GEORGE A. ROMERO'S BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN (1971-1973)

GEORGE A. ROMERO'S BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN (1971-1973) 

George Romero's name may be synonymous with the living dead subgenre, but his filmography is far richer and more varied than his reputation as "the zombie guy" would suggest. Following the breakout success of his debut feature Night of the Living Dead, the director would embark upon a series of projects which demonstrate a master filmmaker with more than mere gut-munching on his mind.

In There's Always Vanilla, young drifter Chris and beautiful model Lynn embark upon a tumultuous relationship which seems doomed from the outset. Season of the Witch (released theatrically as Hungry Wives) follows the exploits of Joan Mitchell - a housewife who seeks to escape the confines of her humdrum suburban existence through a flirtation with witchcraft. Lastly, The Crazies sees Romero returning to firmer horror territory as a small rural town finds itself in the grip of an infection which send its hosts into a violent, homicidal frenzy.

Taken together, these three films, made in the period between Romero's celebrated living dead outings Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, serve to shine a light on the broader thematic concerns and auteurist leanings of a skilled craftsman too often pigeonholed within the genre.

THERE'S ALWAYS VANILLA (1971) 

Rating: R
Duration: 92 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1)
Director: George A. Romero 
Cast: Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Roger McGovern, Johanna Lawrence

In Romero's decidedly non-horror follow-up to the seminal Night of the Living Dead (1968) we have Vietnam-vet Chris Bradley (Raymond Laine, Season of the Witch), a wandering spirit of the 70's, who returns home to Pittsburgh following a string of aimless part-time jobs. His father owns a baby food factory and wants him to stay on as part of the management team, but Chris is not too keen to be spoon fed a corporate gig. At the train station he meets a pretty TV commercial model named Lynn (Judith Ridley, Night of the Living Dead) and the two strike-up a relationship, leading to some baby/abortion drama, this weird relic from the 70's is certainly an oddball Romero entry, a counter culture comedy of sorts, which I must say I have never been a huge fan of, initially viewing it during my first deep-dive into Romero's early career. There are some scenes I found interesting, such as Lynn's experience with a pervy commercial director, and a drunken night of fun with his father, including a frisky bar maid, with the father inquiring from his son how much he should pay the bar maid her for the kindness in the morning. There's also a cool scene with Chris applying for an ad exec position, touting his former career as a pimp as one of the skills that make him the perfect candidate for the job, and it works! 

The film is pacey and talky for long spots, and scenes of the fourth wall being broken as Chris speaks directly to the audience didn't work for me, it felt like this was a device to try and eliminate some storytelling shortcomings. It a rough watch for the un-inclined who maybe aren't prepared to dive deep into Romero's early 70's output of the non-horror variety, but it's certainly a notable detour into he realm of 70s romantic comedies. I do like the  poetic ending that involves a box of helium filled balloons drifting into the air and a note to a lover, it was very 70's arthouse.  

Audio/Video: There's Always Vanilla (1971) debuts on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, framed in the original full frame aspect ratio. Originally shot on 16mm film the movie is very grainy and the image seems weirdly colored, as if it's been artificially saturated with color during the color grading process. It's not hideous but at times it draws attention to itself like a colorized black and white photo. The English PCM Mono 1.0 audio sounds good if not exactly hi-fidelity, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Onto the extras we get a new audio commentary from Travis Crawford - who does commentaries for all three films on this set, he can sound dully professorial at times but I found all three commentaries info-packed and very entertaining. We also get a new half-hour making of doc featuring  producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard J. Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner, who look back at the film, noting Romero's unhappiness with the film, and framing the financial backers lack enthusiasm of enthusiasm for the film, with Streiner going into how the project came about. Arrow carry-over the 15-min Digging Up the Dead interview from the Anchor Bay disc, with Romero more or less saying he loathes the film. Extras are finished up with a trailer for the film, a memorabilia gallery, and a gallery of locations with commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz. 

Special Features: 
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Affair of the Heart: The Making of There's Always Vanilla - brand new documentary featuring interviews with producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard - Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner (30 min) HD 
- Digging Up the Dead - The Lost Films of George A. Romero - archive interview with Romero discussing his early films There's Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch (16 min) 
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz (12 min) 
- Memorabilia Gallery (1 min) HD 
- Trailer (2 min) 
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

SEASON OF THE WITCH (1972)

Rating: R
Duration: 89 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1)
Director: George Romero 
Cast: Jan White, Raymond Laine, Ann Muffly, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunurst 

Like There's Always Vanilla (1971) I remember first watching this during my initial deep dive into Romero's early career and not walking away with any great love for it, however the feminist parable of a deeply unsatisfied 70's suburban housewife dabbling in the occult has gained more traction as I've aged. The film opens with an arty nightmare sequence, we see affluent housewife Joan Mitchell (Janina White) walking subserviently behind her husband through a wooded area, the branches of the trees her husband pushes aside snap back and strike her in the face, and she's left in a kennel like a dog while her husband leaves for a business trip. This puts you in the mindset of where she's at in life, her husband Jack (Bill Thunhurst) is often away on business trips, while he's home he's uncaring, and abusive both verbally and physically. When her teenage daughter Nikki (Joella McClain)runs off to places unknown Joan is left alone. One night while out with her lushy-friend Shirley (Ann Muffly) they visit the home of a tarot card reader and Joan's mind is opened up to the idea of witchcraft, which she begins practicing, beginning by casting a spell to ensnare the libido of her daughter's college professor (Raymond Laine, There's Always Vanilla)and a brief and also unsatisfying physical relationship ensues. 

Joan becomes more and more involved in witchcraft, joining a local coven, leading to some dramatic changes in her lifestyle. Romero packs in some social commentary and lefty politics, but the movie is hampered by some poor performances, though I thought White was quite good in the role, she's understated, but she taps into that deeply unsatisfied 70's housewife theme. Though there's glimmers of promise I do not think the film is particularly well executed, but it has some tasty social commentary that I found enjoyable. 

Audio/Video: Season of the Which (1972) debuts on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 4K restoration of the theatrical version from the original camera negative, presented in the original full frame presentation with the alternate Hungry wives title card. Originally shot on 16mm the image is grainy but natural looking, a significant improvement cropped(1.85:1) DVD from Anchor Bay. There's some nice detail and clarity to the image. this so far superior to what we've seen before on DVD - there's really no comparison between the two, this blows everything else away. The source has very few imperfections, we mostly see some white specking, but nothing else significant mars the image. Audio comes by way of The English PCM Mono 1.0 audio sounds good if not exactly hi-fidelity, optional English subtitles are provided.  The electronic score from Steve Gorn sounds good, as does Donovan's titular "Season of the Witch" song selection. 

Onto the extras we have another audio commentary from Travis Crawford for the theatrical cut, which is excellent,  he goes deep into the feminist character study of the film, if you're a fan of the film this commentary will only enhance your enjoyment. My favorite of all the extras on the set is a Romero interview conducted by director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinthine)from 2016, it covers a lot of ground and I could have watched another hour or two if, opening with Romero acknowledging the influence of I Am Legend on NOTLD. This is just two wonderful filmmakers discussing their craft and mutual appreciation, it's great stuff. We also get a 104-min extended cut of the film, sourced from the same new restoration with standard definition inserts from a tape source assembled by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures. 

Arrow also carry-over The Secret Life of Jack's Wife interview with actress Jan White from the 2005 Anchor Bay DVD, with the star discussing her enigmatic place in Romero's canon, how she got the role and her experiences making the film, and Romero's fascination with the lamps featured prominently in the film. She also goes into the nightmare dream sequence, explaining some of the imagery that is not explained by the movie itself, and speaking about her body double's huge legs. 

We also get three alternate opening titles, another Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz, a memorabilia gallery with poster art, press books, lobby cards and various home video releases. 

Special Features: 
- Brand new 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the camera negative (90 min) HD
- Alternate extended version (104 min) HD 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- When Romero Met Del Toro - filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro in conversation with George Romero (56 min) HD 
- The Secret Life of Jack's Wife - archive interview with actress Jan White (17 min) 
- Alternate Opening Titles: Jack's Wife (4 min), Hungry Wives (4 min), Season of the Witch (4 min) 
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz (2 min) HD 
- Memorabilia Gallery (3 min) HD 
- Hungry Wives Trailer (2 min) 
- Season of the Witch Trailer (2 min) 
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx 

THE CRAZIES (1973)

Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: George Romero 
Cast: Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry, Richard Liberty 

The Crazies (1973) was a return to full-on horror for Romero, and is also the first film he had the budget and creative control over, and it shows. Set in rural Evans City, Pennsylvania we have the populace subjected to a leaked form of germ warfare called Trixie, unleashed when a military plane carrying the chemical weapon crashes nearby and infects the water. The film opens with a father having been infected and destroying his house, murdering his wife and going after his young children, before setting it ablaze.

As the government and military show up in hazard suits,  lead by Colonel Peckem (Lloyd Hollar), Marshall law is declared, threatening to shoot anyone who leaves the quarantined area, for threat the Trixie biological weapon will spread from coast to coast. There are two story lines at play here, we have local and national government, plus the military attempting to thwart the spread of the weapon, there's loads of in-fighting among the official bodies. Then you have the story of the townsfolk, and for the main focus of the feature we follow Vietnam vet and firefighter David (Will McMillan), his preggers girlfriend, nurse Judy (Lane Carroll), and his buddy firefighter/vet friend Clank (Harold Wayne Jones), who act as a sort of defiant civilian populace fighting off the infected around ton and attempting to evade the military patrols who are rounding up civilians.

This movie is tense and claustrophobic, pre-dating the anti-government, distrust of the military themes of Romero's later Dead films. The cast includes a young Lynn Lowry (Shivers) playing a young woman who is seemingly willing raped by her own father, both having been infected by Trixie, she having appeared in several key infection films through the years,, including drive-in gem I Drink Your Blood. Also be on the lookout for actor Richard France (Dawn of the Dead) as government scientist Dr. Watts who attempts to find a cure for biochemical weapon before the government decides to drop a nuclear warhead on the city. 

This is easily my favorite of the film on the set, a seminal infection film that still plays great today, the visuals are still effective, the soldiers in white protective suits are alarming, the idea that you cannot trust the government is nothing new, even at this point, but Romero's handling of it is fantastic. There's some great scenes that standout, a priest setting himself on fire, a woman non nonchalantly sweeping a field with a broom amidst a battle scene, an old woman stabbing a soldier with a knitting needle always stands apart for me, plus a man gunned down on a bridge attempting to leave the quarantine, it's brutal. A nice touch is how disoriented the people are once infected, they appear to be suffering dementia, they have a lost look about them, and then they show their homicidal tendencies - it has an overall eerie and unsettling effect.  

Audio/Video: The Crazies (1973) arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, framed in 1080p HD widescreen (1.66:1) and as expected surpasses the older Blue Underground Blu-ray. Colors are impressive, skin tones look natural and there's some nice depth, fine detail and clarity to the image. As this was the only film on the set shot in 35mm it is far and away the best looking for the features. Arrow stay true to the original presentation with a LPCM Mono 1.0 audio track that sounds good within the mono presentation limitations.

Onto the extras, first I will note that we lose the audio commentary from the Blue Underground release, so you might want to hang onto that one for the Lowry interview and the director commentary. What we gain is a new commentary from Travis Crawford, which is excellent. There's also a new interview with  Lynn Lowry who discusses her early career in sugar Cookies and I Drink Your Blood, how she ended upon in this movie and her experiences making it. Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz shows up for a tour of the Evans City, PA locations used in movie, and there's a brief audio-only interview producer Lee Hessel

Special Features: 
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Romero Was Here: Locating The Crazies - Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, PA and the locations used in The Crazies (12 min) HD 
- Crazy for Lynn Lowry - cult star Lynn Lowry discusses her early career including her role in The Crazies (14 min) HD 
- Q/A with Lynn Lowry filmed at the 2016 Abertoir Film Festival (36 min) HD 
- Audio interview with producer Lee Hessel (5 min) HD 
- Behind-the-scenes footage with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz (6 min) 
- Alternate Opening Titles (1 min) HD 
- Image Galleries: Filming Locations (26 min) HD, Collectible Scans (6 min) HD 
- Trailer 1 (3 min) 
- Trailer 2 (3 min)
- TV Spot 1 (1 min) 
- TV Spot 2 (1 min)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx 

For this review I was only sent "check discs" without artwork or packaging extras, but the retail version of this limited edition release feature reversible artwork plus a limited edition 60-page booklet with new essays on the films by Kat Ellinger, Kier-La Janisse and Heather Drain.

Arrow's Between Night and Dawn limited edition release is an essential release for fans of Romero's early films, two of which I think probably have only limited appeal to the casual fan, but the A/V presentation is top notch and the extras are wonderful. If you're looking to deep-dive into Romero's early career, including some non-horror stuff, this is a must-have. It's a shame that producer Richard P. Rubinstein has such a greedy death-grip on the rights for Romero's Martin (1978), it's noticeably missing and deserving of some serious restoration and re-evaluation, here's hoping Arrow, who produced a great 2-disc DVD set of the film, manage to get the Blu-ray rights.   

Blu-ray Review: DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) Collector's Edition

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)

Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

Region Code: A

Duration:101 Minutes 

Rating: Unrated
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: George A. Romero

Cast: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander Joe Pilato, Richard Liberty

Aah, Day of the Dead (1985), George A. Romero's third and final entry in the original Dead Trilogy if you don't count Land (2005), Diary (2007)and Island (2009)... and I know you don't, you better not! Day opens up sometime after the events of Dawn and it seems that humanity has all but lost the persevere the undead hordes and survivors are few and far between, the powers is out and radio communication with other survivors and government agencies have ceased. 

As Day opens a helicopter sortie flies up and down the coast of Florida looking for survivors and supplies, landing in Fort Myers and finding not a living soul but plenty of the undead they return to an underground Army base located in the Everglades. The sight of the helicopter brought me right back to Dawn of the Dead (1978) but there's no connective tissue to it's predecessor, perhaps just a poignant visual reminder to the previous entry. As they land we meet our principal cast whom are divided-up into three distinct groups; the military, the scientist and the pilots. 

Our group of scientist are Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille), Dr. "Frankenstein" Logan (Richard Liberty, The Crazies) and Dr. Fisher (John Amplas, Martin). Logan is the lead scientist and is in the process of devising a cure and/or final solution to the zombie-plague, to this end he experiments on the undead, his latest patient is a zombie he nicknames "Bub" (Howard Sherman, TV's Seinfeld) whom is showing signs of an emerging intelligence, giving him hope that zombies can be rehabilitated, which even as a young teen  thought sounded pretty damn nutty, but it's an interesting point of exploitation for the film. 

Our second group are what seem to be civilian helicopter pilots,  a whiskey-sipping Irishman McDermott, (Jarlath Conroy) and an affable Jamaican named John (Terry Alexander, The Horror Show) whom are content to fly the bird from time to time when duty calls but wisely prefer to distance themselves from the science geeks and the military, preferring to drink and do their own thing separate from the feuding groups in a trailer location the underground bunker.

There's also a small group of brutish soldiers lead by the increasingly frustrated and unstable Capt. Rhodes (Joe Pilato, Pulp Fiction) who in the face of such a dire and apocalyptic situation begins to question just what the science nerds are up to and if there's any merit to Logan's bizarre and bloody experiments. This is the set-up that ignites the powder keg, things get tense when Logan suggest that zombies can be trained to behave, that's pretty much the last straw for Rhodes. When it's later discovered that Logan is actually rewarding Bub by feeding him scraps of meat carved from dead soldiers things turn for the worse for as what was previously a tense partnership turns downright deadly. 

Mostly set in the claustrophobic environs of an underground cavern Day of the Dead (1985) is frighteningly claustrophobic, it's dark and otherworldly, everyone is stressed to the nth degree, and Rhodes is a particularly venous and dangerous presence, threatening to shoot anyone one who disobeys his orders and he's perfectly willing to carry through with that threat without remorse. Just as nutty as Rhodes is our demented nerd Logan, a very memorable mad scientist character who clearly every bit as insane as the Capt, in fact I think I sympathize with Rhodes a bit more with each viewing, it's a fucked situation. 

I loved the gore-effects in the film, in Logan's lab a zombie breaks free of it's restraints and rises, his exposed intestines spill onto the floor as Logan casually walks over and puts a drill-bit through his forehead ceasing the threat, the lab is a real horror-show. Another zombie strapped to a table has had it's face and skull removed leaving only a brain attached to the body by the spinal cord, it's great stuff, no gorehound ever walked away from Day of the Dead disappointed. Special effects makeup master Tom Savini assisted by Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger were in top form, the effects are gut-churning, During the film's fantastic final third when the zombie make their way into the facility with the help of an unhinged soldier they just start tearing chunks of flesh apart, ripping people open and it's really creative stuff, a lot of it is on par with what we saw in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), and it's certainly more visceral here, as a special effects film this is one of the goriest of 'em all. 

Romero's use of social commentary is fully intact, it may not be as in-your-face and as goofy as the consumerism critique of Dawn but it's felt, this time out Romero plays with the tensions between the scientists and the military, and it's pretty tense stuff. Can you imagine being holed-up in an underground cavern, zombies are encroaching at an alarming rate, soldiers are dying at a steady clip. and the science guys wanna train the undead, the military is becoming increasingly unhinged and hostile, it's a recipe for unhappiness and this is a pretty bleak film from the top down, it's much darker than the previous entry and not just because it's set underground, it's a depressing watch and one without the benefit (or detriment, depends on your view) of the occasional comedy break we had with Dawn, which may be why I prefer the Argento cut of Dawn, it removes a lot of the goofiness of Romero's cut.

Day of the Dead may not have been as widely appreciated in the past as Romero's Night and Dawn but I think fans are shifting their opinion of this film much the same way as I have with each subsequent viewing, it's a dark and unrelenting watch with a lot of great gore and some dynamic human interactions, a classic zombie film, still one of the best ever, period. 

Blu-ray: Shout! Factory imprint Scream factory offer up Romero's Day of the Dead (1985) with a brand-new MPEG4-AVC encode on a dual layered 1080p Blu-ray and it's quite a treat, there's a nice fine layer of film grain that's not too intrusive and colors are significantly warmer than the previous 2007 Anchor Bay edition which was bit cold, especially with skin tones and this is a nice step-up from that. This is a very dark film, much of it filmed underground, so don't expect the most vibrant viewing but colors are quite nice, it looks great. Fine detail may be slightly improved from the Anchor Bay edition but only by degrees, the warmer color grading is very much appreciated. 

Scream Factory have chosen to stay true to the original mono presentation with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 option with English subtitles. The Anchor Bay edition sported a PCM 5.1 mix, while I do appreciate the pureness of the mono I would have enjoyed a newly minted 5.1 to open up the sound field a bit, the mono a bit shallow but the dynamic range is decent and well-balanced, John Harrison's score sounds quite nice. Arrow's R2 edition and Anchor Bay's 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray featured some re-dubbed dialogue that upset a few fans, for example at the 9:35 mark the word "shit" was replaced with "right", I am pleased to confirm that Scream Factory's edition does not feature the re-dubbed dialogue, so kudos to Scream for fixing that issue. 

Onto the extras we have a few brand-new Scream-produced extras beginning with the new documentary World's End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead (85 Minutes) and even if you've watched the Many Days of Day of the Dead doc on previous edition this is a fantastic watch, a first-rate feature length doc and it alone would warrant purchase of this edition even without the improved transfer.

Absent from this release is the inclusion of Sean Clark's Horror's Hallowed Ground's featurette, in it's place we find Ed Demko of Cult Magazine and Bloodtype Online hosting a tour of the Wampum Mines location, A Look into the Day of the Dead Mines (7:37), the location is inspired and this is a great tour with Ed whom at one point performs some choice dialogue from the film as he tours the underground facility with longtime mine employee Skip Docchio. 

The remaining extras are ported over from the 2007 Anchor Bay edition and include two audio commentaries, the first with director George A. Romero, Make-up Effects artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and 
actress Lori Cardille and it's loaded with facts and bits of trivia, a must-listen for fans. The second commentary is supplied by Day of the Dead super-fan  writer/director Roger Avery (Pulp Fiction, Killing Zoe) and it's a pretty great listen from a different perspective, glad to see it brought over for this release. 

Finishing up the extras we have trailers, TV spots, and several extensive photo galleries plus some fantastic behind-the-scenes video courtesy of make-up effects master Tom Savini, fun stuff,  it was great to see the set-ups for many of the film's ultra-gory sequences. Missing from this set is the audio interview with actor Richard Liberty and the Anchor Bay produced featurette The Many Days of Day of the Dead, but on it's own this is a great edition. 

Packing extras include a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the original theatrical poster art plus newly commissioned artwork from artist Nathan Thomas Milliner who also did the artwork for Scream's edition of Joe Dante's The Howling (1981), very nice stuff. His artwork is also featured on the slipcase for the disc, too.  

Scream Factory Special Features: 
- New High Definition Transfer
- New Documentary - World’s End: The Legacy of “Day of the Dead (85 Minutes) *
- New UNDERGROUND: A Look into the DAY OF THE DEAD mines (7 Minutes) *
- Audio Commentary with writer/director George A. Romero, Special
Make-up Effects artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and
actress Lori Cardille
- Audio Commentary with filmmaker Roger Avary

- Wampum Mine Promotional Video (8 Minutes)
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage from Special Make-up Effects Creator Tom Savini’s
archives (30 Minutes)
- Photo Galleries (42 Minutes)
- Theatrical Trailers (6 Minutes)
- TV Spots (2 Minutes)

It should be noted that unlike many of the recent Scream Factory Collector's
Edition Blu-rays (The Howling, Phantasm II) Day of the Dead does not
port over every special feature from the previous editions, for the sake of
comparison let's have look at the Anchor Bay Blu-ray features from a few
years ago and see how it stacks up...

Anchor Bay Blu-ray Special Features:
- Commentary by George A. Romero, Tom Savini, Lori Cardile, and Cletus
Anderson
- Commentary by filmmaker Roger Avery
- MANY DAYS OF DAY OF THE DEAD documentary (39 Minutes) *
- DAY OF THE DEAD: Behind the Scenes (30 Minutes)
- Last audio interview with actor Richard Liberty conducted by Taso N.
Stavrakis and Telleria (16:08) *
- Gateway Commerce Center featurette (8 Minutes)
- 7 Still Galleries (43 Minutes)
- George Romero Biography/Filmography
- 3 Trailers
- 3 TV Spots
- DVD-ROM: Original 166 page draft of DAY OF THE DEAD; Production Memos *

* exclusive to each edition 

Verdict: For years I have been a bit cold on Romero's Day of the Dead (1985), I much preferred Dawn of the Dead (1978) and it's characters, plus I just loved the location, the mall was such an inspired idea to me as a teen, the commentary on consumerism appealed to me and I loved the goofiness of it. Day is way more claustrophobic, it's tense and moody, and as I have aged I definitely enjoy Day a bit more with every viewing and Scream Factory's new transfer was a great excuse to throw it on again, not that I needed a reason, I watch it at least once a year, it's actually starting to inch up on Dawn as my favorite Dead film. When it comes down to which edition to own I must say that Scream's Blu-ray has the more favorable transfer but it lacks a few extras that would make this the definitive edition, so hang onto that Anchor Bay Blu-ray for the 5.1 and a few extras, but as a fan of the film you need this one on your shelf. It's a powerful film, the transfer is awesome and the new doc is outstanding, highly recommended even if it's a double-dip. 4 Outta 5