Rating: Summary: A Mishap Of Horror Review: Do yourself a favor and just buy the Millenium Edition. I made the mistake of buying this for the 15 minutes of "extra footage, the way the movie was meant to be made." Well, I was beyond disappointment. Besides contradicting the original film, if taken seriously as a part of the Living Dead Trilogy, it destroys "Dawn" and "Day" as well. Don't waste the money.
Rating: Summary: rent it once , but DON'T BUY IT Review: This 30th anniversary is probably good for a rent to compare the difference between this and the original , BUT DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY BUYING IT. This film has been wrongly tampered with and the original film is just so much better. Not only are the new scenes obviously poorly sliced in , you can tell the difference in the film and the surroundings. The new soundtrack is a mistake , the original was so much better and the new begining and ending don't do anything new or add any flavor. Rent it ..don't buy it
Rating: Summary: Liked the original better Review: I purchased this DVD with great anticipation. I really looked forward to new scenes (which I thought were cut from the original move, not added at a later date). While the new scenes at the beginning helped to explain the beginning of the movie, it didn't make up for the footage cut. After viewing the entire movie, I was absolutely devastated that I had wasted my money on this assault on one of my favorite movies of all times. The new score also grated on me after about 5 minutes. I will be giving away this [DVD] as soon as possible. I appreciate the recommendations about the Elite edition - I think I'll check that out. Thanks.
Rating: Summary: I couldn't get rid of this DVD fast enough!!! Review: This 30th Anniversary Edition is pathetic. New scenes were added, new music was added, the film was re-edited and changed. Each and every one of these things made it worse. Please search out the proper original version of this film that George A Romero directed. (try the Elite DVD for example) Avoid this one.
Rating: Summary: Just my personal insight to a great film of the 20th Century Review: This edition (Limited) of "Night of the Living Dead" should only be purchased under certain conditions. 1)That you want both 1968 and 1998 versions of the film. (1998 version has been re-edited, rescored with 15 minutes of new footage. Most of the new footage works, but what they cut out took away from the storyline from the '68 version.) 2) That you want to listen to the soundtrack, because that is what the second disc is. Don't get me wrong, the music is great and I've listen to it often, but if you don't want the soundtrack, well then..... The commentary was one of the main reasons I bought this edition and it is very insightful. If the reader has any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them, but not being a film critic, I don't know how serious I can be. I gave this 4 stars because I wasn't too fond of the editing done to the movie for the '98 version, as mentioned above. Otherwise it would get 5.
Rating: Summary: A Mixed Bag of Sorts Review: I've owned this particular edition for about three years and still occasionally watch it. The DVD contains two versions of Night of the Living Dead: The 1998 Edition and the 30th Anniversary Edition. The former is the original movie with a new musical score by Scott Licina; the latter has the new scenes with the above-mentioned musical score. Some extras include a behind-the-scenes feature of the new scenes, a trailer for Hinzman's FLESH EATER, commentary, and a music video.Now onto the review: the '98 Edition is a transfer comparable to other DVD releases of the original movie. The video quality is fine. I have mixed feelings about the new music. There are times when it works well, but it tends to clash with the movie more often than not. They would have been better off either keeping the original score (which I know they were never happy with) or using better equipment to produce more of an ambient soundtrack. The 30th Anniversary Edition will probably tick off most fans of the original movie. Whereas it was a great idea to use the same production equipment as in the original, the new scenes still did not blend in well for a few reasons. First, it was painfully obvious that the actors were from the 90s rather than the 60s. They should have done a little more homework on using the right speech and mannerisms. The acting with some characters was a bit overdone, but that's forgivable. I'm afraid there isn't enough makeup to make Hinzman look thirty years younger. That really isn't his fault, but they might have wanted to find someone who had a similar build to a younger Hinzman and hire Savini to model the original face. The sound quality of the new scenes was good, too good. It lacked the slight muffling you get with an aging film. Some of the scenes in between were very cool, especially on the deserted road with the immobilized car. The ending, for some reason, tried to impose an apocalyptic religious theme into the plot, which just ends being ridiculous. They should have stuck with the original explanation of a crashed Venus probe and spared us the reverend's overdone, but admittedly amusing, sermon. Although it sounds like it could have been a great idea, in the end the 30th Anniversary Edition has some glaring shortcomings. I would suggest renting it first before deciding on whether or not to buy it.
Rating: Summary: WORST mistake you'll ever make if you buy this DVD!!! Review: I bought this DVD thinking that it would be top-notch and handled with a lot of class since it was touted as a 30th Anniversary Limited Edition. Boy was I wrong. The first thing I noticed when I slipped the disc in was a new musical score that replaces the orginal. This score is so overbearing that it completely detracts from the images on the screen. It is an ABOMINATION! I removed the disc after five minutes and immediately placed it up for auction. Thank God I found a willing buyer. By far the best version on DVD is the Elite Entertainment DVD. It should be considered the definitive version of the film on DVD. There's a reason why the Elite version is frequently on backorder and the Anchor Bay 30th Anniversary edition is always in stock...the Anchor Bay version is pathetic! If I could have given it ZERO stars, I would have! Run...run as far away from this Anchor Bay DVD as fast as you can. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Rating: Summary: the worst mistake I have EVER made Review: was to buy this edition. Run away. Turn back, before it's too late. This piece of crap deserves NO STARS but that is not an option. The only postive thing I can say is that the video transfer of the original is nice...not great but nice. The new stuff is unwatchable. Just say boo!
Rating: Summary: 30th Anniversary Edition offers BEST Audio and Video Quality Review: Well I went out and bought the cheap, older version of this film to compare it to the 30th Anniversary addition. Granted the 30th anniversary addition has a lot to be desired from the crazed preacher to the spliced in new sequences. But I wanted to compare the '98 version on the 30th Anniversary DVD to the original since everyone kept mentioning this great musical score from the original. I was very happy with the '98 version I thought the film quality and audio were excellent. Well let me tell you right now many reviewers have recommended the original, which you can get at Amazon. DO NOT BUY the version. If you want that version buy a VHS tape. The transfer is horrible and I am being kind with my assessment. I found that the shabby video quality did not enhance my viewing experience as others have stated in their reviews. As for this music score in the original that so many reviewers refer to so highly, I just thought it was average at best. Lets face it the music in the original was not composed by John Williams. It was average and in many ways I think the '98 version score surpasses it. So before you purchase one of these DVDs you have to ask yourself some questions. Is video and audio quality of paramount concern? If your answer is yes then the 30th anniversary addition is for you. If you want VCR quality video and audio then the original version is for you. Now let me make one last thing clear. Is the 30th anniversary addition worth the money? No way, but if you have coupons like I did and can get if for less. Then yes it is well worth it. The choice is yours I just felt that other reviewers were extremely harsh on this addition and they were treating this film like Casablanca, Star Wars, The Exorcist, or Aliens. Remember this film was made on a $30,000 budget and it shows!
Rating: Summary: What's really in this? Review: The description can be a tad misleading of the actual contents. There is 1 DVD,which contains two versions of the film: The original with a few extra scenes, and one without the scenes but a new musical score. Both versions are in BLACK and WHITE. The menus are pathetic. The extra features are rather minimal for such a special collectors edition of a film that changed horror movie history - but what's there is alright. The second disc is just a CD soundtrack. Some of the instrumentals are OK, but it isn't worth paying any extra for. The booklet may have quite a few pages, but they are about 3 inches by 2 inches, and consist mainly of longwinded interviews with people you've never heard of, and a few good pictures. The Anchor Bay release of 30000 copies of "Halloween" is certainly much better, yet still, it is probably the best way to see this classic horror on your own television, with good picture and sound quality, and being so rare it looks quite pretty on your shelf :) email me and we can argue about it.
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