Night of the Living Dead (1990) - Out of Print

[ucfmatt]

Originally Posted by GaragePoet

so, has anyone here actually listened to the commentary w/ Tom Savini? since it's the only feature ported over from the old DVD, just thought i'd ask... he seems enthusiastic in every other interview i've seen him in, just thought his liveliness would extend to his first (and only?) directorial venture...

Has a decent rating from RateThatCommentary http://www.ratethatcommentary.com/distrib.php?id=4080

I was all set to pre-order this (when I had the chance of course) but just for kicks I watched a few scenes on YouTube and the acting, well...

In the context of the actual movie I'd bet those scenes hold up better. I've always felt this movie was neglected and I'm glad it's getting some attention due to this release. It's been a few years since I've watched it but I don't remember the acting being particularly bad. This movie exists in that weird transition zone between horror movies of the 80s and horror of the 90s and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

[thephantomcat]

Originally Posted by ucfmatt

This movie exists in that weird transition zone between horror movies of the 80s and horror of the 90s and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

That's an excellent observation. It would be nice if someone wrote a good article on that transitionary period. Heck, I don't think I've read anything on the 90s horror scene in gereral. Everyone writes about every era from silent films to the 80s slashers and then the post modern self aware horror after Scream, but nothing about that period of time after the 80s and before Scream.

[Mr. Al]

Will there be a eventually a "official" release of this film?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Mr. Al

Will there be a eventually a "official" release of this film?

9 Oct 2012 is as official as it gets but it's already sold out. So, if you didn't place an order already you're SOL unless you pick it up on the second hand market.

[Mr. Al]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

9 Oct 2012 is as official as it gets but it's already sold out. So, if you didn't place an order already you're SOL unless you pick it up on the second hand market.

I guess I will have to hold onto my dvd copy a while longer.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Mr. Al

Will there be a eventually a "official" release of this film?

My personal speculation is that the sellout titles from Twilight Time will get future releases at some time past the three year moratorium, either from the original studio or another distributor. After instantly selling out 3000 copies at over $30 apiece, NOTLD90 has proven there is a viable market for the movie on home video.

[lcummins]

Originally Posted by Mr. Al

Will there be a eventually a "official" release of this film?

This is an "official" release...

[Kentai]

Originally Posted by thephantomcat

That's an excellent observation. It would be nice if someone wrote a good article on that transitionary period. Heck, I don't think I've read anything on the 90s horror scene in gereral...

A lot of books studying a wide breadth of horror seriously for the first time - stuff like MEN, WOMEN AND CHAINSAWS springs to mind - were first published in the late 80s/early 90s. It's much easier to measure trends and reactions in retrospect, and the market for books-about-movies now ain't what it once was...

The early 90s was also typified by genre pictures that weren't typical "horror" pictures taking the spotlight. Stuff like SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, JACOBS LADDER, CUBE and MISERY took the center stage for a big chunk of the pre-Scream period, which all share fairly basic connections with dread or terror, but aren't so much straight up horror films as they are different genres with the aesthetics and violence typically reserved for slasher and monster movies in years past.

That doesn't make them bad films, obviously, but it does make this period a sort of dry spell for anyone who legitimately likes horror films, which explored all sorts of new ground through the 70s and 80s that were pretty well trodden by the time the end of the century came around and then making fun of the advances that genre movies had made in the years building up to it. Personally, I see SCREAM as the biggest backwards step that mainstream horror films took in the last 30 years... but hey, that's another discussion entirely.

[Lemmy Lugosi]

Originally Posted by lcummins

This is an "official" release...

[Russhole]

There is a great book titled Horror Films of the 1990's by John Kenneth Muir that came out last year.

[JLaw1719]

Originally Posted by Russhole

There is a great book titled Horror Films of the 1990's by John Kenneth Muir that came out last year.

This. Got it in my car right now. I've read through it one time so far, at least the ones I've seen and the most interesting ones and I flip through it here and there and read a few reviews.

For those interested, Muir reviews over 300 movies in this book and relates what was going on in the world at the time to the overall landscape of horror. He does the same in his 70s and 80s books as well.

Hopefully, we'll see his 2000's book in the next 3 years or so. No matter what, as infuriating as the remake scene has been, the boom of foreign horror and other gems from that decade should make it a far better read than the 90s. Muir writes really well, considering the subject he has to deal with. Theres only so many horror movies that I genuinely love from that period.

[JYokogawa]

Originally Posted by GaragePoet

so, has anyone here actually listened to the commentary w/ Tom Savini? since it's the only feature ported over from the old DVD, just thought i'd ask... he seems enthusiastic in every other interview i've seen him in, just thought his liveliness would extend to his first (and only?) directorial venture...

Night 90 was a very stressful film for him to make. Here are a couple quotes from the Fangoria George A. Romero special, where Savini did an interview about NOTLD 90. Here are some quotes.

[quote] "...they thought I did such a good job with the Tales from the Darkside episodes I directed, I would be the logical choice, and I'm sure George didn't want to direct it again. So I was the guy, and I think that caused a lot of tension among other people involved in the original movie who did not trust that I could do it..."

"I wanted to do something visually exciting and different, and not just a frame-by-frame remake. In fact, George and I had a meeting, and I talked about having 'zombie points of view' to create tension ... My mindset was, it was going to be very difficult to make zombies scary again, because there's only so much you can do with them. So I had a lot of ideas that didn't get into the movie because it was my first feature. I swallowed a lot of shit that I even regret today--that I didn't fight more for what I wanted back then."

"And this is the most important thing: I was in the middle of a divorce! My wife asked for a divorce a week into the shooting. My concentration was not on the movie it was "How can I keep my daughter?" I was in extreme mental turmoil. I mean, when it came time for lunch on the set, I would just collapse into a dark room just to rest...just to think..just to have a break to try to solve my problems at home. It sounds like I'm blaming a lot of things, but if I were to say what was my blame, I would say maybe not enough preparation, or not standing up for what I wanted to do and demanding ot be in charge."

On how the film affected his relationship with Romero: "We didn't work together on that film as much as we could have, because George was under deadline to write The Dark Half, his next movie. If George had been on the set, it would have been a wonderful experience. You know, I really wanted to impress George. I wanted to make him proud. I think he loved the storyboards.

But as far as my friendship with George...yes there was a time when we stopped speaking. We stopped during the editing process. I was totally ignored, and really felt I had lost one of my best friends. But since then, there have been moments and we do a lot of conventions together. I was in Land of the Dead. So certainly, hanging out together after Night of the Living Dead rekindled a friendship between us, though that bond when I was the effects guy is not there anymore. But a new friendship has begun. "

[kinkyqueen]

Originally Posted by JLaw1719

No matter what, as infuriating as the remake scene has been, the boom of foreign horror...

You have got to be kidding right? The boom of foreign horror? 'Foreign' horror has always been there, but most of you Americans have neglected it because of subtitles

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by kinkyqueen

You have got to be kidding right? The boom of foreign horror? 'Foreign' horror has always been there, but most of you Americans have neglected it because of subtitles

I'm just going to leave this here even though it's british *creeps back into the shadows*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbyFj4aAfVY

[Ill_Be_Back]

Originally Posted by Mr. Al

Will there be a eventually a "official" release of this film?

It is "Official"...

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Tns49

For whatever reason, I also signed up several times and have never gotten an email, except when I order something. Actually after the first signup, it just keeps telling me I am already signed up.

Chris@SAE take note.

Originally Posted by Page14

Same here. I honestly don't remember if I even receive an email confirmation after placing an order (but I think I do), but I definitely have never received an email from SAE/TT informing me of pre-sale dates or alerts telling me the 500 mark has been reached.

I sent an email to SAE through the "Contact Us" link on their website looking for answers, but haven't received a response yet. I'll try to remember to post a response if I receive one.

For what it's worth, I received a reply from SAE/TT/Ed a couple days ago. Here it is:
W show you already on the email list - are you sure it is not going intoa
spam file?- Ed

So I guess it's up to me to do some "detective work" to see if I can find any SAE messages buried in some kind of spam folder (which I'm not aware if I even have to begin with). And when I think about it, If I received the reply from "Ed" okay (without the reply going to a spam folder), then shouldn't I receive any other email from SAE without any problems?

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by kinkyqueen

You have got to be kidding right? The boom of foreign horror? 'Foreign' horror has always been there, but most of you Americans have neglected it because of subtitles

Way to over generalize. Thanks.

[sheldo]

Originally Posted by evoxturbo

Resident Evil was a great zombie film. The sequels however are pretty horrendous.

My favorite bit is were a zombie gets shot and gets goes flying across the room on it's wires Matrix-style. Or when someone falls into a pit of zombies and doesn't get bitten. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island was a better zombie movie. Resident Evil is a movie that just happens to have zombies in it.

[darklightzg]

Originally Posted by evoxturbo

What bothers me most about NOTLD90 is Patricia Tallman's haircut and acting. The first half of the movie her acting just seems bad and over the top. The second half she seems more natural and is not as annoying.

Tony Todd totally saves the film, hes amazing in it. The rest of the cast really doesn't impress except the actor who plays Cooper. He is great at getting you to hate his character.

The film I think is one of the better zombie movies out there. For me and zombie films its goes

1. Dawn of the Dead remake
2. Resident Evil
3. 28 Days Later
4. NOTLD90
5. Zombieland
6. Dawn of the Dead original
7. Planet Terror

PS. I am really not impressed with the first two seasons of The Walking Dead. I bought season 2 on Blu and am willing to rewatch it and watch Season 3 but the show can be extremely drawn out and boring. The soap opera factor the show has does not work. Most of the characters are not interesting enough for you to give a crap about who their screwing. AMC has much better shows on such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad which get less viewers.

Hate to be picky (but I'm going to anyway) but 28 Days Later isn't a zombie film, if we're talking about re-animated dead
I know this is on lots of people's best zombie films lists but really they're not zombies, more the rage infected living! Granted it does fall into the inevitable, assocaited apocalyptic setting that zombie films usually have but not the walking or running corpses like Dawn/Day/Zombieland/Walking Dead, etc, etc

[beadelf]

ranking resident evil as a better movie than the original dawn of the dead makes me smile