World Famous Comics: Day of the Dead (Divimax Special Edition)
Day of the Dead (Divimax Special Edition)
Starring: Terry Alexander, John Amplas, Don Brockett, William Cameron, Lori Cardille Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Color, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Starz / Anchor Bay Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 19, 2003 Running Time: 101 minutes Theatrical Release Date: July 19, 1985
Amazon.com: Chapter three of George Romero's mighty zombie trilogy has big footsteps to follow. Night of the Living Dead was a classic that revitalized a certain corner of the cinema, and Dawn of the Dead was nothing short of epic. Day of the Dead, however, has always been regarded as a comedown compared to those twin peaks--and perhaps it is. But on its own terms, this is an awfully effective horror movie, made with Romero's customary social satire and cinematic vigor--when a "retrained" zombie responds to the "Ode to Joy," the film is in genuinely haunting territory. The story is set inside a sunken military complex, where Army and medical staff, supposedly working on a solution to the zombie problem, are going crazy (strongly foreshadowing the final act of 28 Days Later). Tom Savini's makeup effects could make even hardcore gore fans tear off their own heads in amazement. --Robert Horton
Aww man, I can't resist...CHOKE ON 'EM!!! George A. Romero's Day of the Dead is a hands-down zombie classic that is criminally underrated, not only in comparison to "Night of the Living Dead" or "Dawn of the Dead" but as a zombie movie itself. Of course, this doesn't mean it's unheard of, look at all the great reviews it's gotten! But "Day of the Dead" is quite the contrast to "Dawn of the Dead", for several reasons.
1) "Dawn of the Dead" was a two-hour cross between zombie gore and social satire. It looked at the sociality of consumerism and exploited it, and added the gore of the undead at multiple times. Now, "Day of the Dead" isn't so much about social satire as it is about character development. That's something you don't see too often in horror movies, as horror is about what happens to you, but the character development works great here. Also, "Day of the Dead" is only 90 minutes, so it didn't aim to be the social epic "Dawn..." was. 2) "Dawn of the Dead" did something similar to "Night of the Living Dead". It left the zombies only as the ravenous monsters that were out to attack and munch. Even so, I gotta admit, it was something else to see the blue Hare Krshna zombie in "Dawn..."! In "Day of the Dead", a zombie is treated as a full-fledged character, "Bub". He picks up traits and habits he did in life before he got turned into a zombie, and the doctor here studies Bub's habits and treats him as a friend and a lab specimen. 3) "Dawn of the Dead", as previously mentioned, has gore all throughout, in between the comedic scenes and social satirism. "Day of the Dead" waits until the last fifteen minutes for the zombie outbreak to rip everything apart!
So that's the difference between DAWN and DAY. How does DAY do on it's own? Well, I know my review's already pretty long, but READ ON!
DAY OF THE DEAD takes place at an underground military base in the middle of the day, with lots of characters that eventually develop themselves. As the movie progresses, you discover which characters you like...and which character you wouldn't mind see get their intestines eaten. As I said, the gore doesn't fully kick in until the last 15 minutes, but when THAT happens...WATCH OUT! Seeing the guy getting literally ripped in half by the zombies and consumed is totally awesome, and the gore you'd expect from special effects wizard Tom Savini! Now, the movie ends on a positive note, a little brighter than NIGHT and DAWN, a little more hopeful, indeed. The all-of-a-sudden happy ending kinda comes outta nowhere, but at least it makes sense to the plot.
So, what are you waiting for? Don't miss out on this zombie classic! It's one of the defining moments in zombie movie history! Though it isn't as critically acclaimed or remembered as DAWN, DAY OF THE DEAD definitely delivers! Get your piece of flesh today! Thanks for the time, and peace.
Hungry For More? Day of the Dead doesn't get the same attention as Dawn of the Dead, but I think it is a great story and a great film. What I really like about Day of the Dead is that it begins to give us more insight into the zombies. The story takes place in an underground storage facility where a team of scientists are working to find answers about the zombies. We meet "Bub" who is a tame zombie that still holds onto some of what made him human. The head scientist figures out that zombies still maintain some human instincts in their brain stems and therefore he believes that rather than trying to cure the problem they should be looking at trying to domesticate the zombies. The military team in charge of protecting the scientists and gathering up the zombie samples starts to grow restless for answers and results, as more of their men are dying. There is a rift between the two groups and all hell breaks out. This is a classic movie and a must see. I love zombie movies and this is probably my favorite one because the story is so interesting to me. The acting is pretty bad and it isn't a perfect film by any means... but I have to give this 5 stars because, if nothing else, the story is just awesome.
Day of The Dead Reckoning. Day of The Dead is an excellent film. It's very nihilistic, but has a hopeful ending. The hardcore gore FX are second to none, the best of Tom Savini's career, the characterization and dialog are excellent, and it's just a fun, great, depressing film overall. It's slow, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I love this movie. It breaks every rule of horror cinema, and does it with style, and has a lot to say. A supremely intelligent, literate zombie movie (which isn't saying much, I know) that is a very worthy sequel to Dawn of The Dead, that splatteriffic incredible satiric achievement. Buy this movie. You won't regret it. If you have any taste in great horror movies at all, that is.
The Brightest Day This is the ultimate version of George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. Hands down. I can't imagine what else would be included unless Joe Pilato or Lori Cardille came to your house and talked about it. The transfer is incredible, to say the least. Special Features all over the place, including multiple commentaries and Dr. Logan's note pad. While it was kind of shocking to see how the stars had aged (and realizing it's been over 20 years since this gem was made), it is nice to know who is still around. If you ever wanted to give Day a shot, here's the best shot to give it. It's a mostly forgotten & under appreciated Romero masterpiece and you should check it out NOW!
"He's human. And that's what scares me, you know." This is my favorite of the four films that comprise Romero's Dead series (Diary being a restart of the franchise, so to speak, I don't really count it). The first, Night of the Living Dead, changed the face of horror as it was known at the time and gave a nihilistic undercurrent lacking in virtually all of its myriad imitators throughout the '70s. Then Dawn of the Dead splashed a bright red on our movie screens and taught us the evils of consumerism while fixating us with gore, a comic book brought to the big screen. Then came Day of the Dead and the horror had finally given way completely to true science fiction.
In Day the walking dead are not the true antagonists. They are kind of like the every day dangers we face now; yes, they're dangerous and can harm or kill you if you're not careful or are just at the wrong place at the wrong time but for the most part they're just an undercurrent to the daily lives of the characters. The true antagonists, as Romero envisions it, are Captain Rhodes, who is trying to lord it over the peaceful, mostly sane scientists and technicians who are only trying to save humanity the best way they know how, and his soldiers, who I believe Romero thought to approximate the great mass of easily-led unwashed who blindly follow the dictates of their leaders, against the protagonists who are the aforementioned thoughtful "everymen", best represented by Sara and John, who only want to find some way to get along in the world. Dr. Logan is the bridge between the two sides, the person who can actually operate in both worldviews, who in this case has been driven insane by the experience.
I have to admit that I don't see it that way. I usually think of the soldiers as being the everyday folk who are doing their jobs even when they'd rather be doing something else, and who have been driven a little over the edge by living on the edge for so very long. Rhodes is dictatorial and warped but then he has spent the last few years watching his friends die left and right while the brilliant Illuminati-- the scientists-- keep telling him to wait just a little longer, that everything will be okay if he'll just keep listening to them and doing what they say. And then, when he does finally get the upper hand and can force their compliance with his requests for information they don't have anything to show him that can help, really. To me, it's how closely this relates to the real world that makes this film the more chilling vision of the three, now four, albeit not the most overtly horrific.
Day was not my favorite the first time I watched it. It took me a couple of viewings to really warm up to it, but now, as much as I love the others in this series, Day is my absolute favorite.
One more thing: Howard Sherman's performance as Bub is simply not to be missed. On this DVD there is a commentary by Roger Avery, the writer of Pulp Fiction, who is on this disc commenting as a fan, and he says it as well as anyone has ever said it: Sherman's performance as Bub is every bit as noteworthy and amazing as Karloff's Frankenstein.
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