Night of the living dead (Special 30th anniversary ed.)

A group of escapees from a growing army of flesh-eating zombies spreading across the countryside take refuge in a house. With EC horror comics of the fifties as an acknowledged influence, this film, at times technically rough, was produced independently on a low budget. It has become a horror/science fiction classic, which, like “The Birds”, can be placed in the Armageddon sub-genre: the world threatened with extinction. It is also one of the earliest horror films to defy all generic conventions, with it’s down-beat ending and its unconventional choice of an African-American man as the heroic lead. With “Night of the living dead” director George A. Romero and writer John A. Russo offered terror to audiences, without the assurance that it was an otherworldly threat, the danger now lay from within the bland suburban confines. The film’s surprise box office success in America and its growing cult popularity around the world tapped into a generation that was witnessing the real horror of the Vietnam war and the mounting cynicism about the ethics of the government of the time. Romero went on to direct two self-contained sequels (Dawn of the dead and Day of the dead), creating an unforgettable horror trilogy, still considered as classics of the genre. Note: this edition of “Night of the living dead” contains the 30th anniversary version which was recut (new filmed footage was also added), by writer and producer John A. Russo without director George A. Romero’s input and is considered by fans of the genre as inferior to the original which also appears on this DVD. Cast includes Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman.