DVD Review

Zombies are coming back 40 years later in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD(1968).
© Weinstein Company/Genius Products

Mania Grade: A
DVD: Night of the Living Dead (40th Anniversary )
Rated: Unrated
Starring: Judith O' Dea, Duane Jones, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman
Written By: John Russo, George A. Romero
Directed By: George A. Romero
Distributor: The Weinstein Company & Genius Products
Original Years of Release: 1968
Extras: Two Audio Commentaries, Full-length documentary, two featurettes, still gallery
Buy it now!

DVD Review of Night of the Living Dead 40th Anniversary Edition

By: Tim Janson
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008

Like its zombies, Night of the Living Dead just seems to keep coming back from the grave. The latest DVD release of the classic is a 40th anniversary edition that comes with an outstanding set of extras. There’s no doubt that Night of the Living Dead is one of the most influential horror films of all time. George Romero and John Russo didn’t invent zombies on film, but their prototype of the shambling, flesh-eating, shoot-the-head to kill them, has become the zombie of choice in popular culture. Without Night of the Living Dead we probably wouldn’t have Max Brooks’ World War Z or other popular zombie fiction novels; we probably wouldn’t have video games and film series like Resident Evil. When you consider the film was made on a budget of around $100,000, produced and acted by essentially amateurs, it makes its status all the more incredible. The film was a community effort. The actors served as producers, directors, and make-up artists. Everyone did multiple duties. If the film did have a bigger budget it likely would not have the same impact. Can you imagine it being in color rather than its stark black & white?

The lack of funds forced the crew to be creative. Chocolate syrup stood in for blood, mortician’s makeup was used to fashion the zombies, and a fireworks expert created the gunshot effects. The eerie soundtrack was stock music taken from a variety of sources. If some of it sounds like it came from a campy 1950’s Sci-Fi film you’d be right on the money as some of it did come from the 1959 film Teenagers from Outer Space. Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman who played Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, also provided the sound effects and Eastman did the makeup. Modern critics have lauded the film for its subversive qualities and Vietnam-era take on American Society. But when you hear the actors talk about the film you don’t get the idea that they were trying to send any messages to viewers. They were just trying to make a scary horror film. Night of the Living Dead is an instance where the planets aligned just right and in a remarkable confluence of events and efforts, a near perfect horror film was created. The amateur actors work because they are real people and not professionals.

This 40th anniversary edition features a fully restored and re-mastered cut of the film with features overseen by George Romero himself. First, there are two audio commentaries: One featuring Romero, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, and John Russo. The second features Producer/Actor Russ Streiner (Johnny), Judith O’ Dea (Barbra), Kyra Schon (Karen Cooper), and Karl Hinzman (cemetery zombie).

The main attraction of the 40th Anniversary Edition is the brand new, 83-minute documentary that covers the film from beginning to end. The documentary opens in black & white as an SUV drives through a cemetery. The film switches to color as Streiner and O’Dea visit the same grave where they placed a wreath forty years earlier. The documentary features comments from almost all the surviving cast members including Eastman, Hardman (who just passed away recently), Schon, Hinzman, George Kosana (Sheriff McClelland) Bill Cardille (reporter who played himself), and Ella Mae Smith who played a zombie, along with Romero, Russo, and others in the crew.

Zombies are back again in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD(1968).

It’s fascinating to hear their stories and memories about making the movie. Russo and Streiner returned to the infamous basement where little Karen killed and ate her mother. The basement was actually in an office building in Pittsburgh and looks much the same today. Streiner laments about a flood, which destroyed a number of the film’s assets including prints and press kits. Hinzman (who looks actually younger now than he did as the Cemetery Zombie) talks about the problems he had breaking the window of Barbra’s car with a rock. They also discuss the mistake made in not copyrighting the film, which fell into public domain a few years after the release where it remains today. The documentary alone makes this edition a must have.

“Speak of the Dead” is a 15 minute Q & A with George Romero that took place at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto in August of 2007. Romero discusses many of the film’s influences including the EC Comics from his youth.

“Ben Speaks” is an audio only interview with Duane Jones. The last interview the reclusive actor and professor gave in December 1987. He would pass away the following Summer.

There’s also a still gallery and a copy of the script in .PDF format.

Because of its public domain status there are a lot of versions of the DVD available but this is the only one you MUST own!

DVD Review of Night of the Living Dead 40th Anniversary Edition

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