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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Zombie Mayhem on DVD this Week

Long-time Vault-dwellers know how much I love me some zombie movies. And this week brings not one, not two, but three undead gems to home video. It's quite the smorgasbord of cannibalistic goodness, so let me break it down for you:

Diary of the Dead: This fifth chapter in George Romero's epic saga seriously divided the fan base. Although I thought very highly of it, the balance seems to be tipped a little more in favor of the naysayers. Oh well, fans hated Day of the Dead 23 years ago, and now it's regarded as a classic. And I've even noticed opinion becoming more positive toward Land of the Dead in the past three years. Who knows, the future of horror fandom may be kinder to this one as well.

Night of the Living Dead: For years I've been waiting for a mondo, balls-out special edition of Romero's original public domain masterpiece, and now it's finally here--courtesy of Diary of the Dead-producers the Weinsteins. Aside from a reportedly immaculate digital transfer, there are also two commentaries, a 90-minute documentary, an interview with Romero and the final recorded interview with the late Duane Jones.

Grapes of Death: A highly regarded yet somewhat obscure 1978 French flick. I confess I have yet to see it myself, but have heard and read nothing but positive things about it over the years. Adding it to my Netflix queue as we speak.

3 comments:

  1. Even though I just recently bought the Millennium edition of Night, I"ll have to pick up this new one if it boasts more extras.

    As for Diary, you may be right. I didn't enjoy it, but then again I didn't enjoy Day either, and years later it is now my favourite of the series thusfar.

    Though, will opinion only change once something worse comes out? I mean, it's easier for people to like Day if they can say 'oh well it's not as bad as Land', or 'Land is pretty good compared to Diary'.

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  2. The thing is, Day of the Dead was already being hailed as a classic before Land came out. And for the record, I enjoyed Diary more than Land.

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  3. I suppose you're right, but my now incorrect point still makes sense. In a hypothetical sort of way.

    I'll probably be buying Diary anyways, since I'm such a sucker for special features. And while Land was pretty dull, and generally ridiculous, it still had a certain charm. But I could see getting to like Diary the more I watch it.

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