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Movie Reviews:

Written and Directed by George A. Romero
Starring:
David Emge
Ken Foree
Scott H. Reiniger
Gaylen Ross

I’m going to begin with an all-new 75-minute documentary called THE DEAD WILL WALK. I have seen numerous documentaries; I’ve made two of them myself and have to say this one really impressed me. I like the way THE DEAD WILL WALK is organized. Interviews, footage from the film, behind the scenes footage is presented pretty much the same order as it happens in DAWN OF THE DEAD. Beginning at the TV station, moving to the SWAT team in the low rent housing building, zombies in basement, the small airport…you get the picture. This works well as anyone who knows DAWN OF THE DEAD will enjoy this storytelling design. I was pretty flabbergasted at how many of the principal people (including George & Christine Romero, Tom Savini, DP Michael Gornick, Co-Producers Dario Argento & Claudio Argento, composer Claudio Simonetti, Sound Recordist Tony Buba to name a few) and even recognizable extra zombies are part of the documentary. To me this shows that Perry Martin and Anchor Bay have gone the distance to make this the most comprehensible behind the scenes film chronicling the making of DOTD. The picture quality, graphics and sound of THE DEAD WILL WALK are all outstanding. This is not your average, politically correct gloss over electronic press kit featurette. The person behind this is passionate about DAWN OF THE DEAD; we benefit big time because of it.

DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD is also included on this DVD and we should thank Synapse Films for teaming up with Anchor Bay. Most folks have probably seen this 95-minute documentary but it’s cool that it’s part of The Ultimate Edition. To tell you the truth, I had not seen the parts added since the documentary was originally made. The footage shot on the DOTD set is invaluable and it was great to hear what George Romero, Tom Savini, Richard Rubinstein actually felt while they were making the film. It was a real added bonus to see the behind the scenes footage of TWO EVIL EYES.

On Set Home Movies with Audio Commentary by Zombie Extra Robert Langer is 13 minutes of 8mm film footage that any DOTD fan will enjoy. It doesn’t matter how rough the film looks, it is never before seen footage taken on the DOTD set and is priceless.

The digital video footage of Monroeville Mall Tour shot by Gregory Nicotero is much cleaner than the 8mm footage and you should enjoy seeing what the famous DOTD location looks like now. The stairways and boiler room still look the same. Actor Ken Foree acts as the host.

I don’t want rehash my description of DAWN OF THE DEAD since I reviewed the Divimax Edition last month (please read that review for story description and my thoughts of the feature film).

What I will do is tell you which version out of the three I prefer. This is not an easy question to answer because truthfully each version has its own qualities.

US Theatrical Version is probably the all around best version of the film. It moves quicker than the Extended Edition and has more character development than the European Edition. This is the version of the film George Romero prefers and I can see why. Goblin and the library music are used in tandem and give the film a soundtrack that works. George Romero, Christine Romero and Tom Savini speak on the Audio Commentary about how difficult; yet fun it was to make DOTD. It’s kind of sad to hear how difficult it is for them to get films made today and you have to hope that they can do it again soon.

Extended Version runs 12 minutes longer than the Theatrical Version and it is worth seeing because of this. But like most cases, the footage doesn’t necessarily make the movie better as it slows the film down and some of the performances in cut scenes are questionable at times. The added gore will wet the appetite of the bloodhounds. Audio Commentary by Producer Richard Rubinstein is kind of a dry and blunt but what can you expect from a businessman. To his credit, you hear how Rubinstein stood by Romero and agreed to put the film out the way Romero wanted to release it. Rubinstein credits Romero as his creative film mentor and you do have to admit they made a great team.

European Version producer Dario Argento cut the film down, added dialogue parts and used Goblin music much more. The Goblin music does add atmosphere but the cuts took away some of the character development and made the movie feel more choppy (a problem I feel almost all Italian zombie movies have). Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, David Emge and Gaylen Ross provide Audio Commentary. These actors take a laid-back approach recounting their involvement and stating their opinions of what they think of the film now. They are proud of DOTD but don’t come across pretentious.

Anchor Bay has given every version a startling wide screen transfer, stellar Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0 sound, astonishing DVD menus that glitter with vibrant color and terrific music cues from the movie.

DAWN OF THE DEAD – The Ultimate Edition is the BEST DVD RELEASE so far in 2004.

www.anchorbayentertainment.com/dawnofthedead/

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