'The Dead' series.. (Romero)

J

Jenay da fudgy buddy

New member
Rented the remake of Dawn Of The Dead at the weekend, and have to say it was not particulary very good... Though it did get me wanting to watch my original VHS copies of the original 3 'Dead' movies (Even though Romero has all but disowned Day of the Dead)... But to my disappointment, my VHS copies have disappeared, so it looks like a perfect time to upgrade to DVD for these films...

Which versions are the best to get, and where from, there seems to be sooo many copies all over the place
 
Have to go for Region 1 for decent versions of these. Try Anchor Bay's Ultimate Edition of "Dawn Of The Dead" - bit pricey, but you get three versions of the film (including Dario Argento's cut and soundtrack), 5.1, uncut, widescreen, "Dawn" comic, etc., plus Anchor Bay have thoughtfully colourized the orange blood back to blood red. For "Day", try the Divimax Edition, 5.1 Uncut widescreen. Both available on PlayUSA.
 
You may already know this, but if you're planning on getting "Night of the Living Dead" avoid the 30th Anniversary Edition like the plague! Visually it's a brilliant remaster, but the new music track and additional scenes are hideous, and ruin any enjoyment of the movie. However, the recent UK release (comes in a black metal DVD case, released by Contender) is (IMO) the best release you can get (and I understand that this is the first release of this particular movie released with "Romero's blessing", unlike the million and one other releases!).
 
Surely it's better to wait for the inevitable zombie quadrilogy with Land of the Dead in it?
Anchor Bay seem to re-release Dawn of the Dead in a slightly different version every couple of months. It's comical really.
 
The definitive DVRAB are:

Night of the Living Dead (Millennium Edition) - Region 1, single disc with many extras and the best available transfer (and Romero endorsed).

Dawn of the Dead (Ultimate Edition) - Region 1, 4 discs with many extras and 3 different versions of the film, also the best transfers available.

Day of the Dead (Divimax version although not officially called that) - Region 1, 2 discs with extras and another excellent transfer.

All are available from DVD Pacific, which is where I got mine, good prices too.

Check these links to see for yourself the differences (in some cases quite radical in terms of bonus material and picture/sound quality) between different versions:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/nightlivingdead.htm

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare5/dawnofthedead.htm

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/dayofdead.htm

Hope this helps!
 
In the Day of the Dead documentary he states that it's his favourite, before going on to say it's better crafted than Dawn of the Dead, which was merely a comic book romp. That footage is probably a couple of years old so maybe Land of the Dead changes his opinion.
 
The central setup of Land of the Dead, if memory serves, is pretty much what Romero wanted to do with Day of the Dead but didn't have the budget to do it so ended up setting it in a missile silo.
I enjoyed LOTD - it's short but it's also perhaps the funniest (in a sick, intentional way) of them all.
 
i've just seen the Night of the Living Dead 30th Anniversary edition and the new scenes are awful.. the acting is the worst i've ever scene and the soundtrack puts you off as well.. it says it's directed by John Russo rather than Romero which seems trange

NOTLD is def the scariest and best one
 
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