Que the Goblin Music…
In 1968, director George A. Romero brought us “Night Of The Living Dead.” It became the definitive horror film of its time. Eleven years later, he would unleash the most shocking motion picture experience for all times. As modern society is consumed by zombie carnage, four desperate survivors barricade themselves inside a shopping mall to battle the flesh-eating hordes of the undead. This is the ferocious horror classic, featuring landmark gore effects by Tom Savini, that remains one of the most important and most controversial horror films in history.
George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead could very well be the greatest horror movie ever made. So when I heard that Anchor Bay was giving this baby a Hi-Def treatment on Blu-Ray this was the first movie I bought for my Playstation 3. I am a child of the late 70’s and the 80’s. I grew up watching Dawn of the Dead. Most of you out there most likely have never even seen this gem of a horror flick. You might have seen the mediocre Dawn of the Dead Remake. Trust me, forget all about that cheesy flick. This is the real deal. George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is the definitive zombie flick. Even with the fact that next year will be Dawn of the Dead’s 30th Anniversary (do I smell a 30th Anniversary Dawn of the Dead Blu-Ray disc in the near future?)
Watching George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is like riding a roller coaster for 2+ hours while reading a kick-ass horror comic book (did you all get that?). Romero puts on the screen characters that you can like, characters that you can root for. He gives you depth and soul. This is something that is lost in today’s horror movies. The whole basis of the movie takes place right after George Romero’s film Night of the Living Dead. Basically the dead are coming back to life and attacking the living. Everybody is trying to find a solution. A group of people hide up in a shopping mall and cut off the doors, making the mall pretty much a big-ass home for themselves. But trouble hits their little paradise when a army of crazy bikers busts into the mall, wanting it for themselves.
One thing that I want to add is that there are a ton of different version of Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Dario Argento had the European rights and released his own version of Romero’s film under the name Zombi: Dawn of the Dead. That version had some hard cuts to 118 minutes (no zombie getting his head hacked by the helicopter blade, etc) as well as a full Goblin soundtrack. There is also a 139 minute version which has a ton of new scenes. Both were released on the 4-Disc Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition DVD set. There is also a German (Pal) 156 minute version from Astro DVD. This Blu-Ray disc release is the 127 minute Romero version. It is missing about 10-12 minutes. But this is the version that Romero envisioned when he cut the movie together.
The Transfer:
George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead has made a very nice transfer over to High-Definition thanks to Anchor Bay. I am not surprised by this though. Anchor Bay has held the rights to Dawn of the Dead for the last few years dating back to the first release on DVD and they have always brought out great editions of the movie. One of the best Box Sets ever to be released on DVD was Anchor Bay’s 4-Disc Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition DVD. This version has a crisp, clean picture which kicks it at 1080i/1080p. I grew up on the HBO/Thorn VHS tape of Dawn of the Dead. And the quality was so bad that the undead looked blue. I have pretty much seen a ton of DVD’s from Germany, Japan as well as here in the US. And this is by far the best picture quality I have seen for Dawn of the Dead. You can almost see the make-up smears on a few of the zombies faces. The colors are bright and clear, the blacks are not washed out and there is very little film grain/scratches. The blood looks colorful and bright as hell, giving it that comic book feel. There is nothing like seeing a Romero-style zombie attack in high-definition. Overall the Anchor Bay/Starz version of Dawn of the Dead on Blu-Ray is beautifully done.
The Sound:
The Blu-Ray disc version of Dawn of the Dead is presented in Dolby Surround 5.1, PCM 5.1 and Original Mono. The sounds are overall pretty good. Everything from the original transfer is here. From the stock music to the awesome soundtrack by Italian group Goblin. Listen to this movie with a kick-ass surround sound system is pretty awesome. From the sounds of the guns blaring to the thunderous engines of the motorcycles at the end, the sound is pretty impressive. Especially for a film that is almost 30 years old. Overall the sound department on this disc is pretty good. Another great job by Anchor Bay…
Disc Extras:
The first thing you will notice is the feature “The Dead Will Walk”. This is the behind the scenes video that was on the 4-Disc Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition DVD. It is basically everybody from the movie talking about how the movie was made and memories. This alone is worth the price of admission. You hear from pretty much everybody that had a hand in the film. From Tom Savini to George Romero and his wife, the actors (David Emge, Scott Reiniger, Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross, etc) as well as people who helped behind the scene (John Harrison, Dario Argento, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin, Mike Gornick, etc…). Also included is the Monroeville Mall Tour, which is another item lifted from the 4-Disc Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition DVD. There is nothing really big here except for the fact that you see what the mall looks like today. Sadly, Roy Frumkes “Document of the Dead” is not included on this disc.
Dawn of the Dead Blu-Ray Features:
- Widescreen Presentation (1080p)
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini, Assistant Director Chris Romero and DVD Producer Perry Martin
- Monroeville Mall Tour
- On-Set Home Movies
- The Dead Will Walk Featurette Trailers (US & International)
- Radio Spots
- TV Spots
- Fast Film Facts (Blu-Ray exclusive)
- Subtitles (English)
Overall the extras on the Blu-Ray version of Dawn of the Dead is very good. It is not as deep as the 4-Disc Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition DVD but it does include some of the good stuff. I kind of wish that it also included Roy Frumkes “Document of the Dead” feature but who knows. As I said, next year is Dawn’s 30th Anniversary. And I am sure (hoping anyway) that Anchor Bay is already hard at work on a 30th Anniversary Blu-Ray disc.
The Bottom Line:
If you are a horror fan you must pick this Blu-Ray disc up. When I first picked up my Playstation 3 system, 10 minutes later I was making a stop at MovieStop and buying the Blu-Ray disc. You can find this disc from $20-25 in verious stores. I picked mine up at MovieStop, and they had it for $19.99. Best Buy has it for $24.99. Either way you are picking up a kick-ass flick in High-Definition. Dawn of the Dead is one of George A. Romero’s best movies, and it’s one of the best horror movies ever…
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