| “When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” |
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Dawn of the Dead - Ultimate Edition
3 DVDS/APPROX. 127MINS/1978/USA R18+
3 DVDS/APPROX. 127MINS/1978/USA R18+
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It would be rare that you would come by a George A. Romero or Zombie film fanatic who hasn’t seen this film before, so I will be focusing more on
the kick ass release as I really don’t have to convince anyone that the film is worth checking out.
Dawn of the Dead has been hailed as Romero’s masterpiece, his best film and “one of the best horror films ever made” (Ebert). There is no denying
that Dawn of the Dead is a classic film. Although not my favourite Romero (I prefer Martin) it’s definitely in my top three. We’ve probably all
thought or dreamed about how fun it would be to be locked inside a mall (or shopping centre as they are known here in Kiwi land); to be able to
run free and eat, do and take whatever you want is something that given the opportunity we would all love to do. But to do it in the midst of
zombies? Sure, I mean it might take away the edge off being scared out of your fucking mind that there’s grotesque flesh eating beasts roaming
around, but I have to wonder if a fur coat and all the shoes I could carry would distract me from an occurring zombie epidemic.
So onto the DVDs!
Disc One is the theatrical version which runs for 127 minutes. This is the same as the single disc release of the film. The features (as on the single
disc) are: “ The Dead Will Walk Documentary” (75 mins), an audio commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini & Chris Romero. Audio
commentary with Richard Rubinstein, Biographies and Filmographies, Original Radio Spots, Original Reviews, Photo Gallery and Theatrical Trailers.
The Audio commentary with George and Chris Romero, and Tom Savini is the most interesting commentary out of all featured on the three discs as
they tell heaps of interesting stories and have good chemistry together. Some of the other commentaries are a bit boring or too
production/business-end orientated.
Disc Two is the extended version which was shown at the Cannes festival and runs for 139 minutes (the theatrical runs for 127). The extra minutes
consist of more dialogue, action and some more gore. This version isn’t as tight as the theatrical version and doesn’t have the same DVD treatment
as the first disc either. On this disc is an audio commentary with Richard P. Rubinstein moderated by Perry Martin, and a feature “In Conversation
with George A. Romero”- interview at the Melbourne International Film Festival (2008) which has a run time of 50 minutes. There is also a stills
gallery.
Disc Three is the Dario Argento cut of the film and runs for 119 minutes. This version has to be the worst of the three, although you think it would
be kind of cool because of Argento but it really took a lot away from the film and brought it down to a more run of the mill action/horror film. On
this disc you have a commentary with David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H Reiniger and Gaylen Ross. There’s also an 85 minute feature “Document of
the Dead Documentary” and a stills gallery.
The Document of the Dead Documentary is an informative documentary that examines Romero’s movie making methods and follows Dawn of the
Dead from pre to post production. It is painfully in-depth and horribly narrated by a drowsy female and ultimately is a doco that might appeal to all
you budding horror directors.
Considering the one disc version of this retails for $24.99 Aus, you would be crazy not to pick up this three disc set that retails at only $34.99 and
has a run time of 440 minutes. This DVD will keep you occupied for days. Considering there’s 210 minutes worth of features / documentaries /
interviews etc, simply put you’re getting a really good deal here. The difference between this and the R1 release is that the extras are featured on
the fourth disc and there are a few more (some of which are easter eggs) and apparently a 4 page booklet too, that and it retails for $37.99 US
dollars excluding postage!
I’d highly recommend this disc for fans of this film who are stuck with the 1 disc release, this is a far superior release but of course whether you
want to buy it again depends on how much you dig the film. For those yet to purchase a copy, look no further than Umbrella’s Ultimate edition!
the kick ass release as I really don’t have to convince anyone that the film is worth checking out.
Dawn of the Dead has been hailed as Romero’s masterpiece, his best film and “one of the best horror films ever made” (Ebert). There is no denying
that Dawn of the Dead is a classic film. Although not my favourite Romero (I prefer Martin) it’s definitely in my top three. We’ve probably all
thought or dreamed about how fun it would be to be locked inside a mall (or shopping centre as they are known here in Kiwi land); to be able to
run free and eat, do and take whatever you want is something that given the opportunity we would all love to do. But to do it in the midst of
zombies? Sure, I mean it might take away the edge off being scared out of your fucking mind that there’s grotesque flesh eating beasts roaming
around, but I have to wonder if a fur coat and all the shoes I could carry would distract me from an occurring zombie epidemic.
So onto the DVDs!
Disc One is the theatrical version which runs for 127 minutes. This is the same as the single disc release of the film. The features (as on the single
disc) are: “ The Dead Will Walk Documentary” (75 mins), an audio commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini & Chris Romero. Audio
commentary with Richard Rubinstein, Biographies and Filmographies, Original Radio Spots, Original Reviews, Photo Gallery and Theatrical Trailers.
The Audio commentary with George and Chris Romero, and Tom Savini is the most interesting commentary out of all featured on the three discs as
they tell heaps of interesting stories and have good chemistry together. Some of the other commentaries are a bit boring or too
production/business-end orientated.
Disc Two is the extended version which was shown at the Cannes festival and runs for 139 minutes (the theatrical runs for 127). The extra minutes
consist of more dialogue, action and some more gore. This version isn’t as tight as the theatrical version and doesn’t have the same DVD treatment
as the first disc either. On this disc is an audio commentary with Richard P. Rubinstein moderated by Perry Martin, and a feature “In Conversation
with George A. Romero”- interview at the Melbourne International Film Festival (2008) which has a run time of 50 minutes. There is also a stills
gallery.
Disc Three is the Dario Argento cut of the film and runs for 119 minutes. This version has to be the worst of the three, although you think it would
be kind of cool because of Argento but it really took a lot away from the film and brought it down to a more run of the mill action/horror film. On
this disc you have a commentary with David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H Reiniger and Gaylen Ross. There’s also an 85 minute feature “Document of
the Dead Documentary” and a stills gallery.
The Document of the Dead Documentary is an informative documentary that examines Romero’s movie making methods and follows Dawn of the
Dead from pre to post production. It is painfully in-depth and horribly narrated by a drowsy female and ultimately is a doco that might appeal to all
you budding horror directors.
Considering the one disc version of this retails for $24.99 Aus, you would be crazy not to pick up this three disc set that retails at only $34.99 and
has a run time of 440 minutes. This DVD will keep you occupied for days. Considering there’s 210 minutes worth of features / documentaries /
interviews etc, simply put you’re getting a really good deal here. The difference between this and the R1 release is that the extras are featured on
the fourth disc and there are a few more (some of which are easter eggs) and apparently a 4 page booklet too, that and it retails for $37.99 US
dollars excluding postage!
I’d highly recommend this disc for fans of this film who are stuck with the 1 disc release, this is a far superior release but of course whether you
want to buy it again depends on how much you dig the film. For those yet to purchase a copy, look no further than Umbrella’s Ultimate edition!
| BUY THE SET @ UMBRELLAENT.COM.AU |
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