DAWN OF THE DEAD: Ultimate Edition

The popularity of DVD has made the mainstream viewing public more aware of the idea of film as a liquid medium, which adapts a given work to the medium and venue it's presented in. Though it's appeared in all sorts of ways from 16mm rentals to VCD Sergio Leone's masterpiece ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST has never been seen in its original 165-minute cut since its release in 1969, despite several "restorations" (including the recent deluxe DVD edition). DAWN OF THE DEAD has been no exception to this process, having appeared in a variety of cuts and formats since its completion. When Anchor Bay Entertainment released the original U.S. theatrical version as a beautifully remastered DVD back in March 2004, in part to cash in on the theatrical release of the film's remake, we predicted that they would follow with a multidisc set that would also include the 139-minute extended cut that they'd already previously released in two editions. However, this Ultimate Edition four-disc set far exceeds those expectations.

Disc 1 is identical to the previous release, with ABE's crystal clear DiviMax transfer, superb multiple Dolby Surround soundtrack mixes, and commentrak by George and Chris Romero and Tom Savini. Please refer to our previous review for a complete rundown.

Disc 2 contains the extended version, which was prepared while the film was being edited with library music for the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. This is not a "director's cut", as has been advertised previously for its release on tape, laserdisc and DVD, but it does contain extended edits of a lot of scenes, including more gore footage. In effect, Romero trimmed this version to improve the pace and portray the vision he intended, no matter what was happening on screen. Some gorehounds and DEAD fans prefer this version because it's a bit more intense and is less slick, and it's interesting to see the differences in how the picture plays. And let's face it, if you love this movie, sometimes a longer DAWN is what you want. Producer Richard P. Rubinstein sits in with ABE DVD producer Perry Martin to chat about the film's genesis, but he also talks quite a bit about the producer's role and his work with Romero on sports documentaries. Since this track was obviously recorded later than that on disc 1, he can also talk more about the remake a bit too defensively as it turns out, since reaction to the remake has been nearly all positive. The disc is filled out with a vintage commercial for the Monroeville Mall location, and three photo galleries, which could have used some captions here and there. For example, why is there a scan of a check? What's the significance?

Disc 3 contains yet another version of the film. This one was edited by co-producer Dario Argento (director of SUSPIRIA and many other Eurohorror classics, in case you don't know) for distribution in Europe under the title ZOMBIE. It's a several minutes shorter than the U.S. version, with most of the lighter material cut out, but some of the violence extended. Humor doesn't always translate, but blood does. With a full score by Goblin replacing any library music, it has a slightly grimmer tone overall. In contrast, this disc has the party commentrak. Cast members Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross, David Emge and Scott Reiniger have a grand time cutting up and reminiscing, and it's easy to get caught up in their fun. In keeping with the international theme, the disc also contains European trailers and TV spots, galleries of international ad art and video packaging, and a text biography of Argento.

Part of the surprise in this set is that all three versions have been given a DiviMax remaster. This makes perfect sense when you consider that it's always in a distributor's interest to preserve their properties in the best possible form but as we know, a lot of distributors don't bother to maintain their libraries so carefully. Apparently ABE's new owners value the label's reputation as film preservationists, and are dedicated to upgrading quality whenever possible. While only two channel mono is available on the extended version, the Euroversion has been afforded 5.1 and 2.0 Surround tracks in addition to an original mono track.

Disc 4 is dedicated entirely to documentary material, leading off with THE DEAD WILL WALK, a new feature length interview/clip retrospective. 21 cast & crew members participate in the interviews, including Argento (who at 64 looks healthier than he ever has before). Of course, when you think of DAWN OF THE DEAD and documentaries, you automatically think of Roy Frumkes' DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD, the on set guerilla behind-the-scenes feature that may be one of the best documentaries ever made on a single movie. Knowing this, ABE has made sure to include it here as well (courtesy of Synapse Films, who have their own deluxe DVD available). One stop shopping! In 1989, Frumkes shot more footage to update his film to encompass Romero's films since, but it's still focused mainly on DAWN.

Frumkes wasn't the only one shooting behind-the-scenes footage at the Monroeville Mall back then. Some young fans that appeared as zombies brought their own camera, and 13 minutes of their footage is included here, along with commentary by zombie cameraman Bob Langer. And in a final featurette, another fan videotapes as Ken Foree takes us on a tour of the mall as it is today. An easily found Easter Egg leads to a Japanese Buddhist monk's appreciation of DAWN OF THE DEAD. By the way, ABE has created some wonderfully creative and effective menu designs, without taking up a lot of bitspace with video inserts. The design for disc 4, a reworking of some title graphics for the documentary, is especially nice.

One disappointment with the previous edition was that the comic-book "preview" turned out to be a simple ad. ABE makes up for that by including a full color 28-page preview here. A nice gesture, but unfortunately still a disappointment, as the comic's art fails to capture the essence of the film.

Now that they've created the ultimate DAWN OF THE DEAD DVD, one wonders just what can possibly be done for the next edition.