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Night of the Living Dead | 
 enlarge | Actors: Bill 'chilly Billy' Cardille, Charles Craig (ii), Frank Doak, Marilyn Eastman, Jack Givens
Studio: Madacy Records
Category: DVD
List Price: $7.98
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.97 (100%)
New (11) Used (26) Collectible (1) from $0.01
Rating:  442 reviews
Sales Rank: 79423
Format: Black & White, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D99010D
ISBN: 6305013608
UPC: 056775004699
EAN: 9786305013600
ASIN: 6305013608
Theatrical Release Date: October 1, 1968
Release Date: June 16, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
We can hardly imagine how shocking this film was when it first broke into the film scene in 1968. There's never been anything quite like it again, though there have been numerous pale imitations. Part of the terror lies in the fact that it is shot in such a raw and unadorned fashion that it feels like a home movie, and is all the more authentic because of that. It draws us into its world gradually, content to establish a merely spooky atmosphere before leading us through a horrifically logical progression that we hardly could have anticipated. The story is simple: Radiation from a fallen satellite has caused the dead to walk, and hunger for human flesh. Once bitten, you become one of them. And the only way to kill one is by a shot or blow to the head. We follow a group holed up in a small farmhouse who are trying to fend off the inevitable onslaught of the dead. The tension between the members of this unstable, makeshift community drives the film. Night of the Living Dead establishes savagery as a necessary condition of life. Marked by fatality and a grim humor, the film gnaws through to the bone, then proceeds on to the marrow. --Jim Gay
Amazon.com essential video
George Romero's classic 1968 zombie-fest (shot in black and white) offers some disturbing images, even decades later. In a Pittsburgh suburb people are being stalked by zombies ravenous for human flesh. In a house whose occupant has already been slain, two separate groups of people unite and board themselves in, hoping to fend off the advancing ghouls. Through radio and TV reports they learn that radiation from outer space is thought to be responsible for the wave of zombie attacks all over the eastern United States. Once the humans are trapped, Romero shifts the focus to the internal feuding between them as they decide how to handle their dreadful situation. What unfolds is an examination of human nature, and of the fear and selfishness that keep many citizens from getting involved in the world's problems. Appropriately, both the zombies and the authorities who later hunt them are equally soulless. This film could also be read as a criticism of white males--it is not merely a coincidence that the film's two most rational, constructive characters are a woman and a black man. It is also no coincidence that the sequel takes place in a mall infested by the undead--a perfect analogy for consumer culture. --Bryan Reeseman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 437 more reviews...
 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD November 15, 2008
GINGKO JOE (NEW YORK,NEW YORK)
This is an excellent edition of Night of the living dead because of the extras. It contains interviews with the living cast members except for Judith Ridley who played Judy.It was nice to see Barbra and Johnny back in the cemetary 40 years later.Unfortunately Duane Jones(Ben),Karl Hardman(Mr.Cooper)and Keith Wayne(Tom)are no longer with us.May they rest in peace!But it was nice to see the others talk about this classic movie! This will always be George Romero's one and only masterpiece!!The film quality is excellent considering all the bad copies of this movie out there. I will always be a loyal fan of this film and it will always remain my favorite.
Excellent Old Classic Horror November 8, 2008
lizardo_manson (Patapolis)
I bought this movie recently and is superb. The sound is crispy and the visual rich.
For the Extras, i was happy to watch and see for the first time most of the actors talking in the present and an interview with Duane Jones (rip).
The One Time the Living Dead were truly Terrifying October 30, 2008
Reef Shark (Houston, Texas)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In 1968 George A. Romero took the world by storm with an incredibly violent, low-budget, horror film that introduced what would grow to be the modern day interpretation of the living dead (referred to as zombies by most modern day moviegoers). These creatures are the reanimated corpses of the recently deceased, they shuffle, moan and eat the flesh of the living, and the only ways to kill them being incineration and a fatal blow to the head (via gunshot or clubbing). Naturally these aspects would lead these monsters into being the most common form of canon-fodder in today's video games.
In recent years the zombies, due to their stupidity, and the fact that they are easy to kill, have made them nothing more than things for the heroes of a film to blow apart in increasingly gruesome manners (so long as they're zombies the MPAA does not care how the characters go about killing them). So what is it about Romero's first Dead film that makes these creatures so darn scary? Two out of the three sequels to this cult classic (the classic Dawn of the Dead, and the more resent Land of the Dead) have used these creatures to create socially satirical environments exploiting human nature, while never bringing real spine tingling moments, the concepts (at least in Dawn) were equally frightening to the horror of Night of the Living Dead, just in a more psychological aspect.
How do these pitiful excuses for monsters bring in the scares within this low-budget exploitation film? I'd have to place my bet on the claustrophobic atmosphere Romero creates within the farmhouse, where ninety-five percent of the film takes place. In films such as Dawn, and Day of the Dead the characters had a lot more maneuverability. They could run, they could hide, and easily out maneuver these slow, clumsy creatures. Here, there is no room to move about, and you can feel that there truly is no way out, and no place to hide.
The film starts as a brother and sister drive to apply the annual decoration to their father's grave. The two individuals are Barbra and Johnny, and as the two leave they are assaulted by a man. Barbra flees to a nearby farmhouse, and the story begins. Soon after she arrives she encounters a strong willed man by the name of Ben, who quickly establishes that Barbra is hysterical and must be taken care of. Taking responsibility for both their survival Ben soon boards up the doors and windows, preparing to sit the infestation out until help arrives.
During the stay they discover some more survivors living in the house's cellar. There's the eager to help young man by the name of Tom, and his loyal girlfriend Judy, and then the paranoid Harry Cooper, his wife Helen, and their ill daughter Karen. Mister Cooper instantly protests against the command of Ben, saying that they all should retreat to the cellar, because there's only one way in and out of the cellar, as opposed to the house with its many doors and windows. Ben denies this, not wanting to be enclosed in a death trap without any means of escape if things were to go badly (which you know they will). In the end it seems only ironic as to how each character meets his or her fate.
I must point out the Ben character played by Duane Jones because he is obviously the star of this film, and for good reason. Considering this was the 1960s, and racism was still a huge factor throughout the country it feels remarkable to see such a well done performance by an African American actor, with such great intensity, especially with such a low-budget. He is strong willed, and won't let people change his mind, even to the point of ignorance, but he does so with such passion we, the audience, can't help but side with him as the character, even when he is clearly wrong at times with his decisions. His survival techniques are not perfect, but with his strong attitude he is able to make the survivors inside the house side with him, over the over-cautious (yet, in all fairness, intelligent) Harry Cooper.
This film has rightfully earned its reputation as one of the best horror movies to date, and still beats out all of today's zombie films by a mile. Here the zombies really are scary, without resorting to being anything more than slow moving, clumsy beings (unlike the remake of Dawn of the Dead where they felt inclined to super power the creatures). Also, the setting is so normal it further increases the scare factor. How many people haven't been in houses like the one in this film? Imagine being trapped in one of these houses, surrounded by vicious flesh-eaters in the late hours of the night. This is where Night of the Living Dead succeeds where others of the genre have miserably fallen. If it wasn't for the original Night of the Living Dead, and Dawn of the Dead (both of which have been remade with a less positive response from critics and audiences alike) zombies would be some of the worst movie monsters ever conceived. This film innovated and created the concept of the living dead which have been embraced by mainstream audiences, and it is fitting that it is perhaps the ONLY film involving the creatures that has legitimately frightened me. Maybe it was watching it at night with the lights turned off, but I can say that few films have actually scared me when I watched it. Let me put it this way, most classic horror films that truly deserve their status don't scare me when I'm watching them, but end up poking my mind later on in the day (Examples are The Shining and the original Nightmare on Elm Street). With this film I was constantly holding my breath, and looking about the room nervously.
The reason I was frightened (and surprised) by this film was due to its incredibly fast pacing, which is very similar to the way films are made today. This film just never has its dull moments (not to say I like all action, I was just surprised how quick it was). The plot is extraordinarily simple, and could've easily been covered in thirty minutes, but Romero was careful to grab the audience in the first attack scene, and keep their attention through means of suspense and violence.
Now that brings us to the violence, and there is nothing that the undead are more associated with then excessive amounts of blood and gore. For the 1960s this film is incredibly violent, especially when it shows the undead feeding on the flesh of their victims. Being low-budget the victims are not seen being torn apart like they are in the sequels, but you still are given some disgusting shots of flesh from the bones, or fighting over intestines, which in some perverse way reminded me of people fighting over a chicken wing at a local KFC buffet. The images are just truly grotesque, maybe not to the avid, modern day gore lover, but to the common moviegoer it still holds up as being disturbing.
This is the best film of the living dead subgenre, followed closely by its sequel, Dawn of the Dead, and certainly holds up in all regards to the modern, brainless horror film. The film goes out to scare, and manages to pull it off, even to this day. Though the zombies are most associated with gore, and for the 60s this film surely had it, this is a film with more brain than blood, and that's why it has terrified people for so long, and will continue to do so, even as the creatures continue to become even less threatening through video games and modern interpretations (which happen to be video game based, for the most part). With their decline as an actual icon of terror, at least we can still return to the gut wrenching human struggle, and terror of George A. Romero's definitive horror picture.
5/5 stars; a classic that has endured the test of time with more strength, emotionally, and in the form of pure terror, than many films of the same era which possessed a larger budgets, certainly being on par with some of Hitchcock's greats.
The Best of the Colored Versions October 23, 2008
Trinity M. Martin (Indiana)
This is by far the best of the colorized versions of this film.
They did a pretty good job with it overall, although there are some spots were it seems weird (the car is bright orange and looks like the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard...and whats up with the psychodelic colored walls???) it is solid overall. The fire is mesmerizing looking, but Ben's skin tone isn't quite right (at least i hope not).
The quality of the picture isn't bad, but it still is not as sharp as some of the remastered black and white versions of this film. so this version is a little more blurry, but not enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of what you're looking at.
The movie itself is unchanged. No new cuts, edits, or soundtracks, just the original stuff.
The bonus features are lame, and the commentary track is retarded and not even worth listening too.
Basically, if you want to see what this movie is like in color, buy this one. It actually makes it feel like a whole new movie, and you find yourself thinking ahead and trying to guess what color various things in the film are going to end up being.
I think overall they did a good job, and it is worthy of a place in my Romero collection.
What A Great 40th Edition Of This Classic Film Dead. October 20, 2008
Brent Hilton (Layton, Utah USA)
I like many other night of living dead fans i have been scratching my head over which version of this film to get. because it seems like every tom,dick and harry who is in film company biz has release their version of this classic film, which explain why there are so many versions. it's a headache too choose which one to get, i know george and his associates are bit upset over this problem too. well i got this version because it was endorsed by george himself and was filled with goodies that the others didn't have like duane jones last interview in audio form on this DVD which is great and all the other extra have interviews with the surviving cast members of this classic dead film. showing where they shot most of key shots in the film and fun stuff like that, plus the film has been cleaned up with the scratches and dirt removed from so it looks as if it was shot today with exception of the vintage automobiles etc. it is a pristine print , clear and vivid . This definitely the one to get out of all the ones on the market.
Highly Recommended.
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