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This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'Night of the Living Dead' released by The Criterion Collection in February, 2018.
I'm going to start by saying that this is a 5 star release. Everything about this edition is first rate. I've always liked this movie and it's an all-time great horror movie that's as influential as it gets.
That said, I'm still going to dish out some criticism in some sections below. I believe there are no perfect movies and every movie has it's flaws. Especially low budget movies such as this one. Great movies along with cult movies always have fans that think that particular movie is perfect. Not me. I like to use these reviews on Amazon as a way of airing out my complaints which are really just discussion points when I have nobody to discuss these issues with. So yes I'm admitting to having nobody to talk to!
*****IMPORTANT***** I'D LIKE TO GET "DEFENSIVE" FOR A FEW MOMENTS...
With a large number of reviews for various versions of this movie, I'm not sure if there will be very many people reading this. But if you are reading it and you are a fan of this movie, I get it, it's a great movie, I like it too! I'm simply stating some facts and opinions because 'love fests' are boring. Nobody wants to read about how much one particular fan loves a movie. There is no discussion necessary for that sort of thing. It's par for the course to get attacked these days for presenting a differing opinion. That is what usually happens whenever I get critical about a much loved movie or book.
BLU-RAY: The picture is excellent. I did see some graininess at various times so I can't give it a 10 (which I never do anyway) but we can call it a 9. This is good as you can reasonably expect this movie to look.
EXTRA'S - These are excellent and Criterion gets 5 stars for the extra's.
Disc 1:
-Audio Commentary with director George Romero, Co-writer and actor John Russo, actor Marilyn Eastman, who plays Helen, and Production Manager Vincent Survinski. This commentary was made in 1994. A bunch of comments made below, especially in the 'PRODUCTION' section, are facts I learned while listening to this commentary.* I listened to this and you get quite a bit of information about the movie. You have a lot of the key players in the production of the movie commenting so they know almost everything. That is the reason I chose to listen to this.
-Audio Commentary with actress Judith O'Dea, who plays Barbra, S. William Hinzman, who plays the zombie in the graveyard, Kyra Schon, who plays the 11 year old daughter along with the corpse that is dragged on the second floor, Keith Wayne, who plays Tom, Producer-Actor, Karl Hardman and Producer-Actor Russell Streiner. This commentary was made in 1994.* I listened to the first part of this but I wasn't learning a whole lot new. A lot of what I was hearing was similar to the other commentary with George Romero. I'm sure there would be some other new tidbits once we got deeper into the movie, but as of this date I haven't listened to it.
*A NOTE ON THE ABOVE COMMENTARIES-In each audio commentary there is somebody who goes out of their way to try and tell you how smart Duane Jones is. I'm really tired of this sort of thing. Romero made a point of casting a black man in a role that had nothing to do with race. This was extremely rare in his day. Almost all major roles for minorities were in movies that were about race. I don't feel like it's necessary for everyone to go out of their way to tell you how smart a minority is. I think they should let that person's actions and behavior determine their reputation.
-Work print for 'Night of Anubis' - This was the original title of 'Night of the Living Dead'. This is missing the second reel. For all intents and purposes this work print is the finished movie. There are some changes but they are minor. This work print is on 16mm film. It was made from the original negatives which were 35mm. The original audio is missing and the audio from the finished film is used on the work print. I noticed very little that is different. There is a seven minute introduction by Russell Streiner giving the details of how this work print came to be.
Disc 2:
-Light in the Darkness: This was made in 2017. This is a 23 minute tribute to the film. Interviewed are Frank Darabon, Robert Rodriguez and Guillermo Del Toro. They talk about the impact the movie had in it's day.
-Dead Relics: This has an introduction by sound engineer Gary Streiner. There are 18 minutes of dailies that are silent. This is raw footage shot in 16mm in color. There are some alternate takes on scenes in the movie that weren't used. I'd say there are roughly 10 scenes.
-Learning From Scratch: This is a 12 minute 2017 interview with co-writer John Russo. Russo discusses his and Romero's experiences while running Latent Image, their company. They formed this company to film commercials. They made a lot of commercials together. Russo credits this experience with teaching them about film making. As a result they became very good at editing.
-TV Newsreel: This is the only known behind the scenes footage of the making of 'Night of the Living Dead'. It's less than 3 minutes and uses 16 mm color film. It exists on a VHS tape and was made for a local news broadcast.
-Walking Like The Dead: This was made in 2017 but uses interviews from a 2009 documentary. In it,10 cast and crew members relay their experiences. They tell you how they got the job and what instructions they were given along with their experiences with make up. It's about 13 minutes in length.
-Tones of Terror: This is a 2017 interview with producer Jim Cirroella. He talks about the library music used in the movie.
-Limitations into Virtues - This is 12 minutes long and it interviews filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos. The two talk about the style of the movie.
-Tomorrow: This is an episode from the 'Tomorrow' show staring Tom Snyder that was show on July 3, 1979. Snyder interviews George Romero along with Don Coscarelli (Phantasm).
-Higher Learning - This is an interview with George Romero from the 2012 Toronto Film Festival. Romero discusses horror movies and how they scare people. This is about 18 minutes long.
-Interview with Duane Jones - This is an audio interview taken on December 13, 1987. This is probably the only interview he ever granted. Jones did not like talking about the movie. He didn't want to be known as Ben and didn't like being asked the same question's repeatedly. This is an interesting interview. I was surprised at how negative a person he was. The interview lasts about 22 minutes.
-Interview with Judith Ridley: This interview was from 1994 and lasts about 10 minutes. Ridley is surprisingly frank in this interview. She says she couldn't act. She was up for the part of Barbra but lost out. She says she was not disappointed at all and felt that she could not play the part. She got to audition for the roles because she was an employee of Romero's at Latent Image.
-Venus Probe: This is a short, only 32 seconds, newsreel on the Mariner 5 spacecraft the went to Venus.
-Trailers: You get the original 1968 trailer along with a 2017 remake trailer.
-TV Spots: There are two, one is 20 seconds and the other is 60 seconds.
-Radio Spots: There are a total of five radio spots from 1968 and 1970.
PLOT/SUMMARY: I'm not going into any great detail here. My review is from the standpoint of somebody who has seen the movie and wants to know about the quality of the print, the extra's and possibly compare notes with a fellow fan. If you need more detail about the plot, there are innumerable other places to find that information including right here in the Amazon reviews.
Anyway, the plot is quite simple... brother and sister, Johnny and Barbra, are visiting their father's grave in Pennsylvania. They got a late start and it's almost evening. Suddenly a man walking through the graveyard attacks Barbra. Johnny jumps in to help Barbra and gets knocked out when his head hits a tombstone. Barbra runs away and finds refuge in a farmhouse. Shortly thereafter, a man named Ben arrives and starts sealing up the farmhouse. The living dead are beginning to congregate and are trying to get into the farmhouse. Inside on the second floor they find a dead body. Ben quickly learns that the living dead are afraid of fire and starts planning accordingly. A little while later, Barbra and Johnny discover that a couple and a small family have been hiding in the basement. They have a working radio and television and learn that the dead have been coming to life all across the country and everyone is warned to lock themselves in their homes. The group of seven people in the farm house must try to survive until help can come. The problem is that they disagree on how to do this. Harry, the father, wants everyone to go down to the basement and board up the door while Ben and others want to stay in the living room with the television and radio and defend the house from there.
Will they survive the night of the living dead?!?
PRODUCTION: This movie was filmed in 1967 and released in 1968. The budget was slightly over $100,000.
-During production, this movie was originally called 'Flesh Eaters'. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) this name was taken and the production team was served with a cease and desist order during filming. Romero decided to come up with a name that nobody would ever use so this problem wouldn't occur again. That title was 'Night of Anubis' and that is the title on the work print. The distributor had a problem with this title and it was changed to the now legendary 'Night of the Living Dead'.
-Romero got the idea for his story from Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend'.
-George Romero had the choice of filming this movie in color but then he would have had to use 16mm film instead of 35mm. He says the cost would have been the same. He doesn't think the movie would have been nearly as effective in color.
-You see a lightning flash during the scene in the graveyard. This is because it was drizzling when the scene was being filmed and they weren't sure if the rain would show up on the film.
-The automobile that crashes into the tree was actually damaged by the owner while driving it. The owner had an accident after filming had begun so they created the scene with Barbra rolling the car into a tree. The car window being smashed was not a special effect. It was done for real after the production team agreed to pay for a new window.
-The music audio from this movie is not original. It was taken from an audio library much the same way stock footage is used in movies.
-Ben's character was written as a truck driver but the actor who played him, Duane Jones, didn't want him to be a truck driver. He didn't think it fit his personality. Most agree with him.
-Russell Streiner, who plays Johnny, was also one of the producers of this film.
-The skull used for the dead person upstairs was actually a skull from a Revell model.
-Jack Russo, the co-writer of this movie, was the zombie that comes into the house early in the movie and attacks Ben.
-The basement didn't exist in the house. The basement scenes had to be filmed elsewhere. The production team cut a hole in the wall for the door downstairs.
-The house itself no longer exists. It was torn down by the new owners soon after the movie was made.
-The blood used in this movie was made using 3 different methods. They used chocolate syrup, black paint and red ink.
-Marilyn Eastman, who plays Helen, also plays the zombie who eats the insect.
WAS GEORGE ROMERO REALLY PROGRESSIVE? Not by 2019 standard's he's not. He may have been a liberal in 1968, but if he made this movie today, he would be crucified by the media. He wouldn't check off many social justice boxes today. No strong female protagonist, no interracial relationships, no (fill in the blank) characters... I can't use any terms I'm looking for or this review will be flagged for offending somebody. Romero makes all the females behave, dare I say, realistically? How dare he? Your not allowed to make females be reliant on men to protect them. He does check a few boxes though. I'll leave that for you to figure out.
WHAT I LIKE:
-The opening scene when Johnny gets attacked by the zombie in the graveyard. I liked how well this was done. You see the zombie but it is unlike anything else I have ever seen up until that point. You just aren't sure what's going on. Of course today, the unexpected is expected.
-I like movies that are about a group of people trapped in an enclosed environment. This movie fills the bill. It so happens that this scenario works well for low budget movies.
-I like the fact that the most unlikable character in the movie was the one who was correct.
-At first I was surprised by the ending but ultimately I believe it was a good choice. It is a very different ending for an industry that needs them.
-They use a black character for the lead and never even mention race throughout the movie. Romero gets credit for being progressive. But really, by today's standards there was not a lot progressive about it. Romero has stated that he chose Ben because he was the best actor who tried out for the part. If he's telling the truth, race had nothing to do with the choice. In addition, Ben is a deeply flawed character and there is no picking on white people in the movie. A person of color having flaws wouldn't fly with today's progressives.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Yes there will be some nitpicking here...
-I didn't like how some zombies change speeds and strength and also intelligence. Their hunger was inconsistent also. See comment below on Bill Hinzman.
-In the commentary with Bill Hinzman, who played the zombie in the graveyard, Hinzman says that Romero didn't know what to tell him when he questioned him about his sudden strength. He noted that Romero told him that zombies were weak when alone. He indicates that Romero was perplexed and told him to just attack Johnny and kill him in the scene. The intelligence of the zombies was also inconsistent. Most of them act like lemmings but a few used their brains. For instance, when one picks up a rock and smashes the window. Finally, why didn't the graveyard zombie have any interest in eating Johnny?
-I didn't like how long it took for the people downstairs to come up. All they had to do was listen next to the door and they would have known what is going on.
-Why would Ben send Judy down to watch the kid when the mother was already there. What was the mother going to do upstairs other than get in the way? She comes upstairs and smokes a cigarette.
WAS HARRY RIGHT?
-Ultimately Harry was right. He was made out to be the biggest jerk in the movie, yet I agreed with him 100 percent about going into the basement. To me, the obvious choice was to go into the basement. I didn't even think it should be up for debate. Just take all the food and water you can get and bring it down there. There were numerous places for the living dead to break in and by making noise they were attracting them. In the basement no light could be seen or sound could be heard. It would be next to impossible for the dead to break in if you put even a little effort into boarding the door. The movie itself proved Ben to be wrong. After everyone dies, what does he do? He goes into the basement and easily survives the night. He didn't even have to board the place up. He just had to slide one board to lock the door and that was it. At that point he must have been feeling like an idiot.
WAIT... ARE THESE REALLY ZOMBIES?: Not really. They are the living dead. Romero himself has told us that. It's somebody else's fault for calling them 'zombies' and a lot of people's fault for going with it after the mistake was made. Before this movie, Zombies were generally created through some ritual. Often, they could be controlled. They didn't mindlessly eat people. I'm not sure who started calling the living dead, 'zombies', but the two are pretty much interchangeable to today's audiences.
YOUR LOW BUDGET IS SHOWING:
-When the dead body on the second floor is moved you can see the actor's face and there is no rotting flesh make up on it. It's just a plain face.
-After Ben puts shoes on Barbra's feet, they suddenly disappear in the next shot.
-The transition from day to night happened too quickly. Yes, I know this is really nitpicking on a low budget movie.
-If you watch carefully, in one of the scenes where they are boarding up the house, you can see writing on the back of one of the boards. The writing was instructions on where to place the board. The production team had to remove the boards and replace them because they shot the scenes out of order.
-Barbra wipes the blood off her hand, but there is none there.
HOW INFLUENTIAL WAS THIS MOVIE?: Probably too many ways to count.
-The stupendously dumb teenager is born! For that matter... the stupid everyone in a horror movie is born. I said the same thing about 'Halloween' on this subject, but that was for just 'slasher' movies. This is for the entire horror genre.
-The zombie movie becomes big time even though zombies are never mentioned in this movie. From Romero's own sequels to comedies like 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Zombieland' to television series like 'The Walking Dead' to mega tentpole summer flics like 'World War Z', zombies are everywhere these days.
-The flesh eating zombie was born. Before this time, zombies acted mostly as slaves or servants.
-I'm guessing the 'destroy their brains' method of killing zombies (living dead) was invented in this movie. I could be wrong but...
-While not the first to do so, this movie had an unhappy ending. When Romero showed the movies to distributors, aside from minimizing the gore, all the major companies wanted a happy ending. Obviously he declined.
OTHER COMMENTS:
-Ultimately I didn't think that Ben was the hero that everyone made him out to be. His intentions may have been good but his decision making was terrible. His decision to stay upstairs and not go into the basement was terrible choice (I go into this in a section above).
-The production team had Johnny put on gloves in the car so he would be more easily recognized when he came back as a zombie later in the movie.
-I'm not sure why Ben wanted to board up the upstairs windows. It's not like the zombies could get there. In addition they needed the wood downstairs for further protection.
RECOMMENDATIONS: This is the way all noteworthy movies should be treated. This release features an excellent film restoration and excellent extra's. Everything you want or need to know about this movie can be found on these Blu-Ray discs.
Clearly this is a 5 star release. Just as this movie defined the zombie movie, this release defines what makes a good release. I'm not going to waste anybodies time by breaking down my ratings for the different aspects of this movie.
Highly Recommended for any fan of horror movies, anywhere, anytime.
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Romero's Classic Has Never Looked Better!
**THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2-DISC BLU-RAY EDITION FROM THE CRITERION COLLECTION SERIES**This is the one you want! I am absolutely impressed with the entire package. The set features new artwork throughout and an essay on the film that unfolds and includes a poster on the reverse side. Disc 1 includes the theatrical film, a work-print edit of the film, and two commentary tracks. Disc 2 is loaded with bonuses, including interviews with the cast and crew covering all facets of the movie- some that are archival and others that were produced specifically for this package. Discs, booklet, and cover art are all housed in one of those fantastic, durable cases that Criterion is known for. Picture and sound have been expertly restored, making for a crisp, clear picture and well-balanced sound. I highly, highly recommend this set for your collection.
Top reviews from other countries
ヒー
ファンならば、ためらわずして購入を!
Reviewed in Japan on July 15, 2018
ヒー
Reviewed in Japan on July 15, 2018
惜しくも故人となってしまったジョージ・Ａ・ロメロ監督の「ゾンビ」シリーズ第１弾!!
ニューヨーク近代美術館にも所蔵されている言わずと知れたホラー映画の名作です。
ＣＧ全盛期に生きる現代人にとって、この映画のどこが怖いの？と若年層の方々には思われるかも知れませんが、ゾンビのお約束を築き挙げた記念すべき映画です。
おそらくこれだけの収録内容のブルーレイを、日本のメーカーが出すとは思えないのでこの度購入しました。
私が購入した金額は２９９４円。
盛り沢山の内容で３０００円以下の金額。
アメリカのケンタッキー州からの発送で、注文から約１３日で手元に到着しました。
購入して間もないのですが、価格が上昇しつつある貴重な逸品だと思います。
とにかく映画の内容や説明は、私如きファンがする必要がないと思いますので、このブルーレイに関してレビューしたいと思います。
まず最初に肝心なのは画質ですネ。
言わずと知れた高画質ソフト販売の老舗、クライテリオン社製のブルーレイだけあって、私が過去に見たソフトの中では最高画質です。
本編は、４Ｋレストアレイションされた画質だけあって本当に綺麗です。
日本盤のハピネット版と比べてもその差は歴然です。
ハピネット版は、画面の白い部分にフィルム・グレインが粗くて黒ポチが大きく目立ちますが、クライテリオン社版はフィルム・グレインが細かくてあまり目立ちません。
ただし、白黒画面の古い映画だけあって、個人的な好みが分かれるところだと思います。
共通して言えることは、この会社から販売されている日本映画の名作「ゴジラ」や「七人の侍」、「用心棒」、「椿三十郎」と同様に、日本盤とは違った黒潰れすることのない見易い画面になっていると言うところ。
特にパソコンなどの小さい画面では画質にあまり差がつきませんが、大画面で見るとハッキリ違ってきます。
今回見比べて見ましたが、オープニングで車が手前に曲がって右側に消えて行くシーンで、画面の左側に立っている電柱が、ハピネット版ではフィルム・グレインの粗さのせいか、電柱のエッジが少しユラついて見えますが、クライテリオン社版の方はユラつきのないエッジで綺麗に見えます。
また音声もレストアされたモノラル・サウンドトラックを収録しているためオリジナルの良さが存分に伝わって来る出来具合です。
そして何と言っても２枚組ブルーレイであること！
特典映像の多さでは右に出るモノはないのではないでしょうか？
新規のドキュメンタリーや本編では未使用となった貴重カットを含む１６ｍｍデイリーなど盛り沢山。
特にこの本編を収録したＤｉｓｃ１には、特典映像として「Night of Anubis」（死者の神の夜）が収録されていること！
アヌビスとはエジプト神話に出て来る体は人間で頭がジャッカルという死者の神のこと。
この映画「ナイト・オブ・アヌビス」は、フィルムを保管していた地下室が、洪水で水浸しとなって失われたと思われていた幻のワークプリント版で、このブルーレイが世界初公開となる大変貴重なバージョン。
これだけでも見られるなら、是非購入すべき逸品でしょう。
ただし画質は、ワークプリント用のフィルムなのであまり綺麗ではありません。
良いことだらけの「Criterion Collection：Night of the Living Dead [Blu-ray]」ですが、難を言えば輸入盤なので日本語字幕がないこと。
そして紙ジャケットなところがイマイチ残念でした。
まぁ～ファンの方なら何度も見ているので、日本語字幕は必要ないと言えば必要ないのですが････。
収納するジャケットは、写真で紹介されている白黒の絵で描かれたジャケットで紙製のボックス状になっています。
中に入っているプラスチックの固定ケースは、紙製の台紙に接着されているタイプで、それを引き出す感じになっています。
せめて中だけは、全てブルーレイのプラスチック・ケースにして欲しかったですネ。
プラスチックの固定ケースは、縦に２枚収納できるようになった段差のあるタイプで、本編ディスクは上にあって出しやすいのですが、特典ディスクは若干気を付けて出さないといけないのが欠点で、それを紙の表紙でフタをするような感じになっています。
また出来れば、デジタルカラー化したカラーライズ版も収録して欲しかったと願うのは贅沢でしょうか？
とにかく購入して損はなかったと思うソフトでした。
と言うことで星５つ以外に考えられないと言う評価になりました。
Images in this review
Matthew
Classic Horror with a brand new 4k transfer have never looked so good!
Reviewed in Canada on November 15, 2020
Matthew
Reviewed in Canada on November 15, 2020
Images in this review
The Doomsday Movie Freak
La edicion definitiva de the night of the living dead!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on August 5, 2018