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When there’s no more room on your shelf for boxed sets, Anchor Bay will put out another edition of “Dawn of the Dead”. To be fair, this is the ultimate edition of George Romero’s classic horror film. This sequel to the original takes up almost exactly where the original left off (despite an interval of a decade). The dead are everywhere chewing on everyone (and sometimes the scenery as well). A group made up of a reporter, two police officers and a helicopter pilot (my, that skill came in handy) take off from a city overrun by zombies. They take up residence in a shopping mall when the helicopter begins running out of fuel. Romero’s film isn’t subtle—it’s a full bore satire on the indulgence of our consumer society (with the emphasis on consume). Our quartet of heroes barricades themselves in the mall they also watch the zombies mill around in much the same stupor that window shoppers do. Ultimately the horror breaks through the satire when the last local members of the living get bitten. ***

So what’s the difference here vs. the previous editions of “Dawn of the Dead” that have been shuffled into the market place? This three disc edition has the original theatrical cut which was released earlier in the year to coincide with the remake. Then we get the “Extended Cut” which appears to be the previous DVD version released in 1997. Finally we get the European version of the movie. Which version is better and will you be forced to sit through all three like I was? Perhaps it was devised as a new form of torture. Which one to watch? I’d suggest staying with the single disc edition with the original theatrical cut. If you MUST have all three versions of the film, then go buy it. ---

All three versions look excellent with nice reproduction of the textures and colors in the film versions. In truth, I can’t detect any difference between the single disc theatrical cut and the one included here. My best educated guess is that they are exactly the same transfer. The European version also looks quite good as well although it appears that the source isn’t quite as good as the theatrical version. The “Extended Version” which played at Cannes Film festival in 1978 also looks good and is about 12 minutes longer than the US cut and a good 21 minutes longer than the European version that director Dario Argento edited for release.

The “Extended Version” looks surprisingly good considering that it was probably an unfinished work print version of the film that didn’t take into account the ratings board demands for US release. There’s also temporary music included on the “Extended Version”. Of all the versions included here, the theatrical cut still looks and sounds best with a sharp picture, nice clarity and beautiful color reproduction. The US and European versions are presented in both 5.1 and 2.0 Surround Sound. All three versions sound pretty good although the sound isn’t quite as clear on the “Extended Version”. ---

There’s a whole disc of them. Enough for the ultimate zombie party you’ve been planning. The outstanding extras consist of two documentaries one of them a vintage piece and another new retrospective documentary. Roy Frumkes’ “Document of the Dead” runs about an hour and a half and was shot during the production of the film. As a result, Frumkes’ documentary allows us to follow around Romero through various stages of production on the film with lots of behind-the-scenes footage shot including shots of the various extras being made up, Romero helping his team of make up and effects experts shuffle through Zombie 101 at Romero’s University of the Walking Dead. By far Frumkes’ documentary is the better one for actually viewing the day-to-day production challenges of an independent film director before the independent film movement was born. ***

“The Dead Will Walk” runs about an hour and fifteen minutes. This documentary peaks into the Dead phenomenon. There’s new interviews with cast and crew members that highlight the roller coaster ride they went on when this popular film caught the public’s imagination in 1978. Romero’s film sparked an entirely new approach to horror films as they progressed from shadowy violence and gore to full blown Technicolor blood spewing out various wounds. While the Hammer films helped spark this movement as well, Romero’s do-it-yourself approach and step away from traditional horror villains sparked the horror films we see today.