Night Of The Living Dead (1968) + Dawn
Of The Dead (1978) + Day Of The Dead
(1985/Umbrella Entertainment Region Free/Zero Blu-ray Imports)
Picture: B
Sound: C+/B/B Extras: C+/B/B Films:
B+
PLEASE NOTE: These Blu-rays can be operated on
all Blu-ray machines worldwide and are Region Zero/0/Free, but all the supplements
on all titles are in the analog PAL format, so some players may not be able to
access them. All three can be ordered
from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at
the end of the review.
Finally,
there is a company that has released all three of the original George Romero Dead zombie films (so they got the
rights to the sequels) and have issued them on Blu-ray, but instead of it being
a U.S. or U.K. company, the separate releases issued at the same time come from
Umbrella Entertainment in Australia. The
U.K. has two versions of the
first film on Blu-ray and the U.S.,
one briefly no one seems to have seen.
With that
said, we have covered all three films before, including the first and third on Blu-ray,
so you can read more about each if you are not familiar with them or why they
are classics at these links:
Night Of The Living Dead (1968/U.K. Network Blu-ray)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9169/Night+Of+The+Living+Dead+(1968/Re
Dawn Of The Dead (1978/U.S. Anchor Bay
DVD Set)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1416/Dawn+Of+The+Dead+-+Ultimate+Editi
Day Of The Dead (1985/U.S. Anchor Bay Blu-ray)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6152/Day+Of+The+Dead+(1985/Blu-ray)
The 1080p
digital High Definition image in all three cases has some motion blur other
slight flaws, with the Dawn and Day 1080p 1.77 X 1 playback pretty much
on par with that of the Anchor Bay Blu-rays, so that is no problem, though
Umbrella only offers a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mixes are the only
soundtrack offered, while the Anchor Bay versions offered PCM lossless 5.1 at
best, plus lesser Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby 2.0 Mono. In the case of Day, it is dead even while in the case of Dawn, shows flaws and limits one cannot hear in the older DTS DVD
release by Anchor
Bay. Except for extras, they are (no pun intended)
dead even in the performance as the two Blu-ray sequels.
The case
of the 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image on Night offers a very different transfer from the Network U.K.
version, yet both are good and likable. This copy is somewhat cleaner, has not as
many flaws or jump cuts in the print and as well as a slightly warmer look with
better grey scale and some more richness in the detail, but the U.K. Blu-ray
has less blur and though it has less detail, looks a little more naturalistic
and the stylized look comes through better.
Thus is the tale of this public domain film, especially one shot so
memorably in black and white 35mm film (with very limited 16mm) and even the
U.S. Weinstein DVD has issues. The
monophonic sound on both are also on par with each other, but again
different. This Blu-ray uses DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) lossless 2.0 Mono, while the U.K. version used PCM 2.0
Mono. They both have their distortions
and limits, but yet again, at different points and both need further
restoration. I still like both better
than the cleaned Weinstein U.S. DVD. You
can’t go wrong with either edition, especially as an official U.S. Blu-ray
still has not been issued.
As for
extras, Night shares the same
trailer that the U.K. edition had, but this one is in PAL format and does not
look quite as good, but it adds a TV Spot and 80-minutes-long Reflections
On The Living Dead featurette that is not on any U.S> DVD we are
aware of, but many more extras exist, so hopefully they can all be pulled
together when the film gets further restoration.
Dawn has two audio commentary tracks here,
where the U.S.
version only had the Romero/Savini (et al) track, this version also offers the
commentary with Producer Richard Rubenstein.
The Dead Will Walk
documentary, most trailers and radio spots are repeated here from the Anchor
Bay Blu-ray, but this new version also adds a 2008 In Conversation segment
with Romero (at MIFF, 50 minutes) that was made since the 2007 Anchor Bay
release, text biographies and Photo Galleries on the Blu-ray, while a PAL DVD
included adds Fan Of The Dead, Document Of The Dead, separate Document Of The Dead – Lost Interviews
and Document Of The Dead - Deleted Scenes. That still leaves all the alternate cuts of
the film not here, but this is a nice update form the U.S. edition,
though the film itself could use some more restoration. Day
almost has the same extras as its U.S. counterpart, but the
Romero/Savini/Cardille commentary is the only repeat commentary. The U.S. Blu-ray has a Roger Avery
commentary, while we get a special effects commentary including Greg Nicotero
on this Australian version. The rest of
the extras are on a second disc, another PAL DVD, including the same 20-minutes
Behind-The-Scenes piece, trailers and TV Spots from the U.S. Blu-ray, then adds a stills
gallery.
For the
record, the U.S.
editions (with their extras in NTSC analog video) have Fast Film Facts and
promos for malls related to the films.
Fans will want these editions, even if they already have others. I was pleasantly surprised and they all
continue to hold up as the imitators keep on coming.
As noted
above, you can order these Blu-ray imports exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
