Dawn of the Dead (UK)

The main reason to buy this disk is the (hush hush) special feature of a Tom Savini commentary. The effects maestro and long time Romero contributor is joined by a colleague/friend and points out a wealth of background info on the film - mostly things like "that zombie is so and so`s wife". The drawbacks are the pan and scan video presentation and the fact that the BBFC still cut six seconds off the run time. This is billed as a director`s cut but is actually a rough cut put together for a film festival, prior to the films` eventual release. The result - at 139 minutes runtime, is the longest version of the film out there. The six seconds missing are an exploding head (by shotgun) scene during the initial police raid, a fraction off the second (juicy!) bite to the lady who screams out to the dead "Miguel" during the same raid, and a snippet or two from the kids getting shot at the airstrip.

Originally shot at 1.66:1, this loses a little info on the edges, though not quite as much as a true 1.33:1 crop would lead to. This baby has small black borders top & bottom, allowing for a 14x9 zoom on many widescreen sets & leaving only slim side bars. Romero didn`t fill the screen in the way John Carpenter always does, so there`s no real loss here. The US releases (the deleted "Director`s Cut" and the 25th Anniversary US Cinema Cut) both were presented 1.66:1 but to be honest all three provide a similar it`ll-do-for-now video presentation. Note the Dutch 2-disk SE, featuring the long or Director`s cut & the Dario Argento "Zombie" version are also 1.66:1 - role on Anchor Bay`s promise to one day re-visit the Dead material...bring on the anamorphic transfer at the intended 1.85:1 if you please!

Sound quality can only be described as functional & clear - again, similar quality to all other releases. Please Anchor, a 5.1 remaster is needed!

A final mention should be made to the animated menu screen - bullet holes appear and blood gushes...fun! For any true fan of Romero`s classic, this is a must - Savini chatting with enthusiasm cannot be missed.

Dawn of the Dead was the followup to George A Romero`s 1968 horror classic Night Of The Living Dead. It is also one of the best horror films ever made and is probably the best in the George Romero `Dead` trilogy which also includes Day Of The Dead. Theis film hasn not been given an easy ride on DVD. There are 3 versions of this film: the Theatrical cut, the Directo`s cut and the Argento cut ( a version edited by Italian horror director Dario Argento ). These 3 versions have all been released at least once and the discs aren`t very impressive. Perhaps the best is the Dutch 2 disc set which contains the Director`s cut in widescreen along with the Argento cut and a documentary, Document of the Dead. This version from BMG is the director`s cut.

The picture quality is okay but not great. There has been some debate on the correct ratio for the film. This version of the film is presented in 4:3. Bearing in mind that this is a low budget film made over 20 years ago, the picture quality is not too bad. The picture is fairly clear and reasonably detailed but it does also have quite a bit of sparkle and scratches and it des have an overall softness to it. It remains watchable though. The sound appears to be in mono and is clear and functional.

The main menu is animated with blood pouring out of bullet holes with soundbytes from the zombie feast towards the end of the film. There is a small photo gallery containing publicity stills from the film. The best extra is an audio commentary from special effects artist Tom Savini and Christoph Stravakis whose brother Taso plays several roles in the film as does Savini. This is one of the best audio commentaries I have ever heard.

Dawn Of The Dead is a damn good film which every horror fan should see. While the DVD is not perfect, it will do until a special edition is available.