Night of the Living Dead

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Best!
Review: I first watched this movie when I was 5 years old. I'm
23 and even after all this time, it is still one of my
favorite horror flicks. It was awesome then and It is still
awesome. I feel that the remake didn't do it justice. But
with all great horror flicks the original is always the best!

Rating:
Summary: Get a different version
Review: I was raised on horror movies, and Romero's "Dead" trilogy in particular. Naturally, when I got a DVD player, this was one of the first films that I wanted. Thankfully, I took this edition out of the library rather than purchasing it, because I would have kicked myself forever for buying it. My advice? Go for another edition with more extras, or buy the VHS version. It's not worth the money. I only gave this one star because the computer kicked it back without a rating.

Rating:
Summary: A real gem
Review: Having watched the 1990 remake, I honestly thought I could watch this old black and white film and not get scared, and I was wrong. Not only did I feel my heart jump out on some of the more suspenseful scenes, but I was totally unprepared for the ending. The ending is really different from the remake's, and yet both endings effectivelly send out the same message.

You know a movie is good when you can watch it more than 30 years later (when movies have way better F/X) and you still get yourself played with just as the film maker intended.

I won't get into details regarding the film's story and message since many fans have done that already. Now is the time for christmas shopping, and the Living Dead Trilogy will be at the top of my list.

Rating:
Summary: After what seemed like a "Millenium," it's finally here!
Review: I find it both amusing and, at the same time, disturbing that George Romero's classic fright fest "Night of the Living Dead" has taken this long to aquire the DVD treatment it deserves.

Nevertheless, it's finally here, and in my opinion, I feel no studio was more qualified to make a difinitive version of the film than "Elite." Seriously, folks, how many times has this been released on DVD? I first bought the "Hollywood Classics" version back in '99, and have upgraded three times. But when I saw the Millenium edition in stores, I realized that It would be the last one I'd ever need. Elite had a relatively small collection of titles, mostly horror movies, but the few releases that have been made are impressive enough to attract some well deserved attention. Believe me, this studio does not play around. Elite has pulled all the cards to make one killer transfer of the movie that puts all the others to shame. And as for the features? There is so much stuff that I, an avid fan had never heard of, I almost combusted with joy. considering what Elite had to work with, This release rivals even Criterion's release of "The Third Man."...

Rating:
Summary: "Kill the brain, and you kill the ghoul."
Review: If ever there was a candidate for the most frightening film ever made, "Night of the Living Dead" would rank near the top. George A. Romero's classic 1968 zombie film manages to be two things, a terrifying horror film, and a disturbing character study.

Siblings Barbara and Johnny are visiting their father's grave out in the countryside. Johnny is bored and is complaining to Barbara about the long drive, when their peaceful day takes a frightening turn. Johnny starts to joke that the lumbering old man towards them is "coming to get you, Barbara." A moment later, the old man really does attack Barbara. Johnny manages to wrest the man from Barbara, only to be knocked unconscious when he bashes his head on, appropriately enough, a tombstone.

Barbara flees the old man until she comes to an abandoned house in the country, where she locks herself inside. Observing outside the window, she notices two more ghouls lurching in the same way as the first one outside the house. A black man named Ben shows up and helps Barbara to nail up the doors and windows. Several more people show up at the house including a bickering couple named Harry and Helen and their daughter Karen, and a teenage couple named Tom and Judy.

Outside, the ghouls continue to inrease in numbers laying siege to the house. On the radio and television set, it is announced that the recently deceased are rising from the dead and feasting on the living. It seems that this occurence is linked to a probe returning from Venus that was carrying a high level of radiation. The radiation appears to reactivate the brain of a recently dead person. The only way to stop the ghoul is to burn if or shoo it in the head.

From here on, the film becomes as much a character study as a horror film. As the seven strangers struggle to survive against the increasing army of the undead, they must learn to cope with each other as well. This becomes increasingly difficult as Ben and Harry take an instant and intense dislike of one another. Harry is a cowardly, bullying man who likes to boss other people around even as he himself remains irrational. Ben, in contrast, is a brave man who cares about people other than himself and is determined to survive. However, he is not without flaws himself, as we find out in the end. Helen is Harry henpecking wife who has had quite enough of Harry's selfish behaviour. Tom is the peacemaker of the group. Judy basically just sits around looking pretty. Barbara is in shock from her brother's death and is unable to do anything. Karen has been bitten by one of the ghouls, causing her to become increasingly catatonic.

In some ways, the title seems to refer as much to the living people as it does to the dead people. The living people are more interested in arguing amongst themselves than in figuring out how to survive. The emotionless broadcasters can only give out unhelpful advice. The national guard, whose job it is to dispose of the zombies, are made up of slow-witted rednecks who shoot at anything that moves. The zombies' bodies may be dead, but at least their brains are working. With the living people, it's the other way around. The living people are the real zombies.

Romero's film seems to tap into the era that it was made, the late sixties, in its depiction of the chaos of the time. The living people's hopeless battle against the zombies can be compared to American soldiers' hopeless battle against the Viet Cong. The film can also be seen as an allegory on the current state of America during the Vietnam era. The way the guardsmen dispose of the zombies brings to mind the clashes between the hippies and the police.

NOTLD was shot on an extremely low budget with cameras that often look as though they were hand held. This helps give the film a feeling of gritty realism. It was shot in low quality black and white, which further adds to the nightmarish look. The zombie makeup was simple but effective. The gore was quite extreme for the time, and will likely make a lot of people's stomaches churn even today. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of excessive gore in horror films as I think much of it is unnecessary. Some of the best horror films like Psycho and Halloween build suspense through suggestion rather than depiction. If you find the gore in this film difficult to stomach, I don't suggest you see the sequel, "Dawn of the Dead". The gore in that film is ten times more graphic, and it's in glowing technicolor.

I recommend that viewers be very careful about which version of the film that they get, as there are many inferior prints. Some version to beware of include the 1990 remake, butchered colourized versions, and especially the thirtieth anniversary edition. The millennium edition DVD is said to be a good buy, although I have yet to see it. However, I am told that this version cleans up a lot of the grain, improving the picture's quality. This may not be a good idea, as the murky black and white added to the film's claustrophobic feel. As a result, while I may buy the DVD, I have no plans to throw out my twenty-fifth anniversary edition VHS.

Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: The only thing I liked about this movie was the soundtrak change. The additional scenes were obviously shot currently and used only as a buying gimick for this edition. Stick to the Elite DVD Edition of Night of the Living Dead.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry people,I HATED IT
Review: Like the title says,I didn't find anything great about this movie,it was boring,dull and so weak that I fell asleep watching it.And no,I saw this long before I saw Resident Evil,which I found more entertaning then this.

Rating:
Summary: yawn of the living dead
Review: my review :
Short version DO NOT BUY THIS DVD
My Review Long Version:
Finaly i got myself a DVD player, and having always loved Night of The living Dead since it first scared me when i was twelve years old i knew i would like to own a copy.
Alas the only version i could find at the time was the 30th anniversary edition....which cost me $40 dollars
Now dont get me wrong i like the new scenes,even though they look some what out of place with the original footage ( maybe a short half hour or hour prologue or epilogue would of worked better than butchering the original).
I am sure from the featurette that the all had fun making the new scenes and slotting family and friends into a cult classic,and the new music score is awesome ( the actor who plays the priest proves he should stick to music and give up acting his preformace is worse than that of Bela Lugosi in Plan nine from outer space, which is a great film for all the wrong reasons).
As for the new scenes answering all the unanswerd questions from the original...what questions?....in the comentary from John Russo and others they say the first zombie needs expalnation of where he came from... Hell they are in a cematary use your imagination, films that let us use our imagination in an intelligent way are the ones we call masterpieces.
Also in the new fottage if your unlucky enough to see it look for the zombie with the one arm... at several points you can actualy tell the the girl has her arm tied behind her back under her clothes (digital effects must be a new then to these guys) especially when she leans over the car accident,and as for the extended radio dialog that clears up sooooo many imortant questions but just boggs you down in to much information that is unnecessary .....but i could go on.
To sum up all i can say is all the above i can forgive cause if you take it for what it is it isnt to bad, anyway having sat throught the 30th anniversary edition ( with and with out commentary) i happily sat down to watch the original 1968 version only to find it was not the original 1968 version as it contains the new music score and not the original stock music that was used ... alas this makes the whole dvd useless as the originaly chosen music is one of the originals charms, it contains music some may recognize as having been used in The hideous sun deamon, teenagers from outer space and terror from the year 5,000.
I do think that somewhere on the packaging they should of pointed out the the "so called" 68 version had the new music score, false adversiseing maybe?
alas just today i was out of town and found my self in a store that had a cheap $9:95 version of the 1968 Night of the Living dead on DVD (yes with original music in place) and was very tempted, but unless John Russo is willing to give me back my $40 for the new version i'm not willing to buy the other one, and anyway having it here will be a reminder to be more careful.
The digital remastering of the video is excellent, but i would of settled for a little grainy if i could of just had the film i first saw when i was twelve.
I guess this little tale of buyer beware proves that expensive is not always better. find the original version with the original stock music in place it is sooooo much better.

Rating:
Summary: They're coming to get you Barbara
Review: I received this movie for Christmas when I was 10 years old and I have absolutely loved it since then! The gruesome depictions of the living dead are simply amazing. And it really freaked me out when I discovered that parts of it were filmed in Pittsburgh, which is only one hour away from my home. I really admire the creepiness of how George A. Romero has the actors board themselves up in a deserted old house with flesh eating zombies outside stalking in the yard. Even the scene in the beginning when Barbara and Johnny are at the cemetery is spooky. The ending will surely make you mad. But I must admit that the rest of the movie was excellent! In my opinion it is the greatest zombie film ever made. A pure classic!

Rating:
Summary: Gruesome
Review: I remember watching this movie when I was 5. I liked it even then. I hadn't seen it for 15 years and all that time it stayed with me, so I finally bought it. Even today this movie is still horriffic, gruesome, and disturbing. I must give dredit to the director for making such a triumph. Especially when you consider all of the actors are unprofessional, and the film was made on a stringent budget. The ending will make you angry. Because this film is not just horror, but also social commentary. By the end of the film we believe that we will beat the zombies. But that begs the question. Will we be able to overcome our own injustices?