NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (Romero, 1968)
Criterion Collection, Blu-ray, Release Date Feb 13, 2018
Review by Christopher S. Long
Watching George Romero's “Night of
the Living Dead” (1968) for the … I dunno, 43rd time,
51st time, whatever... I'm now most impressed by the
quality and tenor of the television newscasts staged for the film.
Sitting at a very plain desk in an equally plain office (OK, it's a
low budget movie), a newscaster calmly reads incoming bulletins
informing the public that the “unburied dead (are) coming back to
life” and “eating their victims.”
No pulsating “Breaking News”
graphics, no dramatic musical cues, no insta-commentary from dueling
in-house experts, and not even a shred of the hyperbole or
exploitation that defines the modern news cycle. Advice to burn the
bodies of any loved ones who die so they won't return to eat you is
delivered with a rationality and responsibility our modern cable news
stations can't muster when covering an impending rainstorm or the
revelation (BREAKING NEWS!) that the president wore a tan suit today.
Even live cutaways to reporters in the
field promote the sense that everything will sort itself out in due
time. A rural sheriff leading a posse of zombie hunter (the film
never uses the word zombie, but, yeah, they're zombies) answers a
reporter's question with the film's funniest line, “Yeah, they're
dead. They're all messed up.” Just a touch of the sly Romero
satirical wit that would define his reputation once the “Dead”
films became a full-blown franchise. We've got this whole
mass-murdering cannibal thing under control.
The news reports don't provide even a
hint of an explanation for the undead outbreak until nearly
two-thirds of the way through the film (maybe it has to do with an
irradiated space probe returning from Venus), a reminder of another
of the film's greatest strengths. When Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her
brother Johnny (co-producer Russel Streiner) are attacked by the
first zombie, the creature is just briefly glimpsed lumbering in the
distant background, and his assault occurs right out of the blue. No
exposition, no backstory, no explanation, none of the terrible things
that terrible viewers want from their dumb, terrible movies. Zombies
just happen, during daylight, right in rural Pittsburgh. They're
coming to get you, Barbra, so don't ask why, just run!
Another brilliant flourish in a film as
packed with them is the introduction of the film's eventual
protagonist, Ben (Duane Jones). A terrified Barbra occupies the
screen alone for almost ten minutes after the opening attack as she
races for shelter to the house that will contain most of the film's
action. Already rattled by seeing her brother's likely death, she's
further unnerved by hoary horror cliches like the shock cuts showing
the leering stuffed animal heads adorning the living room.
Ben then materializes out of the night,
from a pair of hazy headlights, in a similar shock cut, a black man
in a film otherwise consisting almost entirely of white characters,
both living (for now) and dead. And with that scary intro, Ben
instantly displaces the previous protagonist (Barbra) and never
relinquishes the lead role, though frequently challenged by other
survivors, including the cowardly Mr. Cooper (co-producer Karl
Hardman). Racism is never explicitly discussed, even in passing, but
racial tensions underscore many scenes, particularly Ben's thumping
beatdown of Cooper.
Duane Jones's performance has been
oft-praised, and for good reason. Ben is the film's most proactive
character by far, the boldest, a mind and body constantly at work as
he shoulders almost the entire burden of the group's survival against
the massing, shambling hordes. Yet, Romero and co-screenwriter John
A. Russo are too savvy to turn even Ben into a saint. His big escape
plan goes awry almost instantly, and he winds up taking refuge in the
very hiding place he argued so vociferously against for most of the
movie – in fact, the selfish, reprehensible Cooper might actually
be the one who was right all along. All of which combines to makes
the ending, one of the most desolate and despairing in all of cinema,
so unforgettable.
Anyway, even after a 53rd or maybe 65th
viewing, “Night of the Living Dead” remains as potent and
terrifying as ever, and seemingly eternally relevant to whatever the current political and cultural climate may be. No film in the genre Romero single-handedly
created has ever topped or even matched it. Except maybe for Romero's
next “Dead” film. And maybe the one after that.
Video:
The film is presented in its original
1.37:1 aspect ratio.
“Night of the Living Dead” lapsed
into public domain a long time ago, which means that versions of the
film in many formats have been both plentiful and usually
substandard, though some quality releases exist. This Criterion
release provides the film in the best version in which I have ever
seen it. From the booklet, “This restoration by the Museum of
Modern Art and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the
George Lucas Family Foundation and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film
Preservation, was undertaken from a new digital transfer created in
4K resolution on Cineric's wet-gate film scanner, primarily from the
35 mm original camera negative.” A few shots required the use of a
35 mm fine-grain positive.
The image quality is sharp with
particularly strong black-and-white contrast, and not a single
noteworthy blemish in sight. The transfer doesn't look quite as
grainy as you might expect or want for this gritty low-budget B&W
film, but this transfer is simply excellent overall, really shining
with the detail visible in some of the darker shots.
Audio:
The film is presented with an LPCM mono
audio track which sounds appropriately sparse and hollow. Romero and
crew used both synchronized sound and post-production sound, so the
quality of the dialogue varies, but that's endemic to the source, and
it's all just fine. The soundtrack consists entirely of library music
that was cheaply available at the time, and sounds good enough on
this mix. Optional SDH English subtitles support the audio.
Extras:
Criterion's two-disc Blu-ray release
arrives absolutely jam packed with extras, some old, and some new. I
will try to keep it as brief as possible.
Disc One includes the feature film,
which is accompanied by two full-length commentary tracks, both
recorded way back in 1994. The first track features George Romero,
producer-actor Karl Hardman, actress Marilyn Eastman, and co-writer
John Russo. The second track brings together producer-actor Russell
Streiner, production director Vincent Survinski, and several cast
members.
Disc One also includes “Night of
Anubis” (1968, 85 min.), an uncorrected 16mm work print of “Living
Dead” under an earlier title, with some different credits, and also
missing several scenes. There's nothing much new here, so it's
basically just a chance to watch a lower-quality, incomplete version
of the movie. Producer-actor Russell Streiner provides a short
introduction.
Disc Two kicks off with “Light in the
Darkness” (2017, 24 min.), a new feature that mixes together
interviews with directors Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, and
Frank Darabont.
We also get 18 minutes worth of
“Dailies”, some listed as never being seen before. This is a reel
of silent footage from the film's production, mostly takes not used
in the movie. You can also watch an introduction to the Dailies by
sound engineer Gary Streiner.
“Learning from Scratch” (2017, 12
min.) is a new interview with co-writer John Russo who mostly
discusses his years with Latent Image, the film company co-founded by
a young George Romero, where he and his crew honed their craft
working on commercials. Russo argues that many of the lessons they
learned paid off big time in “Living Dead.”
“Limitations Into Virtues” (2017,
12 min.) is a new visual analysis by filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor
Ramos. I liked this feature a lot. The central argument is that the
film's dynamic feel stems from the balance between synchronized sound
footage (where the camera had to be stationary on a tripod) and the
footage shot without sound where the hand-held camera could roam
freely.
“Walking Like the Dead” (13 min.)
mixes together interviews from a 2009 documentary in which several
extras discuss how they portrayed the living dead.
In “Tones of Terror” (2017, 11
min.), producer Jim Cironella discusses the film's use of library
music.
In addition to this new footage, the
disc includes a great deal of archival material, starting with a “TV
Newsreel” recorded by Pittsburgh-area newscaster Bill “Chilly
Billy” Cardille, who also appeared as a field reporter in the
movie. According to the disc, this three-minutes of silent footage is
the only “behind-the-scenes” material from the film's production.
It's not exactly revelatory, but it's nice to have.
“Higher Learning” provides a
lengthy (45 min.) interview with George Romero, conducted by Colin
Geddes after a 2012 screening of “Living Dead” at a Toronto
International Film Festival venue.
We also get excerpts (18 min.) from the
July 3, 1979 episode of “Tomorrow” hosted by Tom Snyder, on which
both George Romero and “Phantasm” director Don Coscarelli are
interviewed about their latest films and the appeal of horror in
general.
We also get an interview with actress
Judith Ridley (1994, 11 min.) and an audio-only interview with star
Duane Jones (1987, 22 min.). Conducted by journalist Tim Ferrante,
this is one of the few interviews in which Jones spoke at any length
about his involvement with the film. The disc also includes a very
brief (32 sec.) and rather pointless snippet of a newsreel about the
Mariner 5 space probe, a loose inspiration for one small aspect of
the film.
Finally, the disc wraps up with two
Trailers (one from 1968, one from 2017), and several TV and Radio
Spots.
The fold-out insert booklet features an
essay by film critic Stuart Klawans.
Final Thoughts:
“Night of the Living Dead” barely
made a tent culturally or commercially on its initial 1968 run, but
became a phenomenon after its 1970 re-release. Fifty years later,
it's difficult to think of a substantially more influential American
film over the same period. Criterion's high-def release provides both
a high-quality transfer and a bevy of extras, and will wind up as a
must-own for any Romero fan.
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