Dawn of the Dead DVD

There was a little consternation on the Internet when Arrow Video released Dawn of the Dead on Blu-ray in 2009 as those who haven't yet upgraded to the high definition format felt a little bit left out. To prove that Arrow think of everyone, they have now released the same package on DVD so, although you do not get the high definition picture and sound, you do get an improved AV package and plethora of extra features. I've already reviewed the Blu-ray so, in this era of recycling, much of this review will be awfully familiar to those of you who have read my review of the Blu-ray set.

Picking up shortly after where Night of the Living Dead left off, Dawn of the Dead starts in a TV studio where they are still frantically arguing over the origins of the outbreak and trying to broadcast information about safe places, trying to move people away from the overrun metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, SWAT teams are clearing apartment blocks by ordering the living to leave and shooting the dead.

Two of these soldiers, Peter and Roger, hitch a ride with TV technician Francine and her helicopter pilot boyfriend, Stephen, desperate to get away from the madness and find somewhere safe to stay. After a hairy refuelling stop, they come across an abandoned shopping mall and break in and try to make themselves comfortable. After assessing the place, they find that they can hold up and, by manipulating the undead into going where they want, have virtually free reign of the place.

Whereas Night was a low budget exercise in monochrome tension drawing on Vietnam and the politicisation of youth, Dawn took aim at the worst excesses of commercialism in a capitalist society. With ten years in between the two films, George A. Romero had honed his craft and teamed up with Tom Savini, a war photographer so the tone and pace in Dawn is very different to Night, with quick cuts and Savini's special effects make-up. There is an air of lunacy here with Hare Krishna and nurse ghouls which intersperses the tension and gore when Peter and Steven begin clearing the mall.


With the doors barricaded and the mall ghoul-free, the four begin living out their consumerist dreams but slowly realise that their safe haven has become a prison of their own making. Before they can dwell on this for too long, a biker gang breaks in, allowing an influx of ghouls to follow. This is where Savini comes into his own, having already established a level of gore in the tenement building clearout with an exploding head and bloody neck bite. The gun battle that ensues features gut-munching, decapitations and other inventive and gory ways of despatching both the living and the undead.

Made for a modest budget and released without a certificate, Dawn of the Dead was commercially and critically successful with Fangoria naming it the best horror of the year and Roger Ebert (a man not easily pleased) describing it as 'One of the best horror films ever made'. Romero assembled a 139 minute cut for Cannes, which he subsequently trimmed to 126 minutes (122 minutes on PAL DVD) for the American theatrical release. Handling the European side of things was Romero's friend and horror-meister Dario Argento, who re-edited the film into a more action-oriented piece with a quicker pace and different music. Of all three versions, I much prefer Romero's theatrical version with Argento's cut in second place for the want something a bit more bloody and action oriented.


The casting is absolutely spot-on with Romero taking his usual trips around the theatres in the Pittsburgh area and looking for unknown or untried actors or those who've previously auditioned for him and weren't quite right for the role that they wanted at the time. Looking back on it now (and was probably the case at the time), the main actor is Ken Foree, a man who has gone on to become a horror legend and is acting in genre films just about all the time. Foree plays Peter and he has tremendous on-screen chemistry with Scott H. Reiniger, whose Roger who is a real loose cannon to Peter's solid and reassuring presence. Playing 'Flyboy', David Emge's Stephen is one of the more complex characters in the film as he begins as a slight wimp who doesn't really know how to properly use a firearm which gets him, and the other characters, into more trouble than they really want. As the film goes on, he redeems himself with his his ability to figure out where things are at how to get around without raising attention. Gaylen Ross has properly the most difficult acting job, playing Francine who really isn't taken seriously by the men and has to joke that, whilst they were out scouting the mall, she forgot to get their breakfast ready. Like her boyfriend, she gradually redeems himself as the days and months wear on, insisting that she learns how to fly the helicopter in case something happens to Stephen (smart woman) and shoot as well as the men. I think the only off moment in her performance is when she accidentally calls her boyfriend David, his real name rather than his character's name!

It is an apocalyptic masterpiece and the most celebrated of Romero's Dead trilogy, picking up new fans every year and spawning a very respectable remake in 2003 and, in Shaun of the Dead, a loving homage. I like all three of the original Dead trilogy for different reasons, but my favourite is Dawn, a film that I've bought at least twice on DVD, including the magnificent R1 Ultimate Edition, so had high hopes for this bells and whistles DVD set.


The Disc

Extra Features
The four discs contain four feature-length documentaries: Document of the Dead, Fan of the Dead, The Dead Will Walk and Scream Greats.

Document of the Dead is a terrific piece made by Roy Frumkes and begins with an analysis of Romero's filming style, using Martin and Night of the Living Dead before moving on to Dawn of the Dead where Frumkes interviews Romero on set. It then moves on ten years to the Two Evil Eyes shoot where Tom Savini is working on an elaborate set piece and Romero talks about the industry, his films and the possibility of further Dead movies. This documentary is supplemented by seven minutes of deleted scenes and twenty minutes of cut interviews with Adrienne Barbeau, George Romero and Tom Savini.

Illustrating how obsessive some fans can be is Nicolas Garreau's documentary Fan of the Dead in which the Frenchman travels to Pittsburgh to try and visit every location from Night, Dawn, Creepshow and the Night remake. This is a fascinating look at the lengths that some will go to in order to pay homage to their favourite film and takes in ComiCon where he interviews various zombies and other cast members.

The Dead Will Walk is as comprehensive a 'Making Of' retrospective as you will find, containing interviews with all members of the principal cast and crew and is a fantastic watch.

Finally, Scream Greats is one of the Fangoria series of documentaries about greats in the horror genre and is a fascinating and funny portrait of Tom Savini. I hadn't seen this before and it is a great watch.


Although you don't get the commentaries on the European and Director's cuts from the R1 UE, there are the commentaries on the theatrical version, the first with George A Romero, Tom Savini and Christine Forrest (Mrs. Romero) and the second by producer Richard P. Rubinstein. The first is lively and revealing and one of the better commentaries - I have listened to it twice before and enjoyed it the third time. Rubinstein's isn't quite such a treat as he's doing it by himself and not with friends, but there's plenty of information and is a worthy listen.

Rounding off the bonus material there are a selection of TV and radio spots, trailers and promotional material for Arrow Videos' Masters of Giallo releases Macabre, Sleepless and The House by the Cemetery.

Also included is a double sided poster with all-new Rick Melton painting on one side and the original UK theatrical artwork on reverse and For Every Night There is a Dawn booklet written by Calum Waddell.

The whole set comes in a slip-case which houses to Digipacks, each with different artwork on the front and back, so you can choose which cover you like and want to display from the four options. I did wonder how Arrow would sort out the four panel artwork that was available on the Blu-ray and this seems to be a very good way of housing four DVDs and making all four alternate covers available.


The Picture
Arrow haven't gone overboard with DNR and the picture is a little grainy -- there is even a scene near the end where some water damage hasn't been digitally removed -- but this is a small price to pay for a more realistic depiction of the source material and you don't lose detail when the picture is 'smoothed out'.

The colours are very good and the size of the Monroeville Mall makes it a perfect location - having a huge place to yourself isn't necessarily much better than being under siege in a small farmhouse. Cinematographer Michael Gornick (who has worked with Romero on the way back to Martin) did a great job of lighting the enormous set and making the exteriors look as good as they do.

The last time I saw this was on Blu-ray with a high definition picture and this really isn't as good as the remastered 1080p picture, with not so much clarity in the darker scenes and the colours just lose a little bit when it comes to brightness but this is an extremely good standard def transfer that is possibly a little bit better than the Anchor Bay Ultimate Edition.

As the first of the Dead Trilogy to be shot in colour, the decision had to be made as to what colour the zombies should be, with Savini settling on a grey hue. The made the appearance of the ghouls change under different lighting conditions, with some blue, some slightly green and the rest grey - I quite like this as no one really knows what a reanimated corpse would look like!

Savini's effects are still superb and though you know the tricks of the trade regarding props and prosthetics, the overall impression is of visceral horror that will turn the stomachs of all but the most hardened fans - even after multiple viewings, the screwdriver in the ear still makes me wince a little! The make-up is quirky, with the edges on the face-paint all too evident, but gathered together, the eclectic group of undead still make a formidable force.


The Sound
Given the choice of the original mono, a stereo option or a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, I went for the mono but wasn't that impressed, so switched to the stereo track which didn't seem to be that impressive either and eventually settled on the DD 5.1 which did a tremendous job in balancing the dialogue, action scenes and music without seeming out of place for a film now over 30 years old.

The music by Goblin is a real feature of the film, creating tension and adding to the both the horror and surreal elements. Romero chose a variety of library music to complement the score, most notably The Gonk, which has become part of popular culture.


Final Thoughts
If you didn't buy the Blu-ray release last year, you will have been waiting for this for nearly a year now and this doesn't disappoint in any way, shape or form. Dawn of the Dead is probably the most well-known and highly respected zombie movie ever made and this release does it full justice for the DVD market which clearly still exists otherwise Arrow wouldn't have wouldn't have spent time and money releasing the title again. It is an absolutely brilliant package of one of the finest post-World War II horror films and one that anyone who has yet to venture into the Blu-ray market should seriously consider.