Night of the Living Dead (1968)

[Kukulele]

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Shot outside Pittsburgh on a shoestring budget by a band of filmmakers determined to make their mark, Night of the Living Dead, directed by horror master George A. Romero, is one of the great stories of independent cinema: a midnight hit turned box-office smash that became one of the most influential films of all time. A deceptively simple tale of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls, Romero’s claustrophobic vision of a late-1960s America literally tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combined gruesome gore with acute social commentary, and quietly broke ground by casting a black actor (Duane Jones) in its lead role. Stark, haunting, and more relevant than ever, Night of the Living Dead is back, in a new 4K restoration.

Disc Features

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director George A. Romero, coscreenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner, and producer Russell W. Streiner
• New restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Gary R. Streiner, and presented uncompressed on the Blu-ray
• Night of Anubis, a never-before-presented work-print edit of the film
• New program featuring filmmakers Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, and Robert Rodriguez
• Never-before-seen 16 mm dailies reel
• New piece featuring Russo about the commercial and industrial-film production company where key Night of the Living Dead filmmakers got their start
• Two audio commentaries from 1994, featuring Romero, Russo, producer Karl Hardman, actor Judith O’Dea, and more
• Archival interviews with Romero and actors Duane Jones and Judith Ridley
• New programs about the editing, the score, and directing ghouls
• New interviews with Gary R. Streiner and Russel W. Streiner
• Trailer, radio spots, and TV spots
• More!
• PLUS: An essay by critic Stuart Klawans

Illustration by Sean Phillips

[mca213]

Damn, you got my hopes up. Thought this was for a bluray release.

[Rich65]

Hopefully a Blu-ray release will follow.

[Zillamon51]

Now that the work is done, hopefully a reputable label will put out a definitive edition on BD and UHD.

The film was restored by The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation.

One more reason to stop the Lucas bashing.

[dubious]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

One more reason to stop the Lucas bashing.

We haven't see what kind of special effects or colorization is going into this yet, so hold your breath.

[stvn1974]

I am imagining a new song and dance number, Zombie Rocks.

Seriously though, I would love Criterion to put this out.

[milo bloom]

Wasn't there some mention of found footage a while back? I'd love for any new release to have the new restored version but then also a version with the extra footage.

[The Great Owl]

I wonder if 1968-era George A. Romero ever, in his wildest dreams, imagined that a meticulous restoration of Night of the Living Dead would be screened at a prestigious New York museum in 2016.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

"MoMA first acquired an original print in 1970 for its collection. Now, decades later, the Museum presents this important motion picture in its best possible state after a painstaking audio and image restoration."

3 paragraphs below:
"The Film Foundation is thrilled that George Romero’s groundbreaking film is being restored from the original camera negative and track."

I wonder if they have a print in addition to now using the original camera negative, or if this is another case of someone throwing the words "restoration" and "OCN" around for marketing purposes. Definitely keen to see if this is released in any event.

[dubious]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

"MoMA first acquired an original print in 1970 for its collection. Now, decades later, the Museum presents this important motion picture in its best possible state after a painstaking audio and image restoration."

3 paragraphs below:
"The Film Foundation is thrilled that George Romero’s groundbreaking film is being restored from the original camera negative and track."

I wonder if they have a print in addition to now using the original camera negative, or if this is another case of someone throwing the words "restoration" and "OCN" around for marketing purposes. Definitely keen to see if this is released in any event.

I think it's just what it says it is, they first acquired a print in 1970, talking about their love and appreciation for the film. Doesn't mean it was the source of their restoration.

[kamphausd1]

Now if we could just get one for Dawn of the Dead as well, we'll be in business.

I'm really hoping Shout Factory handles the eventual blu ray release for this.

[Spooked]

Wow. I'd love for this to make it's way onto disc.

[javi92]

Well, it will be interesting to see if this gets licensed out for a blu-ray release to some label or if the restoration will just be limited to DCP theatrical screenings.

[HonestJohn]

Really great news! I wonder what this will do to plans for the other possible release hinted at by Romero which would include some new material. Maybe a Theatrical Cut and an Extended Cut packaged together. A guy can dream can't he ...

[charlieray1]

After years of debate here on Blu-Ray.com, it'll be interesting to see what aspect ration Romero chooses for this restoration!

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by charlieray1

After years of debate here on Blu-Ray.com, it'll be interesting to see what aspect ration Romero chooses for this restoration!

**** it, let's have a Blu-ray with 1.33, 1.66 and 1.85 like Criterion's On the Waterfront. It's the only way to be sure.

I'm also interested in whether we'll see any of that newly discovered footage or not, there's certainly no mention of it in the above spiel.

[hYPE]

Originally Posted by dubious

We haven't see what kind of special effects or colorization is going into this yet, so hold your breath.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by mca213

Damn, you got my hopes up. Thought this was for a bluray release.

I just imported the version like 4 days ago and so I was prepared to be pissed off at this news when I saw the headline.

[jedidarrick]

Originally Posted by Rich65

Hopefully a Blu-ray release will follow.

Paging Criterion...

[buck135]

Originally Posted by milo bloom

Wasn't there some mention of found footage a while back? I'd love for any new release to have the new restored version but then also a version with the extra footage.

Yes, this is what I am awaiting word on as well.