DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
Starring David Emge and Ken Foree
George Romero's long-awaited sequel to the masterpiece "Night of the Living Dead" needs no introduction. Rated X when first released, it follows the exploits of a rag-tag team of ex-law enforcement officers and TV newspeople, who after society disintegrates following the zombie onslaught portrayed in the previous film, hold up in a shopping mall, where flesh-eating zombies roam the corridors, repeating the behavior they had before they died.
With effects by make-up legend Tom Savini, this bloody horror flick really shocked the shit out of people when it was released, but today, movies like Dead Alive have out-gored it. Still, it's difficult not to be impressed by the over-the-top bloodshed, or its intelligent story, which has our heroes becoming obsessed with consumer culture after they take over a shopping mall.
"Dawn" was a huge commercial success, and (surprisingly for a gore film) it was embraced by the mainstream. Roger Ebert liked it. Newsweek hailed it as a triumph. There was even a board game. Dawn's impact on the horror genre can't be underestimated. For an unrated film to make $40 million at the box office was unheard of. "Dawn" came out the same year as the more successful "Halloween," which may have taken away some of its history-making box-office thunder. At the time, "Halloween" was the most successful independent film ever made. (It would lose the mantle to "The Blair Witch Project.") But hardcore horror fans lusted after Dawn the most. Savni, Romero, Argento, Goblin -- these legendary horror icons made their mark with this movie. But despite Dawn's status as the ultimate fan favorite, some of us still don't think it pack anything close to the punch of "Night of the Living Dead," still one of the scariest movies ever made.
For years, "Dawn" wasn't available on video. When it finally made its way to cassette, it was a pretty disappointing transfer on Thorn EMI video. It's managed to stay in print off and on ever since. So many versions of the film exist that there's also a bootleg market. The most popular version might be the Italian one, entitled "Zombie," edited by Dario Argento, who served as a creative advisor on this film. His version features more music on the score by Goblin. The rock group (which scored Argento's "Deep Red") originally did the entire soundtrack, but Romero replaced much of it with stock music for the American release.
The "Anniversary Edition" of the film released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999 is easily the best version to buy. The digital remaster looks terrific.
The official sequel of "Dawn of the Dead" was "Day of the Dead," although an Italian director named Lucio Fulci released a "Zombie 2" in Europe before being sued. That film is now known as "Zombie" in the U.S. (and "Zombi 2" in most of Europe).
A decent remake also hit theaters in 2004.
htofthelivingdead.htm">Night of the Living Dead" needs no introduction. Rated X when first released, it follows the exploits of a rag-tag team of ex-law enforcement officers and TV newspeople, who after society disintegrates following the zombie onslaught portrayed in the previous film, hold up in a shopping mall, where flesh-eating zombies roam the corridors, repeating the behavior they had before they died.With effects by make-up legend Tom Savini, this bloody horror flick really shocked the shit out of people when it was released, but today, movies like Dead Alive have out-gored it. Still, it's difficult not to be impressed by the over-the-top bloodshed, or its intelligent story, which has our heroes becoming obsessed with consumer culture after they take over a shopping mall.
"Dawn" was a huge commercial success, and (surprisingly for a gore film) it was embraced by the mainstream. Roger Ebert liked it. Newsweek hailed it as a triumph. There was even a board game. Dawn's impact on the horror genre can't be underestimated. For an unrated film to make $40 million at the box office was unheard of. "Dawn" came out the same year as the more successful "Halloween," which may have taken away some of its history-making box-office thunder. At the time, "Halloween" was the most successful independent film ever made. (It would lose the mantle to "The Blair Witch Project.") But hardcore horror fans lusted after Dawn the most. Savni, Romero, Argento, Goblin -- these legendary horror icons made their mark with this movie. But despite Dawn's status as the ultimate fan favorite, some of us still don't think it pack anything close to the punch of "Night of the Living Dead," still one of the scariest movies ever made.
For years, "Dawn" wasn't available on video. When it finally made its way to cassette, it was a pretty disappointing transfer on Thorn EMI video. It's managed to stay in print off and on ever since. So many versions of the film exist that there's also a bootleg market. The most popular version might be the Italian one, entitled "Zombie," edited by Dario Argento, who served as a creative advisor on this film. His version features more music on the score by Goblin. The rock group (which scored Argento's "Deep Red") originally did the entire soundtrack, but Romero replaced much of it with stock music for the American release.
The "Anniversary Edition" of the film released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999 is easily the best version to buy. The digital remaster looks terrific.
The official sequel of "Dawn of the Dead" was "Day of the Dead," although an Italian director named Lucio Fulci released a "Zombie 2" in Europe before being sued. That film is now known as "Zombie" in the U.S. (and "Zombi 2" in most of Europe).
A decent remake also hit theaters in 2004.