 |
| MISCELANNOUS |
 |
| Night of the Living Dead Millenium Edition DVD The Movie: 5 stars. The DVD: 5 stars. For some unexplained reason, the bodies of the unburied dead are rising up all over the world and attacking the living. A group of seven strangers from different backgrounds find themselves trapped together in an abandoned farmhouse, surrounded by dozens of these flesh-eating ghouls. If they cannot drop their differences and work together, they will never be able to survive the night of the living dead... Night of the Living Dead is not just the best horror movie ever made, but one of the best movies in general. Unlike many horror movies, this one is not just for cheap thrills. Released in 1968, the movie is a metaphor for the Vietnam War (the zombies symbolizing the Communist takeover, and the moral of the movie being that one cannot defeat the enemy if one does not learn to live together). George Romero makes one of these movies per decade, and each installment has a hidden social commentary like that. In the sequel Dawn of the Dead, for example, the zombies wander aimlessly around an abandoned shopping mall and symbolize braindead consumers. I like that not once in the entire movie does anyone say the word "zombie". It's "those things" or "ghouls". When you hear the word "zombie", you think of monsters, but these are not monsters. They do not go out of their way to do evil; this is just the way they are, and they can't help that. These are just your neighbors, your family, your friends...turned bad by some mysterious force of nature. They used to be just like you....and when you die, you will become just like them. Another thing I like is that never, in Romero's entire Living Dead trilogy, do they explain what is bringing the dead back to life. Each movie gives a different theory (no more room in hell, punishment from god, chemical or biological warfare, aliens, etc), but they never give an OFFICIAL explanation. I like that because it lets you personalize it. If you don't believe in God, for instance, then the punishment from God explanation isn't for you, and you can choose a different one.... Also, I think it's just creepier that way. How are we supposed to prevent this crisis from happening in real life, if we don't even know what caused it?? Contrary to every other zombie movie ever made, when you get bit by a zombie you do NOT turn into a zombie yourself. When you get bit, you eventually die from all the diseases that a rotting corpse carries...but it's something ELSE that then reanimates you (no more room in hell, punishment from God, etc). If you die IN GENERAL, you become a zombie. If you get hit by a car, you turn into a zombie. If you die of cancer or old age, you become a zombie. If you die of a heart attack, you become a zombie. This is happening all over the world, and nobody can figure out why. When you are reanimated, you are reduced to your most primitive instincts: eating, walking, using primitive tools, etc. Zombies do not have to eat people to survive (because they are already dead); it is just instinct. And also unlike every other zombie movie ever made, they do NOT eat brains (the zombies-brains thing was later introduced in "Return of the Living Dead", which is NOT part of Romero's trilogy), they eat the whole body. Nor do they just eat humans...they eat any living thing they can find (in fact, in Romero's original script for Day of the Dead, he had the scientists domesticating the zombies so they would eat JUST animals). I like that this movie stars a black hero (and it was made BEFORE political correctness), and that the black man (Ben) and the women do all the work while the White male cowers in the cellar whining about how "it's safer down here!" The casting of a black lead was not done for the sake of making a social statement (Duane Jones was just the best actor who auditioned for the part) but nonetheless this movie was truly ahead of its time. The Millenium Edition DVD of this movie is a must for any fan. On the downside, they got rid of the film's graininess (which, I always thought, made the movie creepier) in exchange for a nice, crisp picture, but that is the DVD's only downfall. It has tons of special features which make it definately worth the price (basically, the features from all previous releases are on this disc), even if you already own a vhs copy (like I do). Among those, is the original shooting script (which has a different ending, and some character changes and dialogue changes, but other than that is pretty close to the final film), and two very good commentary tracks (the first is by George Romero and crew, and explains a lot of shots that I *thought* were mistakes...i.e. when Ben says "this place is boarded up pretty well", yet there is an open window right behind him...or at the beginning when Barbara is looking at the dead zombie and it's eye moves...those actually weren't mistakes; the second commentary is by the cast, and is basically just a cast reunion, but fun to listen to nonetheless). Also, there is a short, 15-minute (approx.) parody called "Night of the Living Bread" which is good for a few laughs, a video interview with Judy Ridley and a radio interview with Duane Jones. |