stuff as in this case; dismemberment, necrophilia and some serious religious blasphemy. Look, I'm an atheist and I'm offended. I put Rotten in the same camp as Rob Black. I don't need to explain him further than two words - "simulated rape". Stay away. It's a blight on the industry. All righty. Next up is a XXX vid released in October 2008, "Night Of The Giving Head", clever title from Exquisite; directed by Rodney Moore. Oh noes! I'm scarrred!!! Run for them there hills, Linda Lovelace has returned from the dead! *smiles* The runtime is 101 minutes too. This story driven blue movie stars Amber Rayne, Caroline Pierce, Nikki Rhodes, Rucca Page, Samantha Sin and Christian. The DVD has a slide show gallery, bloopers and making the soundtrack featurette; presentation in anamorphic widescreen. It retailed for $29.95. Plot? Ha-ha!!! Due to Global Warming, holes are popping in the ozone layer. This environmental woe is making some semen wonky. Ladies who get *cough* a treat become effected. They crave non-stop man salsa. That the set-up; four girls are now trapped in a hilltop house with THEM lurking and horny outside. The horror! It's up to the local sheriff to save the day. Not gonna to leave you hanging (zing!), a cure is eventually found. I'm gonna guess... unaffected semen. Now you may be pointing, 'hey that's a plot hole'. Don't finger that, it's porno logic, it right up there with horse sense. Have I seen this? Nope. Why? I've seen stills, it looks very amateurish - like a bad high school play. Why see it when I can watch a better blue flick? Maybe something with Alexis Texas, Holly Michaels, Dana Dearmond or Gage (remember her?).  Okay there is this, not a video, not even adult - mature, yes. Published from 2007 - 2008 from Image Comics under their Crawl Space line was a four issue zombiesploitation mini-series called "XXXombies"... The year is 1977. Porn director Wong Hung Lau has two days to film on location, a house. He's under a lot of stress and debt. Hung Lau has locked his talent and crew inside to keep them from being distracted. You can pretty much guess what happens next. Things go bad as they find Los Angeles quarantined because of the undead plague. Things get worse, not so much from the zombies, but from Italian mobsters who have come to get their money owed from Hung Lau. More trouble and possible salvation comes from a pissed off dad of the one the girls; who is responsible for turning his princess into a whore??? I do not own them, but these puppies are on my list. - - - - - - - - - - VARIOUS BITS There is another remake coming out this year, the release date is in flux. This is called "Night Of The Living Dead: Origins 3D". A CGI animated retelling; the group comes together not in a farm house in the sticks, but trapped in a modern day New York City apartment. The teaser I saw was okayish, the animation looked like something the Syfy channel would produce. So that's the downside. The project was directed by Zebediah de Soto. He co-wrote the screenplay with David R. Schwartz. This has taken over two years to get done, it was first annouced in the Fall of 2009. What I DO like is the cast of voice actors; Danielle Harris as Barbara, Alona Tal as Helen Cooper and Joseph Pilato as Harry Cooper - the man who played Captain Rhodes in the third sequel, "Day Of The Dead" (1985). But what really has me all hopeful is that Bill Moseley and Tony Todd are reprising their roles from the 1990 version; Todd as Ben, Moseley as Johnny. How cool is that?! Please don't suck. What I would prefer to see is the same CGI animated level/style as "Resident Evil: Degeneration", that worked perfectly. Yeah, you may be saying; 'Hey JohnIan there was another version in 3D'. True, but it wasn't that good. The print they used was not so great, plus NOTLD ('68) was never in 3D. So the final effect is so-so at best. Fine. Released from Slingshot Entertainment on August 1st, 2004 was "The Ultimate 3D Horror Collection: Vol 2" - inside were two wired shutter glasses, the Video Synchronization Controller box and three (public domain) movies. The films (DVDs) were "Dementia 13" (1963), "Little Shop Of Horrors" (1960) and NOTLD. It originally sold for $99.99, now it can be found for $38.99. The 3D effects had some depth perception, but that's it. As you may have expected, I don't own this nor do I have interest in buying. There you go. True, some time later those glasses became wireless. - - -  This is something I would love as a poster hanging on my wall. A tribute to artist Patrick Nagel by Matt Busch. The cover to the comic book annual #1, L.A. convention variant (250 at the convention; 1,500 copies for the reprint) from Avatar Press, 2008. How friggin' cool is that? If you grew up in the late 1970s and early '80s you've seen his work, Nagel. The man had the eye for the female form. His artwork has appeared on album covers and in Playboy plus many others. For some bizarre reason his art adorn hair and nail salons' windows. You've seen them. He died of a heart attack in his car in 1984; a bit of wicked irony, he died after making an appearance at an American Heart Association celebrity fund-raising event.  Busch did second Nagel inspired cover, same comic book annual, but for the Wizard World, Philadelphia convention (same year). A limited edition of 1,500 copies. *sigh* I'll be honest, it didn't have the same umph as the West Coast cover. - - - There's a short (six minutes) out there called, "Night Of The Living Dead Mexicans" (2008), a parody. I would like to see that, couldn't be any worse than "Night Of The Living Bread" (1990). - - - - - - - - - - ADDITIONAL NOTES One last topic before I close this big ass crypt...  This is something I don't know. I'm confused, there are contradictions. So here are the facts that I know. What you see above is the cover to a book that was/is/not written by Romero. This tome would('ve) covered the start of the crisis. And for the first time ever, delve into the real reason how the plague started - more than a substantial hint(s). Plus rules, what the ghouls can and can not do; like - run. It was reported in the Fall of 2009 that Headline, a United Kingdom publisher had paid Romero, a rumored $300,000 advance to pen the book. At that time, the novel had a July 2010 release. The (official) book description: Quote:
Here is a quote from Headline publisher, Vicki Mellor on the deal... Quote:
??? The book didn't come out. The DVD release of his sequel to "Diary Of The Dead" (2007), "George A. Romero's Survival Of The Dead: Two-Disc Ultimate Undead Edition" (streeted on August 24th, 2010) had a statement from Romero in the special features. Asked about the novel, he remarked 'don't believe eveything you've heard'. False news? But here's the thing, there was an official announcement from Headline. And the detailed listing on Amazon. Was this a hoax??? A joke on fans? During my researching I found this bit; Tower (the website is still alive, but Tower Records is dead) still has a entry for it, now called "The Living Dead: The Beginning" with an ISBN number of 0446561835. Different date though, July 24th, 2010. There's more... As of last month, Allbookstore.com has a listing for July 2012, same ISBN. The book is now being published as they claim by Grand Central Pub. (same number of pages). Amazon currently has a July 1st, 2012 release for the audio book from Hachette Audio. What hell? The cover pix has been removed on Amazon. It has a price of $74.99 for a book with "Unknown Binding", temporarily out of stock. Confused? This is what I think happened - pure speculation. He did write most or perhaps completed the book (first draft). The deal with Headline turned sour. There may have been a silent legal battle over the rights. This was when Romero made his comment on the novel. He won or some agreement was reached. A new publisher was awarded the deal, Grand Central Pub. A revised date was given, July of 2012. Only time can only tell IF or WHEN this book sees the light of day. But I suppose the important question - is it any good? - - - There you go folks. Over month of my life in these words, I hope you enjoyed it. Will there be another installment? Maybe. Maybe. There are those two NOTLD remakes which have yet to be released. I could do an update when they hit home video. Plus that sequel to the 3D reboot and that Riffel re-dub (should I find it). Do I have an idea for another retrospective? Yes I do. But right now I don't have that DVD, it's kinda pricey (more than I'm willing to pay). I'm keeping my eyes on Ebay. What's the subject? It will be on a short lived television series that has a following. The home video release was screwed up. Plus a mention to the TV movie that may have spawned/inspired it. After that? I don't have any other topics; something could pop in my head. Sure, why not? I've leave you with these two bits of trivia... October 27th, 1968 What's that? That's the date the world ended; the historic day - the fall of mankind. Barbara: They ought to make the day the time changes the first day of summer. Johnny: What? Barbara: Well it's eight o' clock and it's still light. Johnny: A lot of good the extra daylight does us, you know we've still got a three hour drive back, we're not going to be home until after midnight. Taking the film's release 1968 as the event year; Fall Daylight Savings (gaining one hour) fell on the last Sunday of that October, the twenty-seventh. And lastly, the November 2008 issue of Empire magazine (British), published the results of a world-wide poll of the "500 Greatest Movies Of All Time"; "Night Of The Living Dead" (1968) ranked 397th. Nighttime's on fire We are the heat The flame is desire, burns in the street Know it's gonna strike, again and again Hold on to the Night, hold on till the end... Last edited by JohnIan; 01-26-2012 at 04:26 AM..
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#9
02-10-2012, 02:32 AM
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Update...
Found out about this an hour ago.
One of the most iconic zombies has passed. Samuel William Hinzman a.k.a. Bill Hinzman died this week. He passed away on February 5th, 2012 at the age of seventy-five from cancer.  (behind-the-scenes photo) Best remembered as the Cemetery Ghoul (original NOTLD). I would say it's a tie as to who's more famous; him or Karen Cooper (Kyra Schon). I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this add on, this isn't DVD - but I would be remissed if I didn't. Last edited by JohnIan; 02-10-2012 at 02:34 AM..
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#10
06-18-2012, 07:42 PM
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PART IV: THE 1968 CLASSIC RELOADED - C
No matter how many shots you take, there is always another one lurking just out of sight, moments away from grabbing you. Fight or flight, I chose the first. The last entry on the subject was posted on January 26th, some five months ago. I have another one... All I can say is that I completely forgot to include it the first time around. Why? It's utterly redundant. But for the subject as whole, I need to include it...  The "40th Anniversary Edition" from Genius Products (#81174WRP1) as seen above in 'The 1968 Classic Reloaded - A' was re-released as an exclusive from Best Buy for the 2009 Halloween season. Sorry, I do not know the actual street date. I checked my archive, couldn't find a listing. I can tell you it retailed for $14.99. The DVD was given a new slipcover (cardboard), replacing the original cardboard foil slip. Important, the image you see here is a reproduction I made. I found one pix online for it, but the picture was low res. So I used it as a reference. Anyhow, I don't own this. Why would I? It's not as nice as the red foil one. What is it? It's the very same DVD release with a new slipcover masquerading as a new title. In short, Best Buy pulled a Wal-Mart (retail giant does this for its movies all the time). Sure, there is a second possibility. NOTLD 2008 special edition had a limited pressing. I recall reading some folks were having a hard time finding a copy in stores, only X amount were made. Best Buy made an agreement with Genius Products to sell the DVDs at their stores only. You may be asking, 'why not just re-release in a small amounts to all stores?' True, it's for Halloween, most retail shops have a holiday movie rack (even grocery stores) - it would make a perfect fit. I agree. This is conjecture; perhaps they still have some copies which hadn't sold, but not enough for all stores to order. So Genius came up with the idea to sell their surplus with a new slipcover to a single chain. I can tell you that when I ran into it, I only saw two DVDs at my Best Buy, limited quantities.  Anyhow, you can still find the regular release on Ebay and Amazon for fifteen dollars so less. You just can't find it now in brick and mortar shops. Granted, somewhere in the U.S., a Best Buy might still have their exclusive on the shelf. - - - - - - - - - - ADDITIONAL NOTE Before you ask, I checked... the previously mentioned Romero, zombie origin book. The street date still remains July 1st, 2012. I have no new news other than that. We're allegedly less than a month away from its release, there should've been some kind of announcement or fanfare. So far, none.. I'll keep you posted. Last edited by JohnIan; 08-27-2012 at 12:59 AM..
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#11
10-27-2012, 05:38 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - C
It rises once again; veiny, murky, hungry hands outreached hoping to grasps more than warm tender flesh... Delicious green backs.  Barbara (Patricia Tallman) has something else to fear besides the ghouls outside. I've been silent on a recent home video dissension, simply because I'm not into Blu-Rays. I'm not impressed by the format, I don't own it. But more and more talk rolls by. I should include it in the retrospective, as a footnote of sorts, since it does relate to the 1999 DVD release.  Released on October 9th, 2012 from Twilight Time (through Screen Archives Entertainment) for $29.95 was the limited edition Blu-Ray (UPC# 8-51789-00332-0), only 3,000 produced worldwide of the 1990 remake. The region A/1 (1080p) came in a common BR case, normal wraparound. There was an insert, an eight page booklet; production notes by film historian Julie Kirgo. The motion picture is ninety-two minutes long. - - - Extras: * Newly remastered print * Commentary: director Tom Savini * Isolated Score: composer Paul McCollough * Theatrical Trailer (in HD) * Catalog Ad: "The Rains Of Ranchipur" (1955) and "Bonjour Tristesse" (1958) - - - Audio: * 5.1 DTS-HD MA - - - NOTES/RANT Missing from the new Blu-Ray is the making-of featurette, "The Dead Walk: Remaking A Classic", though the Savini commentary from the DVD does carry over. As I wrote, I don't own this or any Blu-Rays. All of this post was researched. I spent hours online, looking about and reading from blogs, message boards and HD reviews, taking a lot of notes. I think I've managed to gather the essential data to write this topic. Okay. That being written lets begin... There are subtitles in English SDH. The Blu-Ray is not dubbed in any language(s). It is presented in anamorphic widescreen. This was the first title from Twilight Time that sold out in eight days; this is the pre-order, not days after the street date. That's impressive. A pre-order sold on Ebay for $150.00. It has a current auction price of $65.00, though some are asking for $199.00, new. And it's now selling on Amazon for $99.97. As I wrote, that's impressive for an indie release. The problem hit the tubes shortly after people got their copies and watched it; angry and upset fans vented their displeasure online... in droves.    What you see above are from a YouTube video from a fellow named Auzorann, it's called "1990 NOTLD DVD vs Bluray Comparison". It's short, thirty-five seconds. I download the hi-def vid. These three stills were not altered by myself or Auzorann. The change is pretty explicit, everything has been given a dark bath of blue tint. The image details that were on the DVD are dimmed away by the new transfer - which is the opposite of what you would expect from high definition. By the way, the included trailer isn't Smurfed up. To put it gently, folks were not happy with the new Blu-Ray. In the days that followed the release, news came to light. The company never examined the product they were selling. Lets take a step back. In 2010 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was working on a deluxe edition of the 1990 horror film, a 20th anniversary release. A new transfer was made. This project was supervised by the film's director of photography, Frank Prinzi. He claims this is how the film was suppose to look. I'll get into the contradiction and other controversy in a few. For whatever reason, Sony terminated the project. The release didn't happen and this transfer sat on the self for two years. Along comes a new company, Twilight Time (they release limited edition Blu-Rays of hard to find/vintage films) they learn about the new transfer and want to release a HD version of the movie. The upstart buys the licensing rights, an exclusive three year contract. And the rest becomes history. To combat the MASSIVE negative comments, Twilight Time posted the following on their Facebook page: Quote:
Quote:
- - - A commenter on IMDb with the moniker Zilla7777 made this post in the message board for the 1990 motion picture on October 9th, 2012: Quote:
As previously mentioned, missing from the Blu-Ray is the making-of featurette (nearly twenty-five minutes long). It should be noted that most releases from Twilight Time are bare bones. This is a quote from that featurette from actress Patricia Tallman: Quote:
Still trying to save face, Twilight Time posted this on their Facebook: Quote:
But there's even more. There is another issue that hasn't gotten as much attention, the audio. Sound effects are missing/deleted from the newer transfer. It's present in the DVD though. The clicking sound from Cooper's shotgun after he fired all his rounds is truant. In addition so is the camera noise from the end credits; the sound effect of a camera's motor, moving the film forward for each end credit still is absent. Why were they taken out? I have no answer. Are there more deletions? Probably. - - - Some are claiming the situation can be fixed by adjusting their televisions, which isn't correct; the tint is too far embedded to revert. Worse yet are the folks who see nothing wrong with the altered video. I don't know what to say to them. The word apathy comes to mind. Did they buy the hype? Here's a quote from an online fellow named Project-Blu, pretty much sums up what I feel: Quote:
$99.97? This really should be in that Blu-Ray discount bargain bin at Wal-Mart. - - - I do believe that Twilight Time shouldn't have taken all the heat, but they're not 100% blameless. They should've seen what they were releasing before shipping them out. And if they did? They should still sell it. But have a disclaimer and a video comparison and stills for buyers to decide. Look, they would still sellout, true. But all this mess on their heads wouldn't have exist - the blame would fall solely on Sony for creating the bad transfer. I do wonder about something things. Sony had to have known about this image situation; they're the ones who made it. Maybe they knew this wouldn't go well with fans and hi-def connoisseurs. What if they gave this inferior product to Twilight Time? Let them take the wraith of angry buyers and have them pay for the licensing rights - get back some of the money they lost on the '10 transfer. After three years, they'll re-release a collector's edition. They now know that there is a rabid fan base for this movie, granted it's a niche market. The newer title will be done correctly and become a huge seller. It's not that outlandish of a notion since there exist TWO hi-def transfers. The other hasn't been tinted navy blue, both owned by Sony. When was the second made? I don't know, but I can tell you it's on the streaming service VUDU from Wal-Mart. The other is about the abandoned 20th anniversary special edition. How much special features were produced before the plug was pulled? Was the bad transfer the tipping point? Sony didn't want to spent the money to fix it and decided to stop the project? How far did they get? - - - Just so you know, there is a bootleg Blu-Ray (region free) that includes the workprint as well as the commentary with making-of featurette from the DVD, that's as much as I know. - - - - - - - - - - ADDITIONAL NOTES This something I never really thought about - for me it was self-explanatory. But I guess some are confused. Ghouls in the Romero universe don't speak as in talk.  The first person that Barbara and Johnnie (Bill Moseley) encounter in the cemetery wasn't a zombie. He was traumatized and injured, bumping into and speaking to Barbara saying "I'm sorry." Makes you wonder what kind of horrors he witnessed and participated in. Actor Pat Reese is listed in the credits as The Mourner. Here are a couple of quotes to settle that - not a zombie misunderstanding (both from the DVD, same making-of featurette)... Quote:
Quote:
- - - Well... There is one thing that took a direct headshot, the Romero novel, "The Living Dead". July 1st, 2012 came and went, nothing happened. Zero update or publication. I still can't say what happened, was it a hoax? Was it really going to happen and the project got axed? As far as I'm concerned, the book is dead, as in dead, not undead. Last edited by JohnIan; 10-31-2012 at 04:11 AM..
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#12
01-03-2013, 02:37 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - D P1
You run. Running faster than you have in your entire life. Up until now, you never had a reason to do so. But as much dust as your feet kick up, giving evidence of your flight - you are still being pursued. They; the undead, have no need for sleep or rest or develop leg cramps - ever persistent, patient and oh so hungry. Hungry. HUNGRY. Expensive name brand name sneakers or generics won't matter much now; how far can you go before YOU falter? Well... it's been more than a year since I started this project, but the undead much like this endeavor continues to rise. So here we are. This entry covers a film that was previously mentioned in PART II: THE REMAKES - B, "Night Of The Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation". I've place it here (this category) since it sort of fits, this is a prequel. A prequel to 2006 remake, "Night Of The Living Dead 3D".  "Night Of The Living Dead: Re-Animation" did not have a theatrical run, though it did have a premiere on January 15th, 2012 at the L.A. 3D Club, obviously in Los Angeles. I have searched, can't find it; I can not find a budget for this movie. I'm puzzled. I've tried.  It was released on home video on October 16th, 2012 from Screen Media (UPC# 8 14838 01270 4) for $24.98. The DVD contained both the 2D and 3D versions. Presentation in anaglyph 3D; the release came with one pair of red/cyan glasses. There is no insert/booklet nor slipcover. The DVD has ten chapters. The motion picture is eighty-eight minutes long. - - - Extras: * "Night Of The Living Dead: Re-Animation - Behind The Scenes" featurette (anamorphic, 13:44 minutes) * "Night Of The Living Dead: Re-Animation - Producing Visual Effects In 3D" featurette (anamorphic, 5:12 minutes) * "Night Of The Living Dead: Re-Animation - Outtakes" (anamorphic, 3:32 minutes) * Home Video Ads: "Below Zero" (anamorphic, 2011) and "FDR: American Badass!" (anamorphic, 2012) * Web Ad: www.popcornflix.com (anamorphic, 2012) - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are no subtitles The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). The movie is presented in anamorphic widescreen; both 2D and 3D on the same side. The extras are identical, but for the 3D version option, the extras as shown in 3D (minus home video and web ads). The United Kingdom release (August 20th, 2012, £9.46 from 101 Films) has an additional extra; commentary with director/producer/co-writer Jeff Broadstreet, star Sarah Lieving and stereographer Andrew Parke. It's too bad this wasn't included on the region 1 release or have the commentary available as a downloadable podcast from their website. Oh and the U.K. release came with two pairs of 3D glasses. Joy. This was a hard to find at retailers title - nobody had it. I was expecting Wal-Mart to have it in store, nope. I ended up buying this from Amazon. Got a good deal on it, new. Was this movie needed? No, not really. Was it horrible? No, not really. Was it good? No, not really. This is a middle ground feature film. It's okay, but not much else. You got an afternoon with nothing to do, this could make a nice time waster. It's filler and doesn't rise above it. Which is okay, I guess. It could've been a whole lot worse. Once again Jeff Broadstreet returns from the '06 remake to direct and produce this direct to video sequel as does Robert Valding who penned that remake. The film takes place the day before the events of the 2006 movie, when the outbreak was still contained. I have a major pet peeve with connecting movies (sequels/prequels), one word - "continuity". And this flick really failed on that. Now I understand that star wouldn't be coming back and his role needs to be recast, that sucks, but I acknowledge it. The thing is try to get someone to look like the missing actor...   The role of Gerald Tovar, Jr. "Junior" was originally played by actor Sid Haig (above left). The character was recast, now with Andrew Divoff as the perpetrator.   Divoff looks NOTHING like Haig. That's a part of the problem, the other is mannerisms. Haig's Junior was somewhat indecisive and nervous. While Divoff plays the part with much confidence and planning. Haig's Junior was winging it. And that took me out of the movie. They're not the same man or an extension. Yes, it's nitpicking, but it's a legitimate gripe. Well, that and Junior in the oven room, near the end - his never needing to reload, magic shotgun. I guess morticians have access to special weaponry, you know... because of their occupation.   Our main protagonist her is Cristie Forrest (Sarah Lieving) who just began her job at the mortuary. Much like Barbara 'Barb' (Brianna Brown) from the remake (above right), Cristie is a strong willed and an intelligent woman. She made a good heroine, that part I liked. I cared.  I guess there is a second antagonist, but not so much - an antagonist to his brother, but not the overall story. Jeffrey Combs (of "Re-Animator" [1985] fame) plays Junior's sibling, Harold. His brother has fallen on hard times and is trying to get or scam money from his elder kin. When he finds out about the dead rising, he's trying to make the situation into a money making scheme. I did like the question Harold asked; 'are they slow for fast moving?' His plan never gets off the ground. By the way, the original subtitle for this movie was "Resurrection".  Robin Sydney plays the goth chick, DyeAnne. She's a mortician working for Junior or rather was. She over-painted (face) on a client's departed loved one, her third strike. Cristie is DyeAnne's replacement. She must now familiarize the new girl with the mortuary. Sydney does hot goth girl, right. *smiles* Last edited by JohnIan; 02-24-2013 at 07:29 PM..
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#13
01-03-2013, 02:40 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - D P2
 I guess, the biggest, 'why' moment is the introduction of Sister Sara (Denice Duff), seen here with DyeAnne after getting bitten (yeah, that's a spoiler - like you're really concerned). Yes, that's a Sarah Palin clone. Why? I have no clear answer, than just because. Palin, I mean Sara is also on the movie's poster.   I did like the couple of nods to the 2006 film, Gerald talks to his handyman Russell (Adam Chambers) and it is revealed that his slacker twin brother, Owen works at the Cooper farm. Chambers' played Owen in the remake (above right). To be honest, I didn't recognize him until that line was spoken.   The other link being Francis Del Amo (played by the film's casting director [both movies], Mark Sikes). Sikes played the naked zombie eating a priest in the remake. We get to see him here alive with his wife, Honey (Rhonda Aldrich). That was a nice touch. Okay, let me re-address more problems with continuity...   Just like the recast of Junior, this grabbed my attention, not in a good way. In the 2006 remake we learn at the son has kept his undead dad at the house (above left). For the prequel, they reintroduce the character. Gerald Tovar, Sr. looks NOTHING like he did in '06. I will say that the make-up job looks better here. Remember this is suppose to take place one day before the remake. That's a big disparage. Look, I know this is a movie, but certain rules must apply. C'mon, the father was shirtless in the remake and is now fully clothed and didn't have a mustache. The other is the Tovar home. The house presented in the prequel - also looks nothing like the '06 house. It's a different location. Why not just use footage from the remake with a tiny bridge like a porch set for the characters to walk in.  A film like this depends on the effects in this case both practical and CGI. They work for the most part. Can't say it took me out, it was serviceable. I did enjoy looking at the special effects featurette; the CGI insertion of the cemetery in the back of Tovar's business. I knew it was CGI, but did not know to what extent until then. It works. Looking back at this prequel I can say I was entertained, it did it's job. Go in with low exceptions and some ninety minutes to kill, you'll have a decent horror flick. Like I wrote earlier, you could do a lot worse. Not a ringing endorsement, but *making an 'okay' gesture with hand*. In short, if you like the 2006 remake, you'll probably like this too. If not - stay away. - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACK As far as I can tell, there hasn't been a soundtrack (physical or digital only) issued for this direct to video feature film. I can tell you that Jason Brandt reprises his job as composer from the '06 film. Anyhow, if this changes, a CD release - I'll keep you posted. - - - - - - - - - - ADDITIONAL NOTE I want to address this next, a quote from the rear of the case... Quote:
WTF has that guy been smoking? This is nowhere as good as the AMC cable zombie series. To say that, is like demanding to get slapped in the face, by a gentlemen's club bouncer (a rather large fellow named 'Tiny') who's been having a real bad day. You just don't play with fire, dude. You just don't. Oh yeah, there is no stinger at end credits, a miss opportunity. To be honest, the 2006 remake feels like the better movie. - - - - - - - - - - JUST BECAUSE  A behind-the-scenes snap from the 1968 original, chocolate syrup for blood (that's Romero with the can). Last edited by JohnIan; 01-03-2013 at 02:48 AM..
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#14
02-06-2013, 04:08 AM
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PART II: THE REMAKES - C 2
The Blu-Ray like its subject matter, won't say down. I'm speaking of the hated Twilight Time Blu-Ray release of the 1990 remake. Today I made a further discovery. Well, that's not accurate - it was exposed in November of 2012 from the website, Cinema Lowdown. That is, I found out about it today. *nods* The article (click here) was posted a month after my piece. The movie website has a post entitled "Cinematographer Frank Prinzi ASC Shares His Thoughts On Night Of The Living Dead (1990) Blu-Ray", November 11th, 2012 (written by Chaz Lipp). As mention above in my write-up, "Part II: The Remakes - C"; Twilight Time issued a statement about the deep blue hues on their Facebook page. The relevant part of the quote repeated... Quote:
The man in question is Frank Prinzi, the film's cinematographer. Much of the blame, at least from Twilight Time's point of view on directly on Prinzi - he approved transfer. Did he? No. He didn't. A new twist in this disappointing muddle. Cinema Lowdown contacted Prinzi for a comment. And he dropped a bombshell... Quote:
 See that Sony? She's looking at you. Trust me, you don't want that, nor the trowel little Ms. Cooper is holding. Last edited by JohnIan; 02-06-2013 at 04:15 AM..
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03-21-2013, 02:39 AM
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PART IV: THE 1968 CLASSIC RELOADED - D
There is a stench in the air. Foul. It's strong enough to be felt on the back of your throat - demands your full attention; a harbinger of some thing very wrong - it's nearby... Once again this retrospective adds a new title for its home video legion. And no Kiss Army will save your ass from the growing menace. This offering brings us a twist on the Romero fable in "Mimesis: Night Of The Living Dead"...  This 2011 film did not have a theatrical release, it did however have a run in the film festival circuit (and won some awards). It was made with a budget of $500,000 (estimated). There is no box office numbers, obviously and became a direct to home video title.  Released on February 12th, 2013 from Anchor Bay Entertainment (UPC# 0 13132 60074 1) for $26.98. I picked up my copy from Target for $12.99 on release week. It comes with a cardboard slipcover which mirrors the wraparound. There is no insert/booklet. The DVD has twelve chapters. The motion picture is ninety-five minutes long. - - - Extras: * Commentary: director/co-writer Douglas Schulze and co-writer Joshua Wagner - - - Audio: * Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - - - NOTES/REVIEW There are subtitles in English and Spanish. The DVD is not dubbed in any language(s). It is presented in anamorphic widescreen. Let me give you a rundown first. What is this about? In short, it's mimesis; meaning - life imitating art. It's about jaded horror movie fans, taking role playing to the extreme.  The film begins at a convention, Motor City Nightmares, a horror assembly. We are introduced to Duane (Allen Maldonado) and Russell (Taylor Piedmonte), friends. At the cafeteria they meet Judith (Lauren Mae Shafer), a goth girl who offers them an exclusive invitation to a convention after party. A shindig out in the sticks, next to farm house. Can you see where this is going? They do some drinking at the party and try to hook up, at least Duane does, and wake up the following day separated.  Russell finds himself with a convention attendee, Karen (Jana Thompson) at a cemetery; nearby the house. Both have been stripped and redressed, now wearing the attire of Barbra and Johnny. There is no time to reflect as they are attacked by what appears to be a zombie - biting a chunk off Russell's neck. Karen flees, screaming - lots of screaming. Duane is stirred from his drugged slumber inside a pickup truck by her shriek. He too has been redressed as the character Ben. She tells him the improbable, Duane doesn't believe and leaves on foot to find his friend. He finds Russell near death and brings him to the house.  From this point we meet the other victims; a group who were trapped in the basement. A family; Karl (Gavin Grazer), Marilyn (Carol Ilku) and their daughter Kyra (Bryana Dorfman). And one of the party goers, Keith (David G.B. Brown) along with Judith. All given a change of clothes; Karl as Harry Cooper, Marilyn as his wife Helen, Kyra as Karen and Keith as Tom. The odd person out is Judith who is still in her goth getup, unchanged. She is no Judy. Karl tries to leave and is halted by various ghouls outside. It is Keith who sees the situation for what it is, they're in a messed up version of the Romero classic. Things somewhat follows the events in the movie as more are killed and the group is attacked. I'll stop here. You've probably noticed; each of the party is named after an actor from the 1968 movie. So what's the deal? As I wrote above, this is about deranged horror fans - who make their living putting together Halloween attractions, haunted houses and such. They've become so desensitized and want a real kick, a rush; using make-up and metal dentures to role play the undead - to murder. Yeah I know, I expect to see a young Tom Hanks wondering about in the background (go to IMDb, "Mazes And Monsters" [1982], you'll understand - I'm old enough to have see that when it first aired on CBS). This film's original title by the way was "Mimesis: Play Dead".  There is a subplot I've left out. It's pretty weak involving a kidnapped, horror director, Alfonso Betz (Sid Haig). Oh yeah, Bill Hinzman has a cameo as... Police Lieutenant Bill Hinzman. His final acting role by the way. I'm not keeping this movie. It's okay to watch, once (or maybe twice with the commentary), but that's about it. I just didn't care about any of the characters. It had well enough effects and the acting was passable. It's an original story, I'll give them that. But not all that great. There is even a nod to the Jeff Broadstreet remake, "Night Of The Living Dead 3D" (entry on the January 11th, 2012 post).  The gang manages to capture one of the non-zombies. A terrorizer named, Owen (Brian Matthew Richardson). Owen being the name a character (played by Adam Chambers, above right) from the 2006 remake; the Cooper family handyman. Anyhow, not helping is the commentary, it's bland. I'm looking at internet pixs while listening. I am a fan of Sara Jean Underwood. *nods* It's competent, they talk about creating the film, yes. But there's something missing.  The only good thing, that took my interest was the haunting. They shot at an abandoned farm house that was supposedly haunted. One night during filming there was scream, they couldn't find the source, but caught it on audio. After filming the house was mysteriously burnt down. I would've loved to have heard more spooky production stories like that. Sadly, no. - - - - - - - - - - SOUNDTRACKS PART VII  I have no intention to own this. There is a limited edition CD, "Mimesis: Night Of The Living Dead - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Released by Varése Sarabande (VSD-4214) on March 11th, 2013, only 1,000 copies produced. Music composed by Diego Navarro. This has a price tag of $15.98. - - - TRACKS 1. Main Title 2. The Farm 3. Opening Titles 4. Party At Night 5. Zombie Attack (The Zombie Dance) 6. Seriously Injured 7. The Haunted House 8. Evil Feelings 9. A Horrible Feast 10. Revealing The Truth 11. Caught In The House 12. The Plan 13. Night Breakout 14. There Is Nothing We Can Do 15. They Are Coming 16. The Renegade 17. You Knew It All Along 18. The Chase 19. The Devil’s Kiss 20. A Sad Ending 21. The Movies Made Me Do It! - - - Just so you know, Motor City Nightmares is a real horror movie convention (I didn't know that). They have an event happening on April 26th - 28th, 2013, their fifth show. This will be housed at the Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel. Look online for ticket prices and such. There you go. *nods* I'm working on another edition of the '68 movie. I missed one. I had this DVD, but sold it. This was months before I started the project, a decision I regret. I could've still sold it, but a few months later than I did. Oh well. I'm working on it. FYI, there is another remake coming to home video at the end of April - what is old, is new again.
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