Night Of The Living Dead: Newly Restored 2004 Colorized Version & Original 1968 Full Frame Edition DVD Review

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Title: Night Of The Living Dead: Newly Restored 2004 Colorized Version & Original 1968 Full Frame Edition

Region: One

Genre: Horror

Stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Bill Hinzman, Judy Ridley, and Keith Wayne

Writers: George A. Romero and John Russo

Director: George A. Romero

Feature length: 96 minutes

Extras: Audio Commentary With MST3K’s Mike Nelson, “Separated By Death” Celebrity Zombie Game, And Vintage Horror Trailers

Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound And Monaural Sound

Subtitles: English Closed Captions

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 16

Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1968/DVD Release: 2004

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“Night Of The Living Dead” is one of the most successful independent films ever made and has not only become one of the most important horror films ever produced and a genuine classic, but also a popular subject among academic film historians, who deconstruct the film to suggest various impressions regardless of whether they were conscious or unconscious choices. “Night Of The Living Dead” was not only the right horror film released at the right time, but it has also withstood the test of time by providing genuine scares and shocks for those who never saw it. Even the seasoned horror fan cannot deny that there is a disturbing if not creepy subtext to the film that sticks with the viewer for long time after seeing it.

NASA destroys a probe returning from Venus to Earth remotely because of a strange radiation detected aboard. Unfortunately it is not soon enough because the radiation does enter the atmosphere of the Earth triggering a plague in which the bodies of the recently deceased are coming back to life and feasting on the flesh of the living. The film centers upon a group of untainted humans trying to survive the night in a remote farmhouse while fighting off the ghouls. Their inability to work together turns out to be more lethal than the zombies trying to break in.

“Night Of The Living Dead” is in the public domain so not surprisingly there have been many DVD releases of the film over the years as well as even slightly different versions. In 1986, a colorized version was broadcast on television. Since then there has been a 1990 remake directed my makeup effects guru Tom Savini, the 30^th Anniversary Edition, which featured new scenes shot and edited into the film as well as an original soundtrack, and then there is the definitive Elite Entertainment “Millennium Edition,” which features a THX certified black and white (1.33:1) aspect ratio presentation as well as a new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack and audio commentaries with the filmmakers and surviving cast members as well as exclusive extra features. Now comes yet another version of George A. Romero’s “Night Of The Living Dead” produced by Off Color Films and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

This version features a newly restored 2004 colorized version of the film that in many ways is far superior to the 1986 colorized TV version. About the only aspect the computer still just doesn’t seem to resolve believably are the flesh tones of the actors. They look sort of orange at times and they even look a bit too over exposed. Everything else looks pretty darn good. The car, the farm house, the interior set, and the exteriors with the grass and trees all look so good that it almost looks as though the film was really shot in color instead of black and white. I suppose in a few years there may be a colorized version that will look even more like a color film to the extent that if someone were to have never seen the film before, they might actually believe the film was really shot in color. Unfortunately they are not quite there yet, but they certainly are closer than ever before.

The colorized version features for the first time ever an English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. Considering the age of the film and it’s low budget roots, both 5.1 soundtracks are pretty well rounded though the DTS option is a bit more aggressive in nature. English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired are encoded onto the DVD as an option too. Mike Nelson of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” fame delivers a humorous feature length audio commentary that also has a few legitimate anecdotes about the film too. He doesn’t really say anything about the film’s background that fans of the movie do not already know, but at least he shares a few tidbits in-between his witty remarks. The jokes made me smile, but I didn’t laugh out loud like I normally would if this were an episode of “MST3K.”

The original black and white version of the film is included also, but only a two-channel English Monaural Soundtrack is provided and there is no optional commentary track for this version. While both versions of the film certainly look clean, they do not hold a candle to the THX certified picture quality found on the Elite Entertainment “Millennium Edition” released two years ago.

Colorized trailers for “Night Of The Living Dead” running at (1:59) and (1:09) respectively are included on the disc along with a colorized trailer for the film that in part inspired George Romero to make “Night Of The Living Dead, “ Herk Harvey’s “Carnival Of Souls” (2:28), and a black and white trailer for “Flesh Eaters” (2:42) as well as a silly “Separated By Death” still gallery game that basically compares ghouls from the film to various entertainers. There was a gag similar in concept that was used in the 2004 remake of “Dawn Of The Dead” too.

The interactive menus are all standard still frames that are easy to navigate. “Night Of The Living Dead: Newly Restored 2004 Colorized Version & Original 1968 Full Frame Edition” is available on DVD-Video now from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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