Dawn of the Dead

Slightly more than a decade after his groundbreaking, satirical Night of the Living Dead, filmmaker George A. Romero released this far more terrifying and even more mordant sequel. Set mere months after the onset of the zombie plague in the original, Dawn of the Dead finds much of America overtaken by legions of blue-skinned flesh-eaters, with the story focusing on a pair of National Guardsmen who hole up in a shopping mall with a couple of TV news people. The quartet live like kings (and one queen) in a secured palace of consumer spoils while the dead try to find a way in. Romero masterfully orchestrates terror while overlaying caustic comedy: the image of a ponytailed, zombie-fied devotee of an American Hare Krishna cult can make one laugh and scream at once. "It's an instinct," one character says of the zombies milling about the mall, adding "this place was important to them." Presented in a Divimax high-definition anamorphic widescreen transfer, with DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and stereo sound options, Dawn of the Dead (the theatrical version, not the 137-minute director's cut) looks and sounds better than ever before. Unfortunately, the extras on this “special edition” (reputedly rushed out to coincide with the recent remake; a more comprehensive DVD release is scheduled for later this year) are a bit skimpy. Still, fans will enjoy the entertaining commentary track by Romero, his wife Chris, and special effects maestro Tom Savini. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)[DVD Review--September 21, 2004--Anchor Bay, 4 discs, 384 min., not rated, $49.98--Containing four discs, the Dawn of the Dead: Ultimate Edition boxed set of George Romero's cult classic 1978 zombie drama includes three versions of the film (theatrical, extended, and European cuts) with three commentary tracks (the original, plus commentaries by producer Richard P. Rubinstein and by costars David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross), the 92-minute original "making-of" documentary “Document of the Dead” by Roy Frumkes, the 75-minute behind-the-scenes retrospective documentary “The Dead Will Walk” by Perry Martin, 13 minutes of on-set home movies with commentary by zombie extra Robert Langer, an 11-minute tour of “Monroeville Mall” with Foree, the “Monroeville Mall” commercial, text bios of Romero and producer/composer Dario Argento, three stills galleries (production, behind-the-scenes, and memorabilia), U.S. and international trailers, TV spots, posters, press books, soundtrack/video covers, advertising galleries, and lobby cards, a brief comic book preview, and Easter eggs. Bottom line: if you didn't purchase the so-called "special edition," this "ultimate edition" is the real deal and is highly recommended for larger collections that can afford a four-disc set devoted to a single film.]