"The Darkest Day of Horror the World Has Ever Known"
Shout! Factory/Scream Factory has bestowed George A. Romero's fans a monumental, "40th Anniversary" gift: a special-edition box set of the writer/director's third chapter in his flesh-eating zombie saga, Day of the Dead.
The 4-disc set supplies a sizzling, restored transfer of the 1985 classic on both 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, enhanced by Dolby Atmos, mono and other interesting, audio options. Though the movie was not culled from an actual negative (with an interpositive transfer being the next best option), the imagery pops with gruesome intensity, giving it a scary sheen that surpasses previous releases.
In addition to the polished print, the set includes the acclaimed, feature-length documentary, World's End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead; audio commentary by Romero, makeup maestro Tom Savini, lead star, Lori Cardille and production designer Cletus Anderson; additional audio commentary by writer Daniel Kraus and movie critic Drew Mcweeny; interviews with Cardille, costar John (Martin) Amplas, music composer/assistant director John Harrison, Susanne Romero (the director's spouse and founder of the George A. Romero Foundation), filmmaker Tina (Queens of the Dead) Romero, second-unit director Ernest Dickerson and special-effects assistant/actor Greg (The Walking Dead) Nicotero; behind-the-scenes Savini footage; a look at the movie's restoration process; a "Stink of the Dead" segment (which caters to Captain Rhodes' demise and the rotted meat that turned the sequence so noxious); a tour of the Wampam Underground mine, with a promotional video from the company; a photo gallery; and theatrical/TV trailers.
The packaging for the release is exquisite, with a new image of Howard Sherman's Bub gracing the box top and reproductions of Day of the Dead's theatrical and VHS posters for its disc-case sleeves. In addition, the set contains twelve collectible cards, featuring varied, promotional images.
Day of the Dead was remade twice (in 2008 and 2019), and though the retellings hold their merits, the original remains the aesthetic standard. In fact, its pervading impact on The Walking Dead's gritty despair and contemptuous conflict is obvious. (Heck, even Bub made an appearance on Season 4.) Also, for what it's worth (and this should count for much), Romero considered Day of the Dead his favorite of the franchise, not only for its memorable dialogue, but that it dug far deeper into the apocalyptic macabre than either Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead. In many ways, Day of the Dead was in the forefront of the dystopic, horror visions yet to come and holds up in ways that few anticipated.
I'm damn proud to say that Day of the Dead is one of my all-time favorite movies. This box set is a painstaking labor of love and a comprehensive must-have, even if one owns the prior submissions. At long last, "the darkest day of horror" has received its creme-de-la-creme commemoration.
https://gruv.com/collections/day-of-the-dead
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