New Dawn of the Dead dvd (French R2) (1 Viewer)

[Geoff_D]

Anyone have this version and care to comment on it? It's only just been released but the specs look mighty tasty. It's apparently anamorphic, with an English dts soundtrack (as well as French dts & dd) and extras such as Roy Frumkes' Document of the Dead documentary (albeit a shorter 50 minute version of it) on a second disc. It's Argento's cut of the movie, BTW. I'd love to know if the French subs are locked when the English soundtrack is played, and whether the extras have been dubbed into French (instead of being subbed).

And yes, I know that Anchor Bay's upcoming edition will destroy all versions that have gone before, but it's still a long way off. Basically, I'm a Dawn fanatic and I've ordered this version regardless of AB's future release. The Dutch 2-disc release should also be in my possession very soon. That ought to tide me over until AB finally releases Dawn. It'd better be worth the wait...

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Interesting news, Geoff.

DTS, you say?

You don't happen to know who the distributor is, do you?

I like Dario's cut - I like all the cuts (that's rare, for me), as Dawn and Dario's has the most Goblin rock in it!

Anchor's lavish set really ought to be the the defintive edition, though.

Thanks for the heads up - oh, damn helicopter blades!


Gordy

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

http://www.dvdzone2.com/dvd/detail.asp?id=120850

- 1.66:1 anamorphic

- Don't see DTS?

- Cheap 'n' nasty cover-art

Hmmm... think I'll just wait until February.


Gordy

 

[Geoff_D]

Gord, I got this today, and it's a mighty fine set - except for the cover art, obviously! It has a crisp anamorphic picture, French and English soundtracks in both DD5.1 and dts 5.1 (half bitrate), plus removable French subs. Dialogue is a little out of sync in some places on the English dts track, but it soon rectifies itself.

The track itself isn't the worst remix you'll ever hear (the original mono is not included) and it adds ambiance rather than any real discrete surround presence, which is how it should be (and there's virtually no LFE). The music is nicely presented though, and sounds much fuller than the mono track we're used to. It helps that many of the gunshots used in Argento's soundmix are different from those used in Romero's cut, selling the effects track a little better. The dialogue is strangely muted on some scenes, but this was present on the original mono track to Zombie so it's nothing to really worry about. I can only speculate that Argento got the raw dialogue tracks to complete his original soundmix, not the looped - or at least boosted - dialogue tracks that Romero uses in his cut of the movie. As long as you can live with the speed-up ( I can ) then it's a decent effort overall.

The real kicker is on the second disc, which contains the complete 84-minute 'Document of the Dead' documentary with Roy Frumkes commentary and another 7 minutes of extra scenes from the docco. This is also in original language with removable French subs. The other extras consist of interviews with various French people who didn't actually work on the movie, plus a 15 minute montage of scenes from Argento's cut with commentary (again from some French guy) about how they're different from Romero's cut of the movie. The US trailer is also included.

For those who can't wait for Anchor Bay's super-duper box set, this set will fill in the time quite nicely. Can you really wait, Gordon?

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Hey, sounds pretty good, Geoff!

I wonder if Anchor's edition will have the legendary Frumkes documentary? And will it have the commentary by Frumkes that is present on this French edition?

And the interviews with the French guys; do they speak in English or in French? Are there subtitles?

I may just get this, you know.

Thanks again, Geoff!


Gordy

 

[Geoff_D]

The interviews and the scene montage commentary are all in French language with no English subs. But when you've got Document of the Dead in it's complete state, you don't really have to worry about the other extras!

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

But when you've got Document of the Dead in it's complete state, you don't really have to worry about the other extras!

Exactly! It's a great 'old style' (16mm?) look at the production of one of the all-time great cult movies!

Where did you buy your copy from, BTW? www.dvdzone2.com ?

Cheers.


Gordy

 

[Geoff_D]

It was indeed dvdzone2 where I got my copy from, and (looking at my credit card bill) it cost me just over 20 quid including postage. I've just finished watching the movie in it's entirety, and thought I'd add to what I'd written above. The picture is nice and sharp, but there is a fair bit of print damage here and there. The music and dialogue in the audio track are handled well, with the music benefiting the most from the new mix. The gunshots sound fine, but the foley effects are crudely steered across the sound-stage, and they sound very hollow and muffled during the last half hour of the movie, on all of the 5.1 mixes. The dts is noticeably louder, but apart from that I can't discern a difference between the mixes.

Taking the movies' age into consideration (and the fact that the sound elements of this version were probably neglected more than the US version) it's still not a bad effort. I'm beginning to understand Anchor Bay when they say it's the transfer of Dawn that's really holding up the new set. A decent dts-es or dd-ex mix from elements in this state would be like getting blood out of a stone - but if anyone can do it, AB can. Hope this helps ya, Gordy!

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Print damage, eh? Pity. I've often wondered about the elements for this film, as I'm pretty sure that there have been a lot of prints made from dupe-negs etc over the years. I'm also not sure about what filmstock the film was shot on; it was shot late '77 - early '78, and certain Eastmancolor 35mm colour stocks from that time are prone to severe fading. The most recent transfers for Image and Anchor were made from a color-reversal interpositive (CRI) from the original 35mm camera negative, and they look... okay-ish for their time, but a full-blown digital clean-up and color-correction - supervised and/or approved by Gornick and/or Romero would provide great results. I have always maintained that this is one of the best shot low-budget American films ever made - is just has... something - raw power, but with a wistful, darkly poetic undercurrent. One things for sure; it's a lot of fun!

I'm gonna have to lie down when I recieve my Anchor Bay set!

Happy days, Geoff!


Gordy

 

[Travis_W]

I'm a huge fan of this film as well. I have the last Anchor Bay version and this new disc sounds appealing, might get it just in case the box set gets delayed again.

 

[Doug H]

I'm a little confused is it the version posted in Gordon's post at DVDZone2 or is it this one? The one at DVDZone shows a 10/15/02 release whereas the one at Amazon shows a 6/3/2002 release?

 

[Doug H]

double post.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Hey, that looks like a different edition!

But I think that I can hold out until Anchor get their deluxe set out there.

Well spotted though, Doug.


Gordy