{"id":6473,"date":"2013-04-30T12:36:43","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T16:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=6473"},"modified":"2013-04-30T12:36:43","modified_gmt":"2013-04-30T16:36:43","slug":"vhs-night-of-the-living-dead-25th-anniversary-documentary-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=6473","title":{"rendered":"VHS: Night of the Living Dead – 25th Anniversary Documentary (1993)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to: <\/strong>Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>N to O<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Film: Very Good\/ DVD Transfer: n\/a\/ DVD Extras: n\/a<\/p>\n

Label: Elite\u00a0\/ Region: n\/a\/\u00a0Released: n\/a<\/p>\n

Genre: Documentary \/ Film History<\/p>\n

Synopsis: Documentary and interviews celebrating the 25th anniversary of George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”<\/p>\n

Special Features: n\/a<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Made before featurettes became de rigueur for cult films on DVD, Thomas Brown\u2019s documentary is admittedly crude and wholly the product of a fan\u2019s adoration for a singular film, but it maintains an oddly refreshing glimpse into the making of one of the most influential horror films of all-time.<\/p>\n

The doc\u2019s core is a roundtable discussion where, perhaps for the first time, four of the key players from Night of the Living Dead<\/strong> gathered for an informal talk at the Hardman-Eastman Associates, Inc. offices in 1993 for the film\u2019s 25th anniversary.<\/p>\n

Director George Romero is joined by co-writer John A. Russo, co-producer \/ co-star Karl Hardman, and co-producer Russell Streiner, and their conversation doesn\u2019t offer a trove of new information; what\u2019s notable is the congeniality and camaraderie among the four filmmakers, Romero\u2019s sharp wise cracks, and the democratic dialogue that never favours one specific person.<\/p>\n

The main anecdotes cover props, locations, sleeping arrangements while on location, and the film\u2019s original financing plan of 10 producers with $600 each towards an impossible budget, Duane Jones, the film\u2019s violence and gore, the newsroom set, plus references to personnel from the original production who were interviewed in 2009 for the doc Autopsy of the Dead<\/strong> (notably special effects man Regis Survinski).<\/p>\n

The quartet\u2019s conversation is also significant for being untainted by the sense of familiarity that would affect later interviews with Romero and Russo, as well as Q&As at conventions which arguably are designed for fans who want to hear \u2018classic\u2019 tales from the making of their most beloved films.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s doc was done at a time when the careers of two of the four had peaked: Romero would finish has last Hollywood film \u2013 The Dark Half<\/strong> (1993) – before a seven-year pause until the flawed Bruiser<\/strong> (2000). Since 2000, Romero has directed three more films in the never-ending Night<\/strong> series, whereas Russo would write a handful of forgettable B-films, as well as retool the original Night<\/strong> in an expanded 30th anniversary edition in 1998. Streiner largely stayed away from feature filmmaking, as did Hardman.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a tone among the subjects wherein one senses everyone was interviewed at the perfect time when they felt comfortable reflecting on what became a lauded genre classic. That seems to be the stance of Brown, who constructed the doc into themed chapters.<\/p>\n

Beginning with the film\u2019s original theatrical trailer, the doc goes straight into the roundtable discussion, with film clips supporting some of the key topics, and a slight digression to comments from contemporary genre practitioners, who recall their first encounter with Night<\/strong>, as well as the film\u2019s influence on their work.<\/p>\n

The \u2018new breed\u2019 of filmmakers is a mix of directors with roots in the exploitation realm: Fred Olen Ray (Evil Toons<\/strong>), Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/strong>), David DeCoteau (Creepozoids<\/strong>), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead<\/a><\/strong>), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London<\/strong>), Wes Craven (The Hills Have Eyes<\/a><\/strong>), Scott Spiegel (Evil Dead II<\/strong>), and the baby-faced editors of Film Threat<\/a>: Christian Gore, and David E. Williams.<\/p>\n

Among the themed chapters, there\u2019s Hardman and wife Marilyn Eastman discussing the film\u2019s makeup and effects, with the former recalling some of the graphic makeup effects tricks he learned while working at RKO during the production of Enchanted Cottage<\/strong> (1945); and Eastman\u2019s gradual switch during filming from theatrical raccoon eye makeup to the gaunt looks that was more successful. The couple go through various photos, and single out a few of the actors they dressed up as ghouls.<\/p>\n

Hardman and Eastman also discuss the stock music cues used in the film, and their conversation is taped in a mixing room where one of the original Capitol Hi-Q records plays in the background. They explain how they provided Romero with cue samples, leaving the final score selection up to the director, and describe how most of the cues were slowed down, echoplexed, or tweaked for the final mix.<\/p>\n

(Jim Cirronnella, who produced the 2009 doc Autopsy<\/a><\/strong> of the Dead<\/a> [M<\/a>],<\/strong> as well as the definitive Night <\/strong>soundtrack CD in 2009, offers a clarification in an interview, explaining the stock cues weren\u2019t treated at all; rather it\u2019s the electronic material created by Hardman and Eastman, as well as dialogue and screams \u2013 such as the girl\u2019s killing of her mother \u2013 that were tweaked in the mix.)<\/p>\n

The doc closes with a stills montage, an on-camera salute from Market Square producer \/ distributor Michael D. Moore to Romero, and a weird Q&A with kids on their response in seeing a zombie flick made in 1968.<\/p>\n

Thus far, this doc has been released only on VHS<\/a>, and while a bit technically crude, it\u2019s an important record of the film\u2019s main participants that should be reissued on disc, or as a downloadable video.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2010 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a><\/p>\n

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Amazon Search Links:<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a>\"\" \"\"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0N to O<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to: Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/ N to O . Film: Very Good\/ DVD Transfer: n\/a\/ DVD Extras: n\/a Label: Elite\u00a0\/ Region: n\/a\/\u00a0Released: n\/a Genre: Documentary \/ Film History Synopsis: Documentary and interviews celebrating the 25th anniversary of George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” Special Features: n\/a . . Review: Made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[1985,1990,1996],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1Gp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6473"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6541,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions\/6541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}