I have waited for this to happen for many years, and it finally came to pass on Feb.13, 2018. The greatest film ever made finally got a Blu-ray release from the Gold Standard of the DVD industry...Criterion.
You all know the plot so there is no need to go into that, but it's the presentation that tops anything I have ever seen with regards to this film. I have been thru a 5 reel super eight film, numerous VHS and DVD releases and dozens of theatrical showings, and this tops them all.
Never have I seen this film looking so beautiful as it does in this stunning 4K restoration! The Blu-ray comes with a great poster of Kyra Schon as the zombie girl, Karen, and on the back are some great notes and an essay by Stuart Klawans. The extras are any fans dream come true.
They include Night Of Anubis, a never before seen work print of the film which does include a great cut scene towards the end of the movie, a new program featuring Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro and Robert Rodriguez discussing what the film meant to them, and it contains a lot of fond memories. Also there are never before seen 16mm dailies, an interview with John Russo about the Latent Image, archival interviews with Duane Jones, George Romero and Judith Ridley.
Oh but there is more...There is a new program about the film's library track score which is one of the most interesting things I have ever seen on a Blu-ray extra, new interviews with Gary and Russ Streiner, two audio commentaries, original trailer, TV spots, newsreels from 1967, a 45 minute Q&A with Romero at a screening of the film and also a segment on the Tomorrow Show from July 3rd, 1979 with Tom Snyder hosting a discussion with George Romero and Don Coscarelli.
I didn't remember this Tomorrow Show until I saw it on the Blu-ray, but now I remember seeing this when originally aired back in the early summer of 79 when Dawn of the Dead and Phantasm were playing around the country. Ahh what memories!
Having seen this movie well over 200 times in my life, nothing compared to seeing it from Criterion. This restoration was the final thing Romero did before his death this past summer. 50 years have passed since this film came out and it has lost NONE of it's impact for this viewer.
No sane horror film fan should be without this 2 disc Blu-ray set!! This is the film that made me want to make movies and as you can tell I champion the film. It's very nice knowing that I will never have to buy another copy of this film, because it simply gets no better than this.
Yes the original "The Blob" (1958) also from Criterion was the first film I ever saw, but NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD made the greatest impact on my life as both a fan and movie maker. it just doesn't get any better than this folks. Need I say the VERY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!!
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