Dawn of the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Remakes
Review: Why must Hollywood feel the need to remake classic horror movies? The remakes of the ones from the '50s seem to come out OK (most likely because of the updated special effects), but I don't know if I'll even be able to watch the remake of this film. I hate the fact that people will go into the theater to see the remake without watching this one first or even knowing that what they are seeing is a remake. It just bugs me. It's also sad that big studios can't come up with new and original plots and have to go and maul classics such as Dawn of the Dead and TCM. But anyway, this movie is great and i can't wait to get it on dvd.

Rating:
Summary: Patience is a virtue Dead fans
Review: 3 stars for this DVD's features, 5 stars for the movie itself.I am being blunt and to the point to the fans. This DVD sounds to me, like a half-fast rushed job, to get something on the shelves before the popularity of the new Dawn movie takes off, which is due to be released soon. Don't allow yourselves to be sucked in by simply a remastered version (I know it's hard).

If you're a real fan like me, you will wait for the directors cut later on this year, with all the bells and whistles that you've been dreaming of. I've seen both versions and the directors cut is the only way the movie should be viewed. The theatrical version is rushed. You may think an extra 20 minutes or so is no big deal, but try to think how many little scenes you can cut out of a movie, with 20 minutes.

Trust me, the bells and whistles of the 2 DVD disc set are not to be missed. I have Dawn on my old Laserdisc (It was a total of 4 laserdiscs in a big box and the only way I will watch this classic) and it has most these bells and whistles that i'm speaking of. It has the full original script, with the original "Suicide Ending" that was rewritten. It also has things like the commercials, the board game, the floor plans of the mall and interviews to name a few. I'm telling you, you will kick yourself for not waiting.

Rating:
Summary: Schlock as High Art
Review: Zombie movies. Lots of "serious" types look down on them. That's a shame, because some of them are really first-rate films. Dawn of the Dead, the middle film of George Romero's "dead" trilogy, is a case in point. You want zombies, we got your zombies RIGHT HERE! You want blood? Guts? Flesh eating? Oh boy, does Dawn of the Dead ever deliver!

And then it does something really unique - it also delivers drama, engaging characters with realistic delimmas, a smartly crafted story, and a heavy dose of dead-on social satire. And did I mention that it's just flat-out scary as hell, too?

There is one scene in particular, toward the beginning, that still haunts me - twenty some-odd years after I first saw it. The National Guard has been called in to clear a tenament building. In the basement, they find a cage where the dead have been locked away. The simple, unsettling music of Goblin rises on the soundtrack, underscored by a heartbeat-like bass drum. There are the zombies, many in death shrouds, feasting on body parts. Guardsman Peter Washington (Ken Foree) steps into the nightmare with a pistol to dispatch the zombies with bullets to their heads. The whole thing takes on a surreal, hellish texture, like a Bosch painting. Foree's performance is striking - he is truly IN THE MOMENT, as they say, without a hint of the winking self-awareness we see in other genre flicks. If the dead really started coming back to feed on the living, this is exactly what it be like. This is the toll it would exact on people trying to grapple with the situation.

Yet, in a way, Dawn of the Dead IS self-aware. It knows when to step back, too, and admit that it's playing with you. Another scene, of this sort, occurs when we see a group of rednecks hunting the shambling corpses as though they were deer. They sip coffee from thermoses, pass sandwiches around, and banter about their accuracy with their rifles. It's a very funny bit, in part because it's so deadpan.

Those are just two favorite examples. There is much, much more to this film, and almost all of it works beautifully. Even the sometimes obviously low budget and gleeful use of library stock music doesn't hurt. Romero turns these limitations to his advantage, by making them serve as searing comments on mass media, consumerism, and pop culture.

Performances by David Emge, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross are worthy of mention, too. They play real people in an extraordinary situation, rather than two-dimensional horror-movie characters.

Dawn of the Dead schlock as high art - complex, funny, scary, and engaging. And thank goodness it's coming back to DVD, because it's one worth watching over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: One of The Few Movies To Give Me Nightmares
Review: This movie truly terrified me the first time I saw it. Something about the whole concept of the dead returning to life to hunt the living is very frightening. Yes, the movie may be corny considering how small of a budget it had and since it's 25 years old, but the point gets across. It's based around a sort of end of the world phenomenon involving thousands of the dead returning to life and walking the earth. As the world plunges into chaos, four survivors barricade themselves into a shopping mall surrounded by hundreds of the living dead. At first all is good, but things begin to grow wrong which results in a very scary and absolutely grusome finale.

I can't say that I recommend watching this alone. And if u were scared to death by this one, I also recommend "Day of the Dead" which together with this, will ensure that you never sleep again.

Rating:
Summary: The Dawn
Review: Though this may be the single disc with little or no special features it's already on my pre-order list. This movie rocks! George A. Romero sure did step up to claim the next best sequel in horror movie history with Dawn of the Dead.

Rating:
Summary: IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!
Review: It's about time they re-released this movie on DVD again!
I was so mad, that ive never been able to find this movie anywhere....so thank you DIVIMAX FILMS for releasing this film on DVD!

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST horror films ever made
Review: This is absolutely awsome!. I'm soooo glad the waiting is finally over. At last, George Romero's most influentiual and wildly popular horror film ever made is back on DVD, loaded with lots of extra footage and mastered with DiViMax. I just want to say, this is a must for every horror fan to see, especially if you are a zombie movie lover. I just hope the coming up remake is as good as this one and packed with an onslaught of gut-wrenching-flesh-eaters and exploding heads scenes; I guess we will find out at the movies next month. In the mean time, if you are a horror movie lover, don't hesitate to buy this DVD, JUST DO IT!.

Rating:
Summary: * 2* disc DVD set coming later this year
Review: Judging from the sales-rank, many of you (like myself) have pre-ordered the Dawn of the Dead single disc coming this March. From what I've gathered, it represents only the THEATRICAL version with little or no special features. Whether this is a way to spur interest in the re-release or just..uh, well squeeze as much from the market as is possible, is unclear.

NONETHELESS, a 2 disc set is due for sometime in 2004 (apparently prior to Halloween). According to a Fangoria report, the multi-disc set will include both theatrical and director's cut editions as well as audio commentary by producer Richard Rubinstein and possibly new tracks with Romero and Tom Savini. There will also be a sizeable still gallery with additional features yet to be announced.

I'm more excited about the 2-disc set and curiously peeved at the single-disc version. But it's Dawn of the Dead, what'a'ya gonna do, they've got the good stuff and I need it.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Storyline of them all
Review: This is the one where they hold out in a mall. Good storyline as far as these stories go. Lots of gore & guts. Just what your looking for. I'm first in line to buy this one on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie..But beware of DVD!
Review: This is deff. a classic horror flick, and finally it comes back to shelves after so many years. But i think everyone should know that this version being released on March 9 is the bad version. The extra you get is a commentary by George A. Romero. A double disc with the director's cut and plenty of extras should be released later on. So be patient and wait for the good version.