DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) Blu-ray review

Dawn of the Dead (2004) d. Snyder, Zack (USA) (3rd viewing) 110 min

“The world is in danger when a mysterious virus turns people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. In a mall in the heartland, a handful of survivors wage a desperate, last-stand battle to stay alive ... and human!”

Sound familiar? To be fair, when Snyder’s remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 classic was first announced, the landscape was not cluttered with undead onscreen shamblers everywhere. In fact, with the exception of 28 Days Later and Resident Evil (both 2002), zombies were kind of, well, dead. But with the success of this worthwhile reboot, which in turn sparked Romero’s own return to the fray (for better or worse) with Land of the Dead later the following year, the stage was set for all manner of rotters, microbudget to blockbuster, and the face of horror would never be the same.

Fool's Views (2/17 – 3/2)

Reports of my demise have been slightly exaggerated...

Howdy folks,

I’ve not been idle, but oh, the distractions, they have been many. Think we’ll just leave it at that, seeing as how I’ve got a month and a half to catch up on here. But I can say that there have been some enjoyable moments spent in front of the magic window, kept company by sharks, slashers, zombies, Sasquatch, and a surprisingly enjoyable pairing of Charles Bronson and an oversized bison.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back:

Enjoy!

DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) movie review

Dawn of the Dead (1978) d. George A. Romero (USA)

A decade after his groundbreaking Night of the Living Dead, Romero returned to the undead genre with a gory and thoughtful sequel that equals and occasionally surpasses its predecessor. While the ending of Night gives the impression that the undead uprising was coming under control, the opening scenes here indicate that this societal sigh of relief was breathed far too soon.

THE DEFINITIVE DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD (2012) movie review

On the audio commentary for this latest iteration of his groundbreaking behind-the-scenes Document of the Dead, filmmaker Roy Frumkes compares his film to Michael Apted’s Up series (7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, etc.) in that he feels that his life has somehow become intertwined with that of his doc’s subject, George A. Romero. While a pronounced exaggeration alongside with Apted’s landmark half-century-and-counting achievement, Frumkes’ point is that with each new version, he has to choose what archival footage to excise in order to make room for the new. Sadly, the truth is that this 2012 release (dubbed “The Definitive Document of the Dead”) shows only too clearly that – arguably like Romero’s work itself – the past is where the good stuff lies.

While teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1978, Frumkes was looking for a documentary subject and decided that, while there had been several behind-the-scenes films made for Hollywood studio efforts, there had not been many (if any) that covered the making-of an independent feature. Denied the ability to shoot in NY or California due to union rules, the instructor learned of Romero’s impending Dawn of the Dead shoot at the Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburgh. Thanks to an already existing relationship with Dawn producer Richard Rubenstein, Frumkes was granted access to the set where he and a small crew (comprised mainly of SVA students) shot for several nights alongside Romero, Tom Savini, Ken Foree, et al., capturing delicious celluloid tidbits of a masterpiece in the making.