George A. Romero's commentary on Dawn of the Dead
October 27th 2008 22:43
I'm working through the three-disc Romero collection from Umbrella Entertainment, and I excitedly popped in "Dawn of the Dead", one of the most-loved zombie movies in history.
Naturally, I've watched it several times before, and it was one of the early reviews that I wrote, back in 2006.
Can I review it again? Is that what I've come to, where I'm doubling up?
No, I thought, it's time to break free of the chains of repetition. Instead, I elected to watch the director's commentary, with Tom Savini, Michael Gornick, George A. Romero and Romero's wife, Christine Forrest.
It's fascinating to hear the commentary for a movie that has inspired and thrilled millions of people. "Dawn of the Dead" went on to make over $50 million dollars, but the original budget was a paltry $650 000 - as Christine Forrest remarks at several times, you just couldn't make the same movie today for that movie.
As they speak, we learn that, due to budget constraints, they couldn't really achieve the same vision that Romero had planned. He wanted things to be bigger and more spectacular, but the film's production is already magnificent, especially at the end, where the biker gang rips through the mall.
"Dawn of the Dead" has always been complimented for its satirical nature; the zombies, let loose in the mall, ride escalators and grab at jewels, their undead brains containing enough memory to make them seek out the same material goods. Romero notes that his intention was to make the film seem more of a comic book, especially compared to "Night of the Living Dead", which was darker in tone.
Perhaps the most invigorating aspect of the commentary is listening to this gang of filmmakers, all notable in their own right, reminiscing about the production. We hear how the basis for the movie was that the owners of the mall contacted Romero to make a movie in that location, and that many of the zombies were friends and family.
For the shots of the military vehicles, the National Guard accepted Romero's invitation to roll out tanks and trucks, giving him perfect footage of the military mobilization.
You couldn't make this movie today, not for that paltry sum of money.
Romero, now a legend, still struggles to make his films. The last two that he made were ignored and criticized, as the zombie genre has exploded in recent years, acclimatizing audiences to 'fast' zombies and CGI gore. Despite this evolution of the genre, "Dawn of the Dead" is no less exhilarating, with awkward, shambling zombies, red paint blood and pig intestine guts pulled at by undead hands.
I say: "Dawn of the Dead" is, of course, excellent. The commentary on the Umbrella collection is a delight for fans of the genre, as the filmmakers talk about locations, scene construction and effects.
See it for: I'll never get tired of watching Ken Foree.
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Comment by Digiwedo
Very interesting to hear about the National Guard's involvement. I remember hearing that they had a hell of a lot of volunteers in the movie.
Comment by Cibbuano
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If this is one of your favourites, you'll love the commentary. It sounds like an exciting, crazy time to be making horror movies - the biker gang was a real gang from the area, and as they talk, it must have been like delirium, racing the bikes in the mall!
Comment by David O'Connell
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Comment by Mister Smith
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