Night of the Living Dead - Millenium Edition Super Review Review

NOTE: This review refers to both the "Millenium edition" and the new "40th Anniversary edition," the only legitimate versions of this movie available on DVD.

Number two on my Top Ten Horror Movies of the '60s is a stone classic of horror: George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, from 1968, without doubt the greatest zombie movie ever made. It's all about the nutty hi-jinx of some recently deceased individuals who come back to life thanks to a radioactive space probe, and proceed to feast on the flesh of the living. Night of the Living Dead is not just one of the most influential horror movies ever made, it's also a landmark of independent cinema.

Made on a low budget by Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Romero's Image 10 production company, the black and white film was shot in 1967 over the course of six months, and released the following year to worldwide success. It had spawned countless imitations, numerous sequels, and was even remade by Romero in 1988.

The original, however, is the definitive Living Dead movie. Duane Jones stars, and gives the best performance in the film, as Ben, while Judith O'Dea alternates between hysteria and catatonia as Barbara, who flees the lurching advances of "Zombie #1" to take refuge in an isolated farmhouse.

My favorite performance is actually by the guy who plays the Sheriff, who explains the best way to kill the zombies, remarking, "They're dead. They're all messed up."

Romero and his producers, Karl Hardman (who plays the hateful Harry Cooper) and Russell Streiner (who plays the part of Johnny), failed to include a copyright on the original prints of the movie. Despite raking in hefty profits from its original release, they missed out on a ton of TV and home video revenue in the following years, as the film became public domain. The Milennium edition DVD and the new 40th Anniversary edition correct this unfortnate oversight, and boast superior picture quality, unlike the myriad pirated editions out there (by the way, avoid the 2-disc 40th Anniversary edition because it's yet another bootleg. The single-disc edition with George Romero's signature is the one to get, and it lists for ten dollars less!).

Night of the Living Dead also functions as satire, but the social commentary never gets in the way of the horror.

Both legit editions have a fascinating audio interview with leading man Duane Jones, and cool commentary tracks. The 40th Anniversary edition has a excellent feature-length documentary, One for the Fire, about the making of the film that is compelling and informative.

Available on DVD from Elite Entertainment (Milennium Edition) the Weinstein Company (40th Anniversary edition). As I mentioned, there are a bunch of bootleg editions you can pick up cheap, which often feature the edited-for-TV print, but these two are the real deal. Avoid at all costs the "30th Anniversary Ediiton" with its terrible new footage and dubbed sythesizer score. It's kind of like putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa, if Mona Lisa was a flesh-eating zombie, that is...