"George A. Romero's Day of the Dead" - Anchor Bay Divimax Edition

"George A. Romero's Day of the Dead" (1985) Anchor Bay Divimax Edition

Anchor Bay Edition (2003) Cover Art.

PREFACE:

This is the sixth installment of 1980's splatter / monster DVD / Movie Reviews. This time, we're going with a very serious take on horror with 1985's masterpiece by George Romero, "Day of the Dead"!

THE PRODUCTION

"Night of the Living Dead" (1968) set the cornerstone for modern zombie horror, while 1979's "Dawn of the Dead" cemented it. Both were created by "The Zombie Godfather" Mr. George A. Romero.

At the time, we all heard about a third film to complete the trilogy. Fangoria magazine ran stories about it, the rumor mill was over loaded . Then, in 1985, we had another Romero zombie film to satisfy our need for 'real' zombie horror! ("Return of the Living Dead" doesn't count!)

It wasn't the comic book-type romp that "Dawn" was, which is what we kind of expected. It was dark...very dark. At the time, it didn't do well & was panned by a few critics, but in the fullness of time it became clear that "Day" was far more superior than the prior two. It took a while for the fan base to "get it" to "assimilate it". 

The original trilogy are all masterpieces in their own right. Each has it's unique merits and strengths that support, individually, their claim to the throne.

Romero's original script included a much more expansive landscape in which the story would unfold. However, he had to scale back his vision due to the budget being cut from $7 million to $3.6 Million.

I've read the original script and it's a whopper! I really wished that version could have been filmed.

Filming "Dr.Tongue" for the opening sequence.

Howard Sherman ("Bub") & FX Guru Tom Savini.

THE STORY

A small group of scientists and soldiers have taken refuge in an underground missile silo where they struggle to control the zombie apocalypse that walks the world above them. 

Searching for survivors in a dead world.

Protagonist Sarah (Lori Cardille).

Pilot John played by Terry Alexander.

Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) and "Bub" (Howard Sherman).

Joe Pilato as crazy-ass Capt. Rhodes.

What makes a zombie tick? 

An experiment breaks loose in the lab!

Zombie carnage as the living fail to escape the silo.

Rhodes meets his end in spectacular fashion.

THE DVD

Anchor Bay Divimax Edition - 2 Disc Set (2003)

Disc One:

• Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TV's.
• Dolby Digital 6.1 Surround EX DTS-EX Sound
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and Actress Lori Cardille.
• Audio Commentary with Filmmaker Roger Avery.

Disc Two:

• "The Many Days of DAY OF THE DEAD" - An all new 39 minute documentary featuring interviews with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Producer David Ball, Special Make-Up Effects Artists Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, Production Designer Cletus Anderson, Assistant Director Chris Romero, and Actors Lori Cardille and Howard Sherman.
• DAY OF THE DEAD: Behind the Scenes - 31 minutes of production footage from Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini.
• Audio Interview with actor Richard Liberty.
• Wampum Mine Promotional Video.
• Theatrical trailers.
• TV Spots.
• Production Stills.
• Behind-the-Scenes Photos.
• Posters & Advertising Art.
• Gallery of Memorabilia.
• Zombie Make-Up Photo Gallery.
• Continuity Stills Gallery.
• George Romero Bio.
• DVD-ROM: Original Screenplay & Production Memos.

If you love zombies, then Romero is the one to study. This 3rd entry into his "Dead" Series is, to me, the best in many ways. However, "Dawn" is pretty cool too. Hey, watch the film and decide for yourself. For the splatter factor alone, Day is worth a top slot in any horror fans library.