Rating: 
Summary: Simply a must-see and a must-buy!
Review: I've seen Dawn more than any other living dead film aside from Fulci's Zombie. This is definitely my favorite American made zombie classic. Hell, might as well say it's among the best of 'em all. Zombie, Gates of Hell, and Burial Ground are all cool because of that cool Italian style, but I feel like Dawn wins won for the home team today. Dawns' modern (well, it was modern) day setting makes it cool and works in a different way than it's Italian buddies. It's horrid, graphic, but also has lots of humor and irony. The social satire is still cool and gives you something to wonder about. Who of us fans hasn't wondered what it would be like to rumble around that mall and what we'd make of a life there? Savini made is mark with this film and has some of the most memorable zombies and gore FX in film ever. The chopper scene, the blood pressure machine, the machete, and tons more all lurk in our brain. If ya got lucky enough to be in Cleveland for the 1st Cinema Wasteland show, then you saw the awesome cast reunion talks. This film is still probably the most widely scene gore film around. Know anyone who hasn't seen this? If so ask them why and what are you waiting for. The soundtrack is awesome as well. There are so many prints of this film, I can't keep up. I've seen the Italian one Argento made into Zombi (cool), a longer, uncut German copy (hate saying longer and uncut in the same sentence, yuck!), the new Anchor Bay re-master (awesome), and a few more. You can't have enough in my opinion. When I was growing up, this was the most popular midnight movie in my area for years after its release. The radio spots and newspaper ads for the theatres were all so awesome. Ahh, the good old days, when it was fun to actually go to a late movie. Romero did his 1st film proud with a sequel that went well beyond the Night. Night is a classic, but Dawns' FX lift it for me above that movie.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate horror film
Review: George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" is legendary, a shocking, thrilling masterpiece of horror that continues to wow us over twenty years later. The second in Romero's Zombie Trilogy (the first was "Night of the Living Dead"), the film is set immediately after NOTLD, and involves a group of four strangers who find themselves trapped in a shopping mall full of the living dead. Romero knows how to make a horror film; his trilogy is arguably the greatest horror series ever made. "Dawn of the Dead" isn't horridly scary - in fact, it's not very scary at all; it is, however, suspenseful, thrilling, exciting, absorbing, immensely entertaining, and - more than once - gross. It has a very creepy feeling to it, and Romero makes us believe more than anyone else that this could really be happening. There is also a classic score by Goblin (a.k.a. The Goblins) that helps add to the film's already horrific mood. All in all, "Dawn of the Dead" is quite possibly the greatest horror film ever made, raising the bar to a level still not reached twenty-five years later.DVD: There has been much complaint about this DVD. While it is possible that it was rushed, it has excellent picture quality and some very nice special features. I would highly recommend buying it.
Rating:
Summary: On a planet with countless zombie movies...
Review: The Dawn of the Dead stands above the rest. This is a classic masterpiece that has stood the test of time. Yes it's very 70's as you can tell by the arcade games and hairstyles, but the message is clear. Fight for survuval at all costs. Like most zombie movies there is no real beginning and no real ending. The movie starts off with normal people fighting zombies, and ends with an escape on a helicopter to no where. But the bulk of this film is inside a shopping mall. A motley crew has barricaded themselves in a mall and after killing all the zombies inside, fight against the ones outside. The tractor trailer driving sequence is awesome and a thumbs up to the directing of this difficult set of shots. The zombies are frightening, and can be a source of black humor that I'm sure was intentional. An good example is the lifeless zombies piling up on the esculator. For a good time and to get the appreciation for good horror without modern day hocus-pocus effects, Dawn of the Dead cannot be beat. I have not seen the remake yet, but I know I'll walk away from it liking the original better (I usually do).
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful transfer on a scary classic!!!
Review: The latest edition of George Romero's classic film Dawn of the Dead is a visual treat to the newly intiated, or the long time fan. The transfer onto dvd for this nearly 30 year horror film is nothing short but incredible. The resolution is crystal clear, and the sound is excellent. The creepy soundtrack alone is enough to raise the hair on your arms let alone the grim visage on the screen as the story unfolds before you.
The story is pretty simple, and Romeros camera work lets it unfold like a long lunch. From the long pans of the gased up hunter picking off zombies as if they were empty beer cans to the panaramic shots of the deserted suburban shopping mall where the film takes place. Our four survivors hold up in a pittsbugh shopping mall and slowly make the place their own in stylish late 70's chic.
The characters while never really going overboard with background quickly become endearing to the viewer, and to this day still represent classic "Movie Heroes". Make-up artist Tom Savini makes a memorable cameo as a biker leading an army of malcontents intent on taking the mall away from our heroes. Well one thing leads to another and before too long zombies are ripping bodies apart in graphic all to familiar form. The special effects of the New Dawn don't seem to be as "In Your Face Like A Hammer" as the original, and even i was getting a little sqeamish during one particularly horrific scene involving a prone biker, and a pack of very hungry zombies. The scene still dusturbs me even after all these years.
The extras are nice but do seem a little sparse for such a cult classic, but its been nearly 30 years. any "lost" footage or Bonus scenes are most likely nearly disintegrated with age. The price is very nice for such classic, well put together Horror classic.
I can solidly reccommend this for the not so faint at heart. After watching this you'll never look at shopping malls the same again.
Rating:
Summary: Great Original, Flimsy Remake
Review: The 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" should have been left alone. If they wanted new audiences to see it, they should have re-released it in theaters instead of re-make it. The 2004 "Dawn of the Dead" just doesn't cut it. It starts really promising and goes downhill after about thirty minutes into the movie. First, whether the film wants to be or not, it is a continuation after "Night", but doesn't really acknowledge that. In the opening scenes characters are talking about getting the weekend off from work as if they are completely oblivious to the massive epidemic effecting the entire world. Basically, it should have started like the original -- right in your face. But nonetheless its opening scenes are still solid, but not realistic at all in the sense of the situation. I don't think I'd give a crap if I get the weekend off from work because the harsh reality of the situation is if such an epidemic was actually occuring the enitire world would be aware in a few short hours. Second, you only get one brief glimpse of a zombie eating a victim during the early scenes when they are in the mall. That's all you get. All the other zombie attack scenes are them biting their victims to death. You might be led to believe that is all the zombies do -- bite you until you die and join them, not eat you. You have to survive the bite to be one of them and die later from the infection. Zombies don't care if you join them or not, but they do want to eat you. Third, in "Night of the Living Dead" it was established that the zombies will eat animals. The scene where the dog carries food across the parking lot unmolested contradicts that. Fourth, the main character's (I forget her name) husband dies at the beginning of the movie and attacks her immediately. Later on we see her tending to the wound of a bite victim who dies. She gets way too close as if she completely forgot what happened to her husband. The movie tries to cover this flaw by covering it with a scene later on where the charcter is asked if she's sure bite wounds are incurable and if the victim will join the undead. It's a good try, but still the character just looks stupid getting that close because she should already have that information. Fifth, the zombies run damn fast. Zombies don't run -- this isn't one of those stupid "Return of the Living Dead" movies, but that one flaw alone cuts it too close. I realize in a remake they have to change things otherwise there is no point of remaking it. But what this movie ultimately turns out to be is a re-make of the recent "28 Days Later". That's really all it is. This movie shouldn't have even been billed as a "Dawn" remake. All they'd have to do is lose the shopping mall, don't barricade themselves in a farm house, and don't hide underground and volia! there you have it, a much better "28 Days Later" and that is all I can give this movie credit for -- a better "28 Days Later". So the remake gets ** while the recent "Dawn of the Dead" DVD re-release gets ****. An extra * would have been given if there was a behind the scenes featurette, but sadly there isn't.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Special Edition of a classic!
Review: This movie is a classic horror action drama that set the new standard for zombie movies back in the late 70's. It's set after the events of " Night of the Living Dead" ( 1968), zombies have taken over the country and a group of human survivors hide out in a shopping mall for shelter and combats against the hordes of the undead. A brilliant, entertaining and violent horror action movie with human drama, satire, black comedy, gore by Tom Savini ( of " Friday The 13th" fame) and a message that we ourselves created monsters that make literally death in society. George Romero has done a wonderful job on this movie including with his partner Dario Argento and a great music score by The Goblins. The DVD is quite excellent in picture and sound quality, the extras are out of this world such as Commentary, Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, Bio of George Romero, Comic Book Preview and a couple of Easter Eggs. This is a must own movie if you love the genre, but in September there is going to be a super 3-disc edition featuring the director's cut, Theatrical Cut and Italian Argento Zombi cut. See this movie now before you see the remake. Similar movies recommended: " The Evil Dead", " Zombie", " Day of the Dead", " Night of the Living Dead" ( 1968), " Scanners", " Nightmare City ( a.k.a. City of the Walking Dead)", " Burial Ground", " City of the Living Dead ( a.k.a. The Gates of Hell)", " House By The Cemetery", " Mallrats", " Night of the Living Dead ( 1990 remake)", " From Dusk Till Dawn", " Resident Evil", " 28 Days Later", " The Omega Man", " Let Sleeping Corpses Lie", " Freddy Vs Jason", " Evil Dead II", " The Road Warrior", " Akira", " Hell of the Living Dead ( a.k.a. Night of the Zombies)", " Demons", " Cannibal Ferox", " Cannibal Holocaust", " Zombi 3", " Undead", " House of the Dead", " Cannibal Apocalypse", " Cemetery Man", and " The Beyond ( a.k.a. The Seven Doors of Death)".
Rating:
Summary: Not the best
Review: This film is my least favorite of the "dead" series, why? well first the good....the acting is pretty good, the characters have heart and you feel for them, the gore is well done and the storyline is pretty awesome the bottom line is Romero's humor comes out well in this film but now on to the bad. The zombies.....ugh...they look TOTALLY cheesy! just people walking around with blue paint on their faces?????? wow that was low budget and showed however don't let it sway your decision to buy this film as the story and characters are VERY memorable!
Rating:
Summary: On the all-time 100 Best list.
Review: Dawn of the Dead (George Romero, 1979) I can't believe I haven't already written a review of this, given the number of times I've seen it. But I watched it again last night since the remake is coming out soon, so... Dawn of the Dead begins an unspecified time after the closing of Night of the Living Dead. The zombies have reached at least as far east as Philadelphia, where two workers at a TV station decide to steal the weather chopper and head for Canada. They're taking a friend along with them, who brings another guy. The four of them are the core of the movie, aborting the Canada idea when they run out of fuel, stopping on the outskirts of Pittsburgh to take up residence in a shopping mall. There are simply not enough good things to be said about this movie. While it didn't completely redefine the genre the way Night of the Living Dead did, Romero pushed the American envelope (as he is so fond of doing), incorporating giallo-style violence that Americans were completely unfamiliar with at the time while all the while pursuing the same sociopolitical commentary that makes Night of the Living Dead so rewatchable even thirty-five years later. Romero is a master at getting his point across without being too preachy about it; ninety-nine percent of the movie's hundred twenty-eight minutes (in the American version) keeps the commentary below the radar (all save one brief scene that's a little on the heavy-handed side). For an ultra-low-budget flick, the acting is tremendous. All four main characters do their jobs capably, and they're surrounded with a supporting cast whose lack of acting resumes since is criminal. Special note should be given to Richard France, a member of the Romero "inner circle" since There's Always Vanilla, as an overly pragmatic television commentator who's just a joy to watch every time he comes onscreen. The pacing is excellent, the effects not completely overdone (though, honestly, they did get better in Day of the Dead), the mix of humor and disgust perfect. There is very little to be said wrong about this brilliant movie. Don't expect to be scared, but expect to enjoy yourself tremendously. **** ½
Rating:
Summary: DUMMIES! DUMMIES! DUMMIES!
Review: This film is a heavily satiric followup to the 1968 Romero cult film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD that more than satisfies those hungry for more zombie fun. While the plot is simply a survival story inside a shopping mall involving 4 hapless national guardsmen, the subtext is a sharp dose of fun-poking at the mindless, consumer-driven "zombies" that populate our nation's malls ad nauseam. In addition, there is a LOT of gore, violence, cannibalism, and general bad taste (lovingly done though by Savini et al) but it is all accomplished with great flair and deftness. Another thing - it's more funny than scary, but it works.
Rating:
Summary: An Appetizer For The Main Course
Review: Hard to believe that it's been a quarter of a century since George A. Romero unleased DAWN OF THE DEAD on unsuspecting moviegoers! Even to this day, DAWN OF THE DEAD is one of the scariest horror movies of all time, and in some respects even better than NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD! I just love the way that this film opens, in pure chaos! We are thrown right into the action and never look back; it's all gone to Hell when the dead are walkin' the Earth! Too bad the critics (and some fans) fail to recognize the full force of Romero's satire of consumerism, a trend which sadly continues to this day. The satire isn't as subtle as those critcs would lead you to believe, in fact Romero knocks consumerism and the influence of shopping malls on society front and center; the dehumanization of the four survivors who hide out in the mall by consumerism makes the living dead seem normal by comparison, and that's precisely the point that Romero makes here.
George A. Romero is my favorite horror movie director. His approach to horror in modern society is amazing! Every horror movie he does, particularly NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE CRAZIES, MARTIN, DAWN and DAY OF THE DEAD, and CREEPSHOW is a sign of the times disguised as some truly terrifying horror and disarray. Romero also manages to take on authority, and the Military in particular (THE CRAZIES and DAY OF THE DEAD), presenting a paranoid vision that those in positions of power are the real bad guys. That Romero can find and present terrifying stories in even the smallest details of everyday life (see his newest film BRUISER, a take on Kafka) is a testament to Romero's longevity in the horror genre!
But what I found to be most enjoyable about DAWN was the involvement of Dario Argento! After getting into Argento's movies (SUSPIRIA, INFERNO, TWO EVIL EYES, DEEP RED, and TENEBRE), I began to appreciate DAWN more than I did when I first saw it. Argento put up the money for DAWN, served as script consultant, and provided the awesome music he did with his favorite band Goblin. The music is amazing and really drives home the terror of the story! The other thing that I love about DAWN is how shocking Tom Savini's makeup effects are even today, especially towards the end! DAWN OF THE DEAD is one of the reasons why the 1970's was a great decade for horror!
I just had to get this new edition just to see what the Silver Anniversary set coming out this fall will be like. And I'm glad that I did! The new hi-def transfer and widescreen framing is a revelation, light years beyond any other presentation of this movie over the years! The 5.1 surround tracks add new life to Goblin's score and the soundtrack itself! Plus, you have got to hear the commentary by George and his wife Chris, Tom Savini, and DVD producer Perry Martin; it's an enlightening and funny commentary not to be missed! If you're a major fan of DAWN OF THE DEAD or need to understand the movie before you see the remake that's coming shortly, you can't go wrong with this disc, presented in its US Theatrical version. For all DAWN fans, this is the perfect way to see the incredible job Anchor Bay will do with DAWN OF THE DEAD later this year!
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