Night of the Living Dead (DVD, 2002, Millennium Edition)

Product Details:

Actors: Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille, Charles Craig (II), Frank Doak, Marilyn Eastman, Jack Givens
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Region: Region 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: Unrated
Studio: ELITE ENTERTAINMENT
DVD Release Date: March 12, 2002
Run Time: 96 minutes
ASIN: B00005Y6Y2

Title Note:

Theatrical release: October 1, 1968.

Filmed in 1964 in the countryside around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1999.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was director George Romero's first feature film.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD produced two sequels, DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) and DAY OF THE DEAD (1985); one remake, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990); and countless imitations.

William Hinzman, who appeared as the Cemetery Zombie at the beginning of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, also served as cinematographer on Romero's THE CRAZIES.

The film was made for $114,000.

Taken From The Zombie Memorabilia Website: ARCHIVES OF THE DEAD

Arguably the best and most influential zombie movie Night of the Living Dead was filmed in 1968. At a time when "zombie" was not a household word George A Romero took a bare bones budget and created a film that has spawned an entire genre of filmmaking.

The dead walk the Earth and their sole purpose is to eat the living. Caught in the middle of this are a group of strangers in a farm house surrounded by the living dead.

Filmed in black and white and with no budget to speak of this film is not overly gory by today's standards. But it is still not for everyone since there is cannibalism involved. A MUST for horror fans!

This edition is actually the best one out there - I still hold hope that Criterion will give it their magic treatment - with commentaries by Romero and cast, film parody The Living Bread, a couple of interviews, a documentary and a couple of other little things. May not seem like much but I am sure Romero did not know back then that this film would become the cult classic it is today!

There is no real reason to go into a review of this film. If you don't know what this cult classic is all about, you shouldn't be wasting your money on this version! Go buy one of the vast # of cheaper versions out there. This version is for those of you who are true fans & who have worn out your VHS &/or DVD.

This cult classic gets a much needed & long overdue makeover! The picture is as clear & crisp as I'm sure it was back on the big screen in the late 60s! The sound has been remastered & beefed up by THX! It looks & sounds great! It's a HUGE improvement over what has been available previously!

To add to this DVD, some new commentary & special features have been added. Some are quite cool like the entire original script & a last interview with Duane Jones. Some are a little silly like the college film "Night of the Living Bread" & an old George Romero short. All make this a much improved version of one of our favorite cult classics! I'm sure you'll be pleased!

A true black and white horror classic...don't let the black and white fool you...it has very graphic scenes of the living dead devouring their prey (people.) It starts out with a brother and sister visiting the grave of their mother. The brother taunts his sister at the gravesite...she is the nervous type..but, then the first of the living dead enters the picture. As the sister is about to be attacked the brother realizes something is really wrong and goes to her defense. She manages to escape, but her brother becomes the first victim in the movie. She ends up in a farm house with several other people that come together looking for a haven. The forced new "residents" of the home include a black man (with survival skills and a good head on his shoulders), the girl (a total basket case), a young man (courageous and competent), his girlfriend (another positive member in the group's survival) and a family consisting of husband (coward, selfish, argumentative, etc.), his wife (brave and helpful)and their young daughter (sick..because she has been bitten, a fact kept from the group until later in the movie.) The husband is the person in the movie that you love to hate and very early in the movie, it becomes apparent to the viewer that the biggest contribution he could make for the group would be being thrown out to feed and delay the zombies. This otherwise unlikely farmhouse of residents must come together to defend themselves from the living dead. The living dead move slowly, but their numbers are increasing and they have but one goal...living people for food. They do not communicate and therefore; there is no reasoning with this zombie enemy...just a constant bombardment and there is no way to reach the outside world. What do you do when you encounter someone that you love that has turned over to the other side? Watch and find out what these people do. The ending has a dark ironic twist to it..you sit there...like, I cannot believe what just happened.

The one that really started the genre off, sure there was movies before it but Romero set the stencil the way the zombies act for decades to come.
Young Barbara & brother Jonny head to cemetery to lay flowers on their dead mothers grave stone, not long after Jonny is attacked and killed by zombie #1 (Bill Heinzman later to Write and Direct his own movie Zombie Nosh) Barbara seeks protection in what she thinks is an abandoned farmhouse. Not long after she is joined by an unlikely crew of characters including Ben () and whose wife and already bitten daughter is held up in the basement. Soon as you can say 'ghoul' the house is swamped by the living dead, the make up of each holding up even today. It is hard to believe that this was Romero's first feature film; Romero prior to this only directing TV adverts. He along with ten other investors created “Image Ten” to make this movie. To put the movie into context today it is held in as part of the permanent collection in the museum for modern art in America and is often shown to film students as a genuinely creative film on shoe-string budget (the intestines and entrails featured where sourced from a local butcher, also an investor in the movie).
This DVD really lets every detail shine through, restored in THX this is really a wonder to behold. The picture is so crisp its hard to believe that its nearing 40 years old. Anyone with a sound system can take advantage of the 5.1 audio track. A must for Collectors.