Due to the original theatrical distributor neglecting to place a copyright notice on prints of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the George Romero film has been in the public domain since day one. Unfortunately, this has meant that anyone with a mind to do so could release the film on home-media, and we've certainly received our fair share of sub-par transfers of the iconic horror film. Several years ago, the Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation began working from the original camera negatives to give the film a 4K digital restoration, with George Romero saying, "What we have now, for good or for bad, is exactly what I shot. This is closer than anything we’ve seen to the definitive version of the film. It’s in the right format, 1.33:1, and that’s never been seen before either."
For those hoping to bring the film home in what will hopefully be its definitive state, Criterion has announced that they will be releasing NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13, 2018.
Here are the special features and technical specs:
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director George A. Romero, coscreenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner, and producer Russell W. Streiner
- New restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Gary R. Streiner, and presented uncompressed on the Blu-ray
- Night of Anubis, a never-before-presented work-print edit of the film
- New program featuring filmmakers Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, and Robert Rodriguez
- Never-before-seen 16 mm dailies reel
- New piece featuring Russo about the commercial and industrial-film production company where key Night of the Living Dead filmmakers got their start
- Two audio commentaries from 1994, featuring Romero, Russo, producer Karl Hardman, actor Judith O’Dea, and more
- Archival interviews with Romero and actors Duane Jones and Judith Ridley
- New programs about the editing, the score, and directing ghouls
- New interviews with Gary R. Streiner and Russel W. Streiner
- Trailer, radio spots, and TV spots
- More!
- PLUS: An essay by critic Stuart Klawans
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD will be released by Criterion on February 13, 2018.
