Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Forgotten Films

[Atari Charles]

Night of the Living Dead Blu-ray

I was cruising through Ebay and found an U.S. release of Night of the Living Dead on Blu-Ray. This one is released by Forgotten Films, so really it is unknown what kind of print they did use. Still interesting as we now have three different releases of NOTLD on blu-ray:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Night-Living-Dea...-/150433600705

http://forgottenfilms.tv/about.html

So if I end up buying a copy or someone here does, then we should definitely review it here.

I could not find anything else about this release on the internet so I am guessing this is a new release from forgotten films.

Now are we going to see film transferred from the original source prints or a cropped U.K. style or a damaged print/missing 7 seconds region-free style or a classic dubbed and digitally remastered from an old VHS copy bought at K-Mart in the 1980's?

I myself am hoping for a really nice digital remaster from original source materials with no missing parts, no cropping, and hopefully region free so we can all get a copy.

I've contacted the company who is selling this, mentioned this post, so hopefully we hear something back.

Charles

[DetroitSportsFan]

Even though this is public domain, I have to question the legitimacy of this.

Has anyone heard of Forgotten Films? My guess is this was ripped from one of the UK region B releases, and they added custom menus.

I hope I'm wrong....

[davidthenikonuser]

I bet this is just a cheap DVD copy ported over to Blu-ray.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by davidthenikonuser

I bet this is just a cheap DVD copy ported over to Blu-ray.

Probably, which is even worse than what I suggested.

[Atari Charles]

Then again this may be the definitive release on Blu-Ray. I guess we won't know until someone buys the darn thing or/and/if someone from Forgotten Films posts here.

.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Atari Charles

I guess we won't know until someone buys the darn thing

Go ahead.

[davidthenikonuser]

Yeah, I guess we'll never know what this Blu-ray looks like till someone gets it, but I'll wait and see if someone does.

I saw Night in HD on AMC this past Halloween and it looked great.

For now my awesome Elite DVD will have to do.

[Atari Charles]

Hi everyone,

I got an email back from Forgotten Films which was very interesting and detailed about the process they went through to get this properly published on Blu-Ray in North America. They also released a Night of the Living Dead book as well which sounds like a perfect companion for this blu-ray release. This is Region A only, so for those of you in North America you will be able to play this on your blu-ray players.

Well, I am buying a copy and will watch it and then give everyone here a detailed and honest review here. If the site wishes to put my review up on one of their blu-ray review pages, that is fine by me.

So, I'll keep everyone here updated.

Charles

[davidthenikonuser]

Originally Posted by Atari Charles

Hi everyone,

I got an email back from Forgotten Films which was very interesting and detailed about the process they went through to get this properly published on Blu-Ray in North America. They also released a Night of the Living Dead book as well which sounds like a perfect companion for this blu-ray release. This is Region A only, so for those of you in North America you will be able to play this on your blu-ray players.

Well, I am buying a copy and will watch it and then give everyone here a detailed and honest review here. If the site wishes to put my review up on one of their blu-ray review pages, that is fine by me.

So, I'll keep everyone here updated.

Charles

Sounds good Charles. Can't wait to hear what you think of it. Maybe this blu-ray info needs to be put up on the blu-ray.com site as well. Maybe email them after you review it.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Atari Charles

Hi everyone,

I got an email back from Forgotten Films which was very interesting and detailed about the process they went through to get this properly published on Blu-Ray in North America. They also released a Night of the Living Dead book as well which sounds like a perfect companion for this blu-ray release. This is Region A only, so for those of you in North America you will be able to play this on your blu-ray players.

Well, I am buying a copy and will watch it and then give everyone here a detailed and honest review here. If the site wishes to put my review up on one of their blu-ray review pages, that is fine by me.

So, I'll keep everyone here updated.

Charles

Would it be possible for you to cut and paste the email here? I'm sure many members would also be interested in the process.

Do you happen to have a BD-Rom/capturing software to do screencaps to compare to the Elite DVD release?

[Atari Charles]

Yes, the email is interesting, but I would like to do a proper review of the Forgotten Films blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead based on it's own merit good or bad. I may include relevant aspects of the email with the author's permission in the review to give the review a wider-scope or/and to show why certain things were done a certain way and aspects of the film turned out a certain way. But for now, give me some time to get the blu-ray and then review it and the wait will be worth it.

Right now we need a North American release of Night of the Living Dead as the Optimum release only works on region B players(booooo!!!) and is cropped and the Network Version, although region free is only available in the U.K. or on Ebay and suffers from a damaged film print and a missing 7 seconds of dialogue. So for now, it seems the Forgotten Films blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead seems to fit the bill.

I will mention that the book they released is meant, according to the Forgotten Films' email, as a companion to the blu-ray release and seems to be made by Forgotten Films as well.

I don't have any software currently installed, but I may be able to get screenshots of the Forgotten Film's release.

Although I am a fan of the NOTLD film, I will do an objective review. The nice aspect is I have already watched and own the Network Version and have watched and own the cropped Optimum version, and I own and watched various VHS and DVD versions, so I come into this with experience with the other films as well as my own interest in the zombie genre.

So when the Forgotten Film's blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead arrives to me, I will watch it and submit an objective review with a bunch of info, which will hopefully help some of you decide whether or not to take the plunge in the zombie's crypt.

[davidthenikonuser]

So, whats the word on the blu-ray? It's been about 2 weeks know.

Originally Posted by Atari Charles

Yes, the email is interesting, but I would like to do a proper review of the Forgotten Films blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead based on it's own merit good or bad. I may include relevant aspects of the email with the author's permission in the review to give the review a wider-scope or/and to show why certain things were done a certain way and aspects of the film turned out a certain way. But for now, give me some time to get the blu-ray and then review it and the wait will be worth it.

Right now we need a North American release of Night of the Living Dead as the Optimum release only works on region B players(booooo!!!) and is cropped and the Network Version, although region free is only available in the U.K. or on Ebay and suffers from a damaged film print and a missing 7 seconds of dialogue. So for now, it seems the Forgotten Films blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead seems to fit the bill.

I will mention that the book they released is meant, according to the Forgotten Films' email, as a companion to the blu-ray release and seems to be made by Forgotten Films as well.

I don't have any software currently installed, but I may be able to get screenshots of the Forgotten Film's release.

Although I am a fan of the NOTLD film, I will do an objective review. The nice aspect is I have already watched and own the Network Version and have watched and own the cropped Optimum version, and I own and watched various VHS and DVD versions, so I come into this with experience with the other films as well as my own interest in the zombie genre.

So when the Forgotten Film's blu-ray release of Night of the Living Dead arrives to me, I will watch it and submit an objective review with a bunch of info, which will hopefully help some of you decide whether or not to take the plunge in the zombie's crypt.

[Atari Charles]

Hi everyone,

I am awaiting the blu-ray in the mail. I will update everyone when I receive it. I just recently paid for it, so the delay is on my side of things, not the film company.

It is true that there is no copyright on Night of the Living Dead, but from what I have been told by Forgotten Films is that they bought a print of the film and did the blu-ray off of it. So no this is not a Blu-Ray made from a VHS tape or taken from those cheesy DVDs found in Dollar Stores for a $1. That would be bad.

So I'll know more when I get the Blu-Ray and watch it. I'll give as many technical specs as I can about the film just in case their is missing/added footage, video quality, audio quality, and the usual things discussed in a Blu-Ray review.

Right now, this is the only North American release we have on Blu-Ray as of today, so hopefully it is good enough to be worth buying. I am a big fan of Night of the Living Dead and all of George Romero's Zombie Films, so I would have gotten this blu-ray anyway.

Blue Underground has done some really nice Blu-Ray releases, so I am surprised they have not remastered and released NOTLD in Blu-ray format. So for now Forgotten Films is really our only choice for a North American release, so hopefully it is good.

If any of you have suggestions on what I should discuss in a Blu-Ray review of this film, post it here.

[Beaner666]

Originally Posted by Atari Charles

... but from what I have been told by Forgotten Films is that they bought a print of the film and did the blu-ray off of it...

Blue Underground has done some really nice Blu-Ray releases, so I am surprised they have not remastered and released NOTLD in Blu-ray format. So for now Forgotten Films is really our only choice for a North American release, so hopefully it is good.

If any of you have suggestions on what I should discuss in a Blu-Ray review of this film, post it here.

Hopefully the print they used is in good shape. Due to its age and the somewhat "sketchy" nature of its original distribution unfortunately many of the prints out there of NOTLD are pretty beat up and damaged.

I'm also somewhat surprised Blue Underground hasn't "stepped up" to do a quality release themselves. It might be due to the fact that it is public domain and maybe they figured there would be too much competition from other home video companies.

I have never heard of Forgotten Films so hopefully they did a good job with this. I am eagerly awaiting your review.

On a side note, does anyone know if Elite Entertainment is still in business? They put out by far the best DVD of NOTLD but to the best of my knowledge they haven't released any Blu-Ray's.

[Atari Charles]

Hello everyone,

So I checked the mail today and the Blu-Ray and Book Have arrived. They were packaged quite well in a bubblewrap envelope. Both the Blu-Ray and Book are sealed and look very sharp and professional. The book is a photo book of various scenes from NOTLD. The cover of the Blu-Ray is as it appears in their ebay auction and looks good as an alternate blu-ray cover to the other blu-rays that are already out there. The company is out of Lansing, Michigan. From what Forgotten Films has informed me of is that the film is region locked to North America. I am not a big fan of region locking and most of you would agree it is not necessary at all for NOTLD. I haven't opened either the blu-ray or book and won't have time to go through both as I have to go to work rather soon(hopefully there won't be any zombies roaming the city tonight). I will try to look at both tonight when I get home. As the book of a complimentary item to the Blu-Ray, I will review it as well, but not to such a detailed extent as I will the blu-ray.

So far, I will give Forgotten Films kudos for fast delivery, great packaging(so no damage in route to your home), and nice professional packaging for both the blu-ray and complimentary book.

So so far so good. Until next time.

Charles

[DetroitSportsFan]

I look forward to your thoughts on the BD, Charles.

[Atari Charles]

Hi Everyone,

Here is a mini review for the Forgotten Films Blu-Ray. Keep in mind this is my opinion, the review is not a complete review, and there are zombies right outside of my house, so I will have to submit a much more detailed review in the near future when I have time.

I first took a look at the complimentary book, which doesn't normally come with the Blu-Ray but can occasionally depending on the ebay auction. The Books set-up is pretty interested with the intro to Night of the Living Dead in text and then follows through with a bunch of pictures chronologically arranged and then with some text at the end with some tid-bits of info fans may or may not know. The book set-up and idea behind the book is cool as is the splattered and so on borders around each picture. What I wasn't too happy with is the pictures themselves, although great choices for relevant pictures, seemed to have been printed on standard print quality and not high print quality meaning the equivalent of digital noise. So if the book comes with the Blu-Ray it is a nice accessory, but as a purchase on it's own, it really is only a purchase for the die hard collector. The problem is not with the pictures of format of the book as this is awesome, but with the printer who printed these books.

As for the Blu-Ray, this is strictly a mini review to satiate those zombies who need food now. Right now I have gotten to the scene where Barbara and Ben meet up and Barbara is asking what is going on. Then of course a bit later one of the zombies gets in the house and Ben uses a tire iron on it's head. Pop!

So from what I can tell, this is a great quality print that was used. This is not some moldy print or some copy from a DVD or VHS tape. There is not the print damage like bubbles in the film in the car cemetery scene or the lines or damage that I found on the Network release, nor is there the cropped images as in the Optimum Release. Luckily there are no added scenes from everyone's most hated 30th Anniversary NOTLD. There is the natural grain of the film and unfortunately some digital noise in the film which is most noticeable with bright whites and of course blacks, so I am unsure of which codec was used. The grays and whites are fine, but the blacks are not super black, but more of a very dark gray. So far despite the imperfections, I would recommend this release. Keep in mind this is a mini-review and a more detailed one with more technical specs will be coming. I will have to compare all three blu-ray versions to see which offers the clearest, cleanest, and most detailed picture, although I think the region b locked Optimum release probably wins, but with the region locking for us in North America and the cropped images, it is a shame.

So hopefully this arm, leg, tendon of information with satisfy your hunger until I can write a proper review. So far so good.

Charles

[DetroitSportsFan]

Thanks for the mini review. I look forward to your comparisons of all 3 releases.

[neo_reloaded]

Is it on an actual Blu-ray disc (not a DVD burned to be compatible with the BD format, or a BD-R or something)? And do you know what resolution the disc actually is (720p, 1080i, 1080p24, etc.)?

[Atari Charles]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't heard back from Forgotten Films as of yet, but hope to early this week. I have asked Forgotten Films resolution and other technical details.

No this is not a DVD, Double DVD, VHS or Beta Max. This is a real Blu-Ray disc, not a burned copy. The quality is Blu-Ray as there would be pixelation if this was a DVD quality product whether it is on a DVD Blu-Ray or 35mm. So rest assured this release, like the others are on a real Blu-Ray printed Disc and in Blu-Ray quality. With that said, I will find out the exact specs and the resolution.

This is a continuation of the mini review to give extra information and observations.

Optimum Release(I watched this from a ripped as my copy is region B and I have a region a Blu-Ray Player)
-UK Release. Region B Locked
-Cropping, some minor digital distortion, Region B Locked (uhhhgggg),film seems to be complete, minus the extended dialogue(argueing in basement between married couple)that was cut out of all versions as it supposidly sucked. Only Romero himself would have this extended argueing dialogue. [Watch Autopsy of the Dead on DVD to find out more]
-Best resolution out of all 3 blu-ray releases.
-Cool extras such as interviews with some of the cast.
-I am unsure if the blacks are true black or a darkk gray as I have had to watch it on my laptop.
-Why Optimum would take artistic license and crop(zoom in) certain scenes is beyond me. Leave the film as Romero intended it to be!

Network Release (I watched it on my blu-ray player as it is region free)
-UK Release
-Region Free
-No cropping of images. Some minor digital distortion. Film damage such as lines, bubbles, dust.
-The grain of the film itself is visable, which seems to yield more detail but at the expense of seeing the film grain.
-Good detail
-Blacks are dark gray and not true black. I may be being too picky here.
-Missing footage(about 7 seconds)

Forgotten Films Release
-US/Canada Release
-Region A
-No Cropping of Images. Some digital distortion most noticeable in night scenes. Excellent quality print used, so no film damage, and few specs of dust here and there, but nothing horrible.
-Black are not deep black but dark dark gray. Maybe I am being too picky.
-I have not watched this entirely through, so this is an in progress review.
-Nice resolution. Nice Detail.

So the technical specs will be coming.

All in all I am happy with the Forgotten Films Release and feel it is the strongest release so far for NOTLD in Blu-Ray for North American Consumers for the following reasons:

1. Film is complete, no footage missing.
2. No Cropping.
3. Very very little film damage.
4. Region A.
5. Easily available in the U.S. and Canada.

What I didn't like:
-Some digital noise, which is more obvious in dark scenes
-Blacks could be more black

So keep in mind this is my opinion. Some of you may notice things I haven't, but all in all I am happy with my purchase and would buy it again. Right now it is on sale for $17.99 with a reasonable postage of $2.95.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Night-Living-Dea...item2306d30ec9

I hope this helps!

Charles