Rating: 
Summary: The best horror film of all time.
Review: Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)How many records has this movie broken, and how influential has it been? Night of the Living Dead is, arguably, the last film to date to have so radically changed the face of filmmaking as we know it. Love it, hate it, be indifferent to it, one unarguable fact remains: Night of the Living Dead is the single most influential film of all time, if for no other reason because it was the catalyst that sparked the induction of the MPAA ratings system. In other words, every film made in America since 1969 has been influenced by Night of the Living Dead. There is quite a bit of debate about what really caused the folks in Hollywood to get up in arms about this movie. The obvious one is the violence. There are a number of scenes in this movie (that number varies depending on two whom you're talking; I count three, but most people would add at least two more) that, for 1968, were pushing the envelope of onscreen violence. I tend to keep the number at three because I don't think it's just the violence in those scenes that affected people so much, I think it's the subtexts behind the violence. Ben (Duane Jones) jamming the business end of a tire iron through a zombie's skull is violent, perhaps egregiously so, but it doesn't carry the delayed-reaction shock of the movie's most extended scene of violence, that of the zombies eating the body parts of those who died in the truck explosion. Cannibalism scares us more than murder does, and on more levels. Add in
the ending, which may be the finest in film history (I can't imagine there's anyone out there who doesn't know the ending, but I'll refrain just in case); you have something that disturbs from top to toe. But was the violence really the reason this film was so outrageous? Or could it have been the sociopolitical subtexts within the film? After all, the idea that a black man could be the protagonist of a film, making all the right decisions where the older, middle aged white guy is making all the wrong ones, was a dangerous precedent in 1968. Worse yet, the black man is protecting a white woman. Add in a spark of sexual tension between Ben and Barbara (Judith O'Dea), and you come up with something that surely raised a whole lot of hackles. You could certainly keep going in this vein, adding in the film's subtexts of matricide/fratricide, cannibalism, incest, and other things of which most people are more scared than the surface aspects of the film. There's certainly a strong case to be made for this argument, probably a stronger one than for the surface violence itself. Then you add the coup de grace--Romero is taking all this stuff, pointing at the zombies, and saying "this is America." That didn't become painfully obvious until eleven years later, when he did the same thing a bit more nakedly in Dawn of the Dead. But the subtext was always there, we just couldn't see it. There is a third possibility, and from a cynical viewpoint it makes the most sense. Perhaps one reason the film inspired such outrage was that it circumvented the system. It not only did so and succeeded, but it succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of anyone involved with the making of the film, and beyond the deepest nightmares of anyone within the system that shunned it. Much of the stark feel of Night of the Living Dead comes from its low-budget feel. The sound recording is bad, the film stock is low-quality black and white, the camera is jerky and inconsistently applied. (Note the influence of Night of the Living Dead, in this, on films as disparate as The Blair Witch Project, Raging Bull, and Trespass.) None of this was done for artistic credibility, it was done because the film had been shunned by Hollywood, and Romero and co. were scraping up pennies as they went. They did what they could afford to do. And even after they completed it, the Hollywood machine took one look and laughed. So they distributed it independently. Twenty-five years after its release, the film was still playing Saturday midnight showings in some of the same theaters where it first appeared. Aside from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, there's no other film in history that can make that claim. It should go without saying that the very things that caused the Hollywood system to turn its back on Romero's first, and still finest, movie are the exact same things that have drawn moviegoers to it for some thirty-five years now, and keep us watching the movie again and again. Never mind that the film the X rating was created for would barely merit a PG-13 today, never mind that the movie has so pervaded our culture that even those who have never seen it will know half the lines and a quarter of the scenes already (how many people living in America today over the age of twelve, whether they've seen the movie or not, won't have faces that light up with recognition upon hearing "they're coming to get you, Barbara!"?), never mind that the film is predictable. We keep watching, and we will continue to keep watching, because we recognize (or most of us do, anyway) that Night of the Living Dead is the Gutenberg Bible, the Model A, the Carl Yastremzski of filmdom. It's been done since, and it's arguably been done better since, but it's so much a part of us that we can't help but look at it with respect and affection. It is still, and will always remain, the finest horror film ever made. *****
Rating:
Summary: Oh Yeah!!!
Review: The great-granddaddy of zombie flicks. Nameless characters trapped in a house with flesh-eating zombies running amok outside. The young daughter eating her mother is probably the most disturbing scene. Too bad the hero (and only survivor)takes a bullet in the head accidently. Even by today's standards, this flick rulz!
Rating:
Summary: Night of the Living Dead- the original zombie classic!
Review: In 1968, George Romero and a couple of friends decided to make a "little" movie on a very, very low budget. So low in fact that it made the Guinness Book of World Records for Lowest Budget in a Horror Movie. This film was Night of the Living Dead, which was destined to be a classic of the horror genre. It's story follows seven people, trapped in a deserted farmhouse- fighting off the living dead, who have risen for some unknown reason. They eat the flesh of their victims, and it is very hard to escape them, as they are all over the place! And it is no help to them that some of the people that are trapped with them are stubborn and cannot get along. One by one, they succumb to the clutches of the living dead- until only one is left. Who will it be? The girl who has just lost her brother to the living dead? A black man who just happened to stop at the farnhouse after leaving a diner surrounded by the living dead? A young couple that simply can't be apart? A family, whose little girl has been bitten by one of those "zombies"? This was one of those early horror films that displayed gore effects in a gruesome fashion- such as showing the zombies eating their victims. While not as gory as Romero's other zombie films, it is still quite graphic for a film made in 1968. Night of the Living Dead was followed by: -Dawn of the Dead (1979)
-Day of the Dead (1985)
-Night of the Living Dead- The Remake (1990)
-Night of the Living Dead- 30th Anniversary Edition (1998- with all new music and newly recorded added scenes that both STINK!)
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, Great DVD (I'm not talking about the 30th Anni.
Review: Let's face it. Night of the Living Dead is a classic. Some people just can't get that fact.
Was this made by amateur film makers? Absoultley not. Not all low (or no) budget films are amateur road, just a cheaper way to spend your money on the production scale of a movie. You want amateur low (no in this case) budget movies? Watch the Blair Witch Project.
Does this movie have atmosphere and substance? Actually, yes. The atmosphere goes through untouched dark edges, and the substance is just about the same thing.
I have to admit it isn't the greatest cast ever, but come on, you have to admit there is a lot of good acting from Duane Jones, and Judith O'Dea, their roles are emotional, insane (in a good way), and to top it: tense.
No it's not the greatest film ever made, if you wanna see high measures like that, see it's faithful (and slightly better) sequel: Dawn of the Dead.
The Image
Night of the Living Dead is in the acedemy ratio (AKA 1.33:1, full frame, pan and scan or unmatted). I automatically deduct marks from a full frame disc, unless the film was shot in full frame. This was, so this is one of those exceptions.
I have to admit the image is really sharp, with some really dark edging blending with the movie's atmosphere. The movie goes off with an excellent grey scale with dark, deep, depthful blacks, and smooth whites. The picture also has some really striking detail as well. Moire is only appearent once. Grain is nowhere really to be found. I only spotted digital noise on one of the lighted spots on a wall. I didn't notice any compression artifacts. Film artifacts are minimal.
Sharpness 5/5
Grey Scale 5/5
Blacks 5/5
Whites 5/5
Depth 5/5
Solidness 5/5
Grain 5/5
Detail 5/5
Moire 5/5
Pixelation 5/5
Overall 5/5
The Audio
The audio feels a bit distorted and muffled. I have to admit it sounds much better than the VHS versions, but the TV version is so much better.
Unlike the TV version, I had to turn the volume up near full blast for it to sound decent without straining my ears the whole time.
The receiver hooked up to the player makes it sound really like the TV was playing it at normal volume without muffling. Still, we are talking Dolby 2.0 Mono, so it's gonna be a pretty flat mix.
Dialog 3.5/5
Surround Effects 3/5
Sound Effects 3.5/5
Music 4.5/5
Distortion/Drop-outs 2.5/5
Loudness 1.5/5
Dolby Digital 2.0 3.5/5
Mono 3.5/5
Overall 3.5/5
The extras, let me put them simple: 5/5
Overall: 5/5, the audio could have been better, but still it's an enjoyable disc.
Rating:
Summary: Holed up in a house away from a world-turning-zombie
Review: Gritty and real, Night of the Living Dead rises up to the ranks of first-class horror. Holed up in a house away from a world-turning-zombie, survivors deal in close-quarters psychology as the outer menace presses in. There is shaded suspense, awful lumbering undead, and light/darkness trickery. In hinting at the grisly, master horror director Romero lets the viewer reveal the worst for himself. Its sequel, Dawn of the Dead, is satirically wicked and quintessential horror.
Rating:
Summary: Holed up in a house away from a world-turning-zombie
Review: Night of the Living Dead Gritty and real, Night of the Living Dead rises up to the ranks of first-class horror. Holed up in a house away from a world-turning-zombie, survivors deal in close-quarters psychology as the outer menace presses in. There is shaded suspense, awful lumbering undead, and light/darkness trickery. In hinting at the grisly, master horror director Romero lets the viewer reveal the worst for himself. Its sequel, Dawn of the Dead, is satirically wicked and quintessential horror.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic movie, but lacking in the "extras" department
Review: What more can be said about Night of the Living Dead? It's a great movie and made even better thanks to crisp clean DVD technology. To be honest, this version doesn't cost that much (...) and because of that, you aren't getting many extras. The sound is pretty bad, but the picture is clean and free of artifacts. The included extras are bios on some of the actors, a screenshot of the poster on the front of the DVD case and a rather pointless "interactive" trivia game which asks you a question, and regardless if you're right or wrong, it plays a segment from the scene in the question. No deleted scenes, commentary, or any other cool features which we've become accustomed to seeing in our DVD's. It should be noted that the text in the bios features is a bit on the small side and can be hard to read on anything less than a composite video output. The price is right and any movie lover (and video gamer who has played the Resident Evil series) should add this to their collection. I understand that there is a "limited edition" DVD version of NOTLD, but it's hard to get and costs 2 or 3 times as much. You can't do wrong by buying this version, just don't expect much in the way of extras.
Rating:
Summary: Night Of The Living gore!
Review: For me, usaully gory horror films don't have any appeal. Well dudes, I'll have to make two exceptions: Arthur Crabtree's Fiend Without A Face, and George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead.
I supose Night Of The Living Dead is not a really great movie, and it has some terrible acting, but it is an unbeleivably suspensful picture. It has a terrific opening scene, and some great shoestring atmosphere, but it's leauges behind Herk Harvey's subtle, surreal Carnival Of Souls, and Robert Wiene's expressionist masterwork Kabbinet des doctor Kaligari, but it's still quite good. Not Rated, but definetly deserves an R for explict gory violence, and a zombie's bare bum stareing at the screen.
Rating: 
Summary: They're still among us!
Review: This product, which bears the insignia UAV Entertainment, is the worst print of a movie I have ever seen--no grey scale, no edges to the images, no audio clarity. Since NOTLD is in the public domain, profiteers have for years been distributing duplicate prints made from duplicate prints--much like "It's a Wonderful Life," which was finally released in a stunning DVD version once the copyright was renewed. The only thing that's sharply in focus on this version of NOTLD is the splicy, dusty film surface itself. The manufacturer must have used either a beat-up duplicate or a VHS tape for a master. But you would never suspect it from the slick packaging, along with the assurances of "Dolby Digital Stereo" and, on the disc itself (from UAV Corp.), "Guaranteed Superior Quality." The original movie was cheaply made in an exploitive way that the spectator could forgive and enjoy. Not so with this item, which demonstrates that "DVD Quality" is in itself no guarantee of anything. Unfortunately, the zombies on the cover were not enough to scare this consumer away.
Rating:
Summary: "They're Going To Get You, Barbara!"
Review: As a space probe was returning from its exploration of the planet Venus, it mysteriously exploded before entering the atmosphere. Was this the real cause for the dead returning from the grave to feeding on the flesh of the living? Well, at least that is what we are led to believe. Seven strangers are trapped in an isolated farmhouse struggling with the horror that awaits them on the outside and the tension that will eventually destroy them on the inside. They quickly learn the only want to stop these creature is a blow to the head, preferably from a bullet, or to set them on fire. These zombies are slow moving and very defeatable, but their human counterparts are more worried about arguing over who's in charge than fighting back. The tension in this film is tremendous and I even find myself sometimes rooting for the zombies. Is that so wrong??? This low-budget cult-classic set the standards for modern horror. The zombies are simple, but effective. The filming in b&w truly adds to the atmosphere. The score is standard music library material, but very eerie. Romero is one of the few directors that can take a chance with this type of ending and succeed, too bad he didn't do the same with Dawn Of The Dead. This is the first course for anyone wanting to get into horror. Hopefully you will pass and not turn into a zombie.
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