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Return Of The Living Dead
Studio: MGM
Year: 1985
Rated: R
Film Length: 91 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.78:1)
More Brains! Send More Brains!
While I have never been a fan of b-grade horror
films, I have always enjoyed the films of Director
George A. Romero. After all, how can anyone resist
tales of dead people coming back to life only to
recruit the living by eating on their flesh?
It's surprising that Return Of The Living Dead,
not only successfully satires the Romero series, but
manages to be just as hauntingly beautiful yet
chilling. In fact, the film has become so popular
over the years that it has been elevated to a cult
classic. And why not? The film offers humor mixed
with horror as well as its share of split dogs,
walking headless corpses, and brains.
Freddy (Thom Matthews) has just started his first
job at an army surplus store. His boss and Uncle,
Frank (James Karen) is a humorous fellow that you can
never take too seriously -- especially when he
starts telling strange stories of re-animated
corpses in the basement.
When the two accidently break a seal on one of the
canisters, the gas creeps up through cracks,
re-animating butterflies, chopped in half dogs, and
a cadaver. Decapitating the cadaver doesn't help
much, so Freddy and Frank chop him into little
pieces and take him to a crematorium next door.
As the body burns to ashes, the pieces release gas
into the cemetery, bringing back hordes of zombies
hungry for brains.
Meanwhile, Freddy's punk friends are partying in
the cemetery next door. This gives the perfect
excuse for Trash (Linnea Quigley) to remove all her
clothes and entertain her friends. But these friends
are soon to realize that they are surrounded by the
living dead, being the first to discover the hordes
of zombies, as they find themselves trapped with
no way out.
How is the transfer?
I didn't quite know what to expect from a low-budget
80s film like this. Imagine my surprise finding this
transfer to be quite good.
The print is in immaculate condition, sporting
hardly any film dirt or blemishes. Transfer looks
extremely clean, with noticeable film grain in only
a few brief shots throughout the film. What is
most surprising here is how accurate the film colors
are -- especially in the skin tones. Colors never
become oversaturated. Even the night shots look
better than one would expected with lots of detail
and (except for a few shots) a small amount of
film grain. Fans are going to be overwhelmed by
just how good this film looks over former video
releases.
The mono soundtrack is very robust, even a bit
bass heavy, giving nice support to the powerful
metal soundtrack featuring The Cramps and Billy Idol.
One can't help but wonder how much better this film
would have sounded with a stereo mix.
Special Features
MGM has certainly recognized the cult following
of this film, and as a result, included an
interesting amount of added material.
First off is the full-length audio commentary
by Director/Writer Dan O'Bannon and Production
Designer William Stout. Stout tells some interesting
stories about how some of his film ideas were created,
including the skeleton farm in India (which happens
to be real). As we continue through the film,
O'Bannon points out many of the flaws in his film
including the overly clean embalming room and the
fact that a corpse's shoes were too shiny. We also
learn of some of the photographic limitations the
director had, and how he worked around them. Stout
sort of loses himself in admiring his work rather
than talking extensively how some of the effects
shots and gore were created.
In Designing the Dead,Writer/Director Dan
O'Bannon is quick to point out that while he is
a great fan of Romero's films, the last thing he
wanted to do was step on his toes. O'Bannon's
goal was to take the essence of the "Dead" films
and turn it into a comedy. One thing that I was
shocked to learn was that this was the man that
wrote the original "Alien" story that went on to
be directed by Ridley Scott. In a very geekish
manner, the Director talks about how the success
of "Alien" led to other film offers, and ultimately,
an offer from Tobe Hooper to direct Return Of
The Living Dead. After checking out a comic
book cover design, O'Bannon brought William Stout
on board as Production Designer. We get a look at
some of the early production designs for the film,
which look quite good. Putting in 18 hour days,
Stout did a lot of research on dead corpses in
order to bring more realism to his mummy-like
creations. Stout goes on to give a fascinating
in-depth explanation of how many of the make-up
effects were created, and why he preferred actors
over stunt men to take on the role of the dead.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
There are about 78 photos that make up the
storyboards and Conceptual art work by William
Stout. Using your remote, you surf through
the many set designs and creature drawings, all
of which were recreated for the screen quite well
when considering the film's budget limitations.
Two original theatrical trailers are included.
The first is the "G" rated trailer designed for
general audiences. The second is the "R" rated
trailer that played as a preview amongst more adult
orientated films.
Final Thoughts
Who would have ever thought that zombies and
punk rock would go together so well? This
highly enjoyable and amazing thrill ride takes
on new "life" thanks to its wonderful DVD
transfer. The dead have never looked better!
Release Date: August 28, 2002
Return Of The Living Dead
Studio: MGM
Year: 1985
Rated: R
Film Length: 91 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.78:1)
More Brains! Send More Brains!
While I have never been a fan of b-grade horror
films, I have always enjoyed the films of Director
George A. Romero. After all, how can anyone resist
tales of dead people coming back to life only to
recruit the living by eating on their flesh?
It's surprising that Return Of The Living Dead,
not only successfully satires the Romero series, but
manages to be just as hauntingly beautiful yet
chilling. In fact, the film has become so popular
over the years that it has been elevated to a cult
classic. And why not? The film offers humor mixed
with horror as well as its share of split dogs,
walking headless corpses, and brains.
Freddy (Thom Matthews) has just started his first
job at an army surplus store. His boss and Uncle,
Frank (James Karen) is a humorous fellow that you can
never take too seriously -- especially when he
starts telling strange stories of re-animated
corpses in the basement.
When the two accidently break a seal on one of the
canisters, the gas creeps up through cracks,
re-animating butterflies, chopped in half dogs, and
a cadaver. Decapitating the cadaver doesn't help
much, so Freddy and Frank chop him into little
pieces and take him to a crematorium next door.
As the body burns to ashes, the pieces release gas
into the cemetery, bringing back hordes of zombies
hungry for brains.
Meanwhile, Freddy's punk friends are partying in
the cemetery next door. This gives the perfect
excuse for Trash (Linnea Quigley) to remove all her
clothes and entertain her friends. But these friends
are soon to realize that they are surrounded by the
living dead, being the first to discover the hordes
of zombies, as they find themselves trapped with
no way out.
How is the transfer?
I didn't quite know what to expect from a low-budget
80s film like this. Imagine my surprise finding this
transfer to be quite good.
The print is in immaculate condition, sporting
hardly any film dirt or blemishes. Transfer looks
extremely clean, with noticeable film grain in only
a few brief shots throughout the film. What is
most surprising here is how accurate the film colors
are -- especially in the skin tones. Colors never
become oversaturated. Even the night shots look
better than one would expected with lots of detail
and (except for a few shots) a small amount of
film grain. Fans are going to be overwhelmed by
just how good this film looks over former video
releases.
The mono soundtrack is very robust, even a bit
bass heavy, giving nice support to the powerful
metal soundtrack featuring The Cramps and Billy Idol.
One can't help but wonder how much better this film
would have sounded with a stereo mix.
Special Features
MGM has certainly recognized the cult following
of this film, and as a result, included an
interesting amount of added material.
First off is the full-length audio commentary
by Director/Writer Dan O'Bannon and Production
Designer William Stout. Stout tells some interesting
stories about how some of his film ideas were created,
including the skeleton farm in India (which happens
to be real). As we continue through the film,
O'Bannon points out many of the flaws in his film
including the overly clean embalming room and the
fact that a corpse's shoes were too shiny. We also
learn of some of the photographic limitations the
director had, and how he worked around them. Stout
sort of loses himself in admiring his work rather
than talking extensively how some of the effects
shots and gore were created.
In Designing the Dead,Writer/Director Dan
O'Bannon is quick to point out that while he is
a great fan of Romero's films, the last thing he
wanted to do was step on his toes. O'Bannon's
goal was to take the essence of the "Dead" films
and turn it into a comedy. One thing that I was
shocked to learn was that this was the man that
wrote the original "Alien" story that went on to
be directed by Ridley Scott. In a very geekish
manner, the Director talks about how the success
of "Alien" led to other film offers, and ultimately,
an offer from Tobe Hooper to direct Return Of
The Living Dead. After checking out a comic
book cover design, O'Bannon brought William Stout
on board as Production Designer. We get a look at
some of the early production designs for the film,
which look quite good. Putting in 18 hour days,
Stout did a lot of research on dead corpses in
order to bring more realism to his mummy-like
creations. Stout goes on to give a fascinating
in-depth explanation of how many of the make-up
effects were created, and why he preferred actors
over stunt men to take on the role of the dead.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
There are about 78 photos that make up the
storyboards and Conceptual art work by William
Stout. Using your remote, you surf through
the many set designs and creature drawings, all
of which were recreated for the screen quite well
when considering the film's budget limitations.
Two original theatrical trailers are included.
The first is the "G" rated trailer designed for
general audiences. The second is the "R" rated
trailer that played as a preview amongst more adult
orientated films.
Final Thoughts
Who would have ever thought that zombies and
punk rock would go together so well? This
highly enjoyable and amazing thrill ride takes
on new "life" thanks to its wonderful DVD
transfer. The dead have never looked better!
Release Date: August 28, 2002
