DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Dawn of the Dead - Special Edition (1 Viewer)

[Jon B NY]

3D edition?! that sounds so bad I just have to see it! Chris where did you see this?


And definitely getthe milenium edition. Lots os special features and a better transfer (I believe). A little pricey. Probably around 25 at a b&m place, but it's awesome. It's the only Night DVD that has a Romero commentary track (I believe).

 

[Jon B NY]

Anyone who's looking to pick up the trilogy - Bestbuy.com is selling the Day and Dawn divimax discs along with a cheapo Night disc for a combined price of 30 bucks! AWESOME price!

 

[Doug Schiller]

Just remember that the NOTLD that is included is the Savini remake, not the Romero version.

I actually love the Savini version.

 

[Robert Anthony]

I already got Dawn, and I'm trying to find the Millennium version of Night along with a nice priced Day. It's harder than I thought.

 

[Scott Wong]

Welp, I bought the special edition of "Day of the Dead" at Best Buy today for $16.99. I thought that was a fair price for a 2-disc special edition. They only seemed to have one version of NOTLD. It was also $16.99 but didn't seem like it was anything too fancy. And whatever it was, I know for sure it wasn't the proclaimed Millenium edition mentioned above. *shrug* I'll see about order a special edition of NOTLD from somewhere online.

FWIW, I really enjoyed Day of the Dead, as well. I just finished watching it. Man, I can't get over how well they did on the transfer! What a great movie!! I love those anticlimatic endings... heh heh... it kinda makes you wonder what you'd actually do in that kind of situation. OK, not that I'm entertaining thought of zombies ever walking the Earth... but it's actually kinda humorous from the outside looking in, so to speak, to see those kind of endings at the end of a film like that. At first, I thought it was silly... but in a way, I bet I'd probably act the sameway. I mean, because at the end, the only thing you have left to do is congratulate yourself on making it through another day. OK, I'm rambling...

Scott.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Scott, On your earlier question - I always took it to show that they've chosen to keep living. He was all set to kill himself, having lost all of his material goods to the dead after they overtake the mall. But, given that there is no diginity in dying, he decides to fight back. He rushes past the masses and climbs onboard towards an uncertain future. The Biker gangs nix much hope of a positive society out there. The living are the biggest threat, be it the roving gangs or the religious/spiritual beliefs that helped to spread the disease in the first place.

That they choose to strike out without any driving hope (no fuel, no known civilization) is pretty bleak but sort of optimistic.

 

[Scott Wong]

Alex:

*nod* I actually went back and watched "Dawn of the Dead" for a second time a couple of days ago. And after seeing "Day of the Dead" this morning and the manner in which it ended, I completely understand. Ending either film in any other way i.e., meeting up with others, etc, etc. I guess would have been pretty lame. And obviously, in Day of the Dead, it was even moreso that simply wasn't going to happen given the odds.

I guess even with no fuel and no known civilization... that's still quite a bit to live for.

Scott.

 

[Russ Lucas]

Right on, Alex. It's completely optimistic. The rumored alternate ending-- now there's an ending of despair. The ending to the original Night-- there's a cynical ending. This one ends hopefully and just right, in my view.

What other ending would be appropriate given everything else that came before? Sure, you could kill them off, but if the film's ultimately about survival and the ways that we misvalue what it means to survive and how we define quality of life, then what better to end the film than with a tenuous and temporary survival?

To the poster above who is looking to buy a copy of Night, I think either Elite edition is fine. I didn't find compelling reason to upgrade to the Milennium Edition from the original Elite version (I have the one with the weird long-haired zombie in business suit on the cover, and it has multiple commentaries and a great transfer). Just don't get the 30th Anniversary Edition-- it has added footage and image manipulation.

And regarding Day, I bought this last year hoping that it got better over the fifteen or so years since I'd first seen it. I wish I could report it did.

 

[Matt Butler]

I used to have Night but sold it years ago but forgot to upgrade. I reordered the Millenuim from Amazon for $25 shipped. I bought Dawn a coule days ago and loved it!. I hadnt seen it in a while.

How is Day? Ive never seen it but keep hearing mixed reviews. Same with the Savini remake of Night.

One question re: Dawn commentary
Did anyone freeze-frame and spot the trampoline Savini was talking aout during the "truck" sequence?

 

[Robert Anthony]

Matt: I've seen the Millennium edition of Night for about 10 bucks or so at half.com before. You might want to check that out. I don't know if you can find it NOW, but I do remember seeing it for that price somewhat recently.

 

[Ray_Gootz]

Dawn of the Dead is my second favorite movie of all-time. Sometimes I think I might make it no.1 because as I get older I identify more with Ken Foree in Dawn than McDowell in Clockwork Orange which is my favorite movie ever right now. I love the trilogy and rank day second behind Dawn and night as third. There are many reasons why Dawn of the Dead is the greatest horror movie ever made. And if I didn't have to go to work I'd list them all!

 

[Rich Romero]

Day is excellent in my opinion. Although Dawn has the slight edge, I think Day has the best replay value and is the movie I've watched more than any other. The remake of Night was actually the first zombie I ever saw on TNT's Monstervision. I like it every bit as the original and most people agree that it is a great film in it's own right. I highly recommend both.

 

[Jon B NY]

Robert - the cheapest price I Ever saw Day for was 17 beans at Best Buy. Good price for the set.

Scott - I'm glad you got use to the anti-climatic endings and I'm also glad you enjoyed Day so much! Watch the documentary on the 2nd disc, it's GREAT!

Matt - Day of the Dead is MUCH darker. If you liked Dawn because it's so fun and comical at times, then you may not like Day. It's very dark, cruel, edgy, all the characters are cold, etc. etc. The last 30 minutes to the film has the most realistic gore I've ever seen in a movie before! It's SICKENING...and I love it! 90% of fans of the trilogy enjoy Dawn more. I'm one of the few people that like Day of the Dead more. Romero has also stated that Day of the Dead has become his favorite of the three films. Rent it, because it's not for everyone. Definitely not for everyone. lol. But if you enjoy it, do not hesitate to get the 2 disc Anchor Bay version, it's amazing!

Also, I saw that freeze frame on the Dawn DVD. They point it out in the commentary. Very funny

 

[Ray_Gootz]

If you go into the trilogy understanding that each Dead film is a reflection of the decade it was made in you won't be dissapointed. The best sequels are the ones that raise the stakes. That's why Aliens and Dawn are so well-recived. Day, however, goes on a diffrent path. It's more introspeced. More concerned with how the charcters feel rather than how to properly shoot a zombie in the head. Taht's why it works. But y'know as much as i love Day, I really wish they had made the orginal script. Radiers of the lost Ark with Zombies sounds too good to pass up.

 

[Rolando]

I just saw my Dawn Of The Dead Divimax DVD and I HAD to share the feeling.

WOW!

Ok, carry on...

Alright I will say more... I saw this on VHS over 10 years ago. I was a Horror movie fan even then and had seen the Savini remake of Night in theatres.

Well I admit it was even BETTER than I remembered. I bought mostly as a "classic" worried it was better in memory. You how people rave about a classic that you only find so-so and don't want to be the first to say: dudes, the emperor is walking around naked..."

I am happy to say I am glad I bought it on street date and that I did not wait any longer to see it.

I was actually fighting not to see it until I found myself a copy of Night Millenium Edition. Have not seen THAT in years either.

Now off to buy Day!

Anything I should know about Divimax of Day? I thought I read somewhere something about sound issues. hope not.

 

[Drew Reiber]

Minor dubs left over from the sound elements apparently ported from an edited version (for content) of the film. It's only noticible once or twice, but the film looks and sounds so great otherwise that the trade off is completely worth it. Trust me.

 

[MichaelSloan]

I think this topic might be an appropriate place to mention that I saw a few copies of the new "Dawn of the Dead" dvd on the shelf at wal-mart on about March 1st- a week before it was supposed to be released. I would not be surprised if it was in the store that far in advance still in storage and otherwise selling it then would be illegal, but you would think that the staff of the store would know that and not put it on the shelf.

 

[Matt Czyz]

Michael:

This happens allllllllllllllllllll the time, at many different places. I really don't think it's illegal at all. Looked down on by the MPAA maybe, but it's not a crime to sell movies before "official" street dates.

 

[Robert Anthony]

Michael: I wouldn't worry about the legality, but in my experience, and with a couple other people, if you bought a copy that early, the chances of it being defective go up--apparently some of the first copies of this thing had a glue problem or something--the 2nd layer didn't work.

Haven't heard anything lately, though.