DVD Collectors Online

Night of The Living Dead, a review by Jon

Night of The Living Dead
4 out of 5



Gritty, daring and trailblazing, George A Romero's 1968 masterpiece NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made. It's spawned numerous sequels, a colour remake and is the direct inspiration for all our modern zombie films, teaching a whole generation that great movies can be made whilst bucking the traditional studio system.

It’s fun watching Night of The Living Dead on Blu-Ray. For one thing, the quality is excellent, but also this is possibly the first time I have actually seen this film properly!

Due to naivety on original release, the film was not properly protected. Director George Romero helped Tom Savini remake it in the 90s simply so they could finally hold the rights on the title. Meanwhile the original has been re-released a dozen times in various quality and cuts, especially in the UK where the film had been cut anyway. So, I’ve seen grainy, cut, the awful 30th Anniversary extended version (not by Romero), but never the proper original. Here it is.

Even now it’s confusing because there are two Blu-Rays. Avoid the Network version, which despite having the only absolute correct ration, apparently looks terrible and is still cut. This is the Optimum release and looks really good.

But after all the messing around, is it actually worth it? Absolutely yes. It really stands the test of time, clearly a milestone for several reasons and perhaps most importantly, it’s still fun. The low budget is perhaps most obvious in the sometimes clunky acting, but a clever production overall hides it otherwise and Romero’s tight direction makes for claustrophobic and intense action.

The story is a classic set-up of a handful of survivors defending their base (a farmhouse) from being over-run and is a twist on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. Only a year after In The Heat of The Night, we have another black lead in Duane Jones as the resolute and resourceful Ben, the only one who keeps a clear head throughout. Duane is excellent too. The rest of the cast are fine, but largely typical of the era and mood the film embodies, so it's more than possible this was by design, not talent. Despite being released in 1968, Romero chose to film in black and white and the plot unfolds like typical b-movie paranoia of the 50s (not unlike Hitchcock using a 40s style to make a very fresh Psycho in 1960). It sets up a sense of security and makes it easy for the clichés and standards to be gleefully smashed, as well as a handful of moments, which while not gratuitously gory, still make you wince. Apparently Tom Savini found a new lease of life creating fake corpses after all the real horror he saw in Vietnam and that subversively political and bleak tone make the film painfully sharp and potent even today.

Since the 50s at least, it seems American’s make the best films about themselves when they’re bruised, hurting and cynical. Romero used the paranoid tone of the anti-Communist era and freshened it with a big dollop of seething anger, the same anger that might have led to Dirty Harry. It makes the brutal and ironic ending one of the most brilliant of all time, enforced by the credit sequence made to look like typical photojournalism. The message to the audience was clear.

And the really cool thing? It’s help the film attain a cult status, enjoyed by generations since who don’t understand why the film was made, they just like awesome zombie action! Shaun’s Granddad still has a bit of a kick.

(From Jon's Horror-thon 2010 on October 17th, 2010)

Phantom of the Opera (1943), a review by Tom

[tom]I82F4C5E30E6D1B04.4f.jpg[/tom]

Phantom of the Opera (1943/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (United Kingdom) Director: Arthur Lubin Writing: Eric Taylor (Screenwriter), Samuel Hoffenstein (Screenwriter), Gaston Leroux (Original Material By) Length: 93 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 1, French: DTS 1, Italian: DTS 1, German: DTS 1, Spanish: DTS 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Commentary, Norwegian, Spanish

[tom]I82F4C5E30E6D1B04.4b.jpg[/tom]

---

Stars:
Nelson Eddy as Anatole Garron
Susanna Foster as Christine DuBois
Claude Rains as Erique Claudin
Edgar Barrier as Raoul Daubert
Leo Carrillo as Signor Ferretti

Plot:
This spectacular horror tale stars Claude Rains as the masked phantom of the Paris opera house in a lavish production that remains a masterpiece of the genre.

Awards:
Won:

Academy Award (1943)		Best Art Direction, Color (John B. Goodman, Alexander Golitzen (Art Direction), Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb (Interior Decoration))
Academy Award (1943)		Best Cinematography, Color (Hal Mohr, W. Howard Greene)

Nominated:

Academy Award (1943)		Best Music, Musical Picture (Edward Ward)
Academy Award (1943)		Best Sound Recording (Bernard B. Brown (Sound Director, Universal Studio Sound Department))

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Commentary
• Trailers
• Photo Gallery
• Featurettes

I was quite bored with this movie. I just couldn't get into it. I was surprised though, that it was in color, as so far all the movies in the set were black and white. Though I have to say, that I am not sure if this movie fits thematically into the classic monsters movie set.

Rating:

(From Tom's 2013 Horror Marathon on October 27th, 2013)

Babylon 5: Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: An old friend of Londo's arrives at the station and asks for help. His house and his name are about to be destroyed with false accusations. Meanwhile the captains begins to get hallucinations.

My opinion: Alas, there are still Centauri who feel uneasy about this whole war. I liked the character of Urza Jaddo and I like the actor Carmen Argenziano (Jacob Carter/Selmak from "Stargate SG-1"). But the Sheridan storyline wasn't that interesting.


Synopsis: The Markab aboard the station and aboard transports begin to die. It seems to be of natural causes but there are to many of them to call it natural.

My opinion: Again you get to know some people just to see them die. In this case an entire species. And again a sad episode.



Synopsis: Lyta Alexander - the commercial teep from the pilot episode - arrives at the station and announces that there is a sleeper agent amongst the station's crew. But the sleeper him- or herself doesn't even know it.

My opinion: And this is how the Talia storyline has ended. And again we see the Psi Corps meddling with one of their own. But all in all not a very good episode.


Synopsis: Again Londo uses his associates (on Lord Refa's request) to strike against a Narn fleet, while the Centauri fleet is attacking the Narn homeworld directly. Meanwhile Draal - the Minbari who has taken the place in the Great Machine on the planet beneath B5 - asks Sheridan and Delenn to visit him.

My opninion: Great episode. One could see the sadness and disgust in Londo's face when he see's what his people are doing to the Narn homeworld (they've collected meteors and asteroids and shoot them on the planet's surface with mass drivers, a weapon that is outlawed by most planets including the Centauri). And a great speech when G'Kar is removed from the council.
I also liked the side remark, that the appearence of Draal has changed (he's being played by a new actor )

Quote of the episode:
Citizen G'Kar: "No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand."

(From Babylon 5: Marathon on August 10th, 2007)