Document of the Dead

source: Document of the Dead

Shot when "making-of's" weren't standard practice yet, this is a fortunate movie in that it not only provides a lot of insight into George Romero's working methods, but also catches him making one of his (and the horror genre's) best films, the original "Dawn of the Dead." There's also a moderate amount of information about "Night of the Living Dead" and "Martin," used to further detail identifiable aspects of his cinematic style. It would have been interesting if the film had gone on to describe the marketing, box-office and general commercial rewards of "Dawn," rather than stopping with post-production and the decision to release without an MPAA rating. I saw the 2nd of the documentary's three versions, which adds material shot ten years later when he was shooting his part of the two-part horror feature "Two Evil Eyes." That content is fine but doesn't really deepen the profile, beyond showing that Romero hadn't really profited from the horror explosion of the VCr era--perhaps because he preferred to work independently, perhaps because the increasingly franchise-driven nature of mainstream horror didn't appeal to him. (Even though, of course, he had his own "Dead" franchise--but that pretty much reinvented itself with each new entry.) In any case, he seems a bit embattled and weary of the constant struggle for funding in this shorter second section.

This is a George Romero ego-fest and not a documentary of zombie films. This "movie" consists of director cuts, interviews, and behind the scenes at a handful of Romereo's works including non-zombie films. It mentions a handful of movies that his work has spawned, but never mentions there were zombie movies and zombie fans before his classic film. Romero is another Hitchcock and every frame of his film is a masterpiece. Even his kid agrees. This film would normally be a special feature of another film. Guide: F-bomb and Nudity.

Here is a really interesting relic before the DVD documentary become a standard of today, focusing primarily on the set of the making of DAWN OF THE DEAD. Nicole Potter's uninspired narration sounds as if she preferred being elsewhere, but there's some fascinating anecdotes provided by Romero regarding the filmmaking process and seeing live stuff(not to mention interviews)from '78 is like discovering buried treasure if you are a DAWN OF THE DEAD fanatic as I am. We get to see a specific and arduous special effect set up for the Romero/Savini collaboration, TWO EVIL EYES. We get to hear about how Savini was supposed to direct GRAVEYARD SHIFT for New World. We get to see Romero in the editing room, cutting and splicing scenes of DAWN OF THE DEAD. The documentary is rather rough around the edges and raw..this is before future documentaries were better produced and structured. The interviews are what makes DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD a must-see curio for zombie/Romero fans. Romero has always been free and easy when talking about his method behind filmmaking which makes DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD essential viewing for his devoted followers. Major emphasis is also given to MARTIN and, obviously, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. While this documentary is a bit uneven(perhaps due to its unfortunate history), I'm happy it simply exists period and that I had a chance to see it.

I saw the 1989 cut of this doc, which offers a really engrossing and illuminating look at George Romero's creative process, with a noted emphasis on the shooting of "Dawn of the Dead" at the Monroe Shopping Mall. Romero himself comes across as a real amiable and easygoing guy who gives everyone on the cast and crew alike a chance to shine. Moreover, we find out that "Dawn" was shot from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the morning at the mall, Romero shot two endings for the film, Tom Savini came up with a few gore gags that weren't in the script (for example, the zombie janitor who gets killed with a screwdriver was Savini's idea), and production for the movie had to be shut down in December due to the Christmas holiday season. In addition, Romero's tight editing style, penchant for using lots of sound, and talent for precise compositions are addressed in detail. On top of this, there's a visit to the set of "Two Evil Eyes" in which a seemingly simple splatter set piece winds up taking all day to effectively pull off. Susan Tyrell handles her narrator duties with admirable earnestness. Essential viewing for fans of both "Dawn" and Romero alike.

Let it be known I'm a big fan of Romeros works and after watching Birth of The Living Dead (2013) I was eager for more Romero documentary goodness. This documentary is considerably older and it shows, made in 1985 it focuses mainly on Dawn Of The Dead (1978) but does look further into Romeros career especially Martin (1978). Featuring lengthy interviews with Romero himself and Savini this should have been a masterworks yet comes across criminally boring and I honestly am not sure why. It simply isn't insightful as it should be especially considering how much backstage footage is shown and several examples of stunts and makeup effects. There are certainly nuggets to be taken away from this but ultimately it is a huge disappointment and does not deliver on anything I expected it to. The Good: Some of the backstage stuff is a lot of fun The Bad: Weak narration More boring than you'd imagine it could be Sound balancing is off Things I Learnt From This Documentary: Tom Savini is a bonafide badass

It was a remarkable thing to see DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD when it first turned up on video tape: here was an on-location look at the making of a horror classic- incredible stuff! And it still is, after all these years. The bonus scenes included on the new(est) DVD release are must-see, as well: there are extended interviews with Romero and Savini and commentary by Frumkes himself. Watching it takes me back to those Golden Days of Yore, when DAWN OF THE DEAD first exploded across Movie Screens. It's nigh impossible to convey to Latecomers just how shocking (and Original and Imaginative) DAWN OF THE DEAD was Back Then. There'd been nothing like it, and we were ALL blown away. (I'd seen it the first time while suffering from pneumonia: as I left the hospital and staggered up the street toward the bus stop, I spotted a marquee a block away: DAWN OF THE DEAD. I decided that, if I were going to die of pneumonia, at least I could die watching a horror movie. I made it to the theater, bought a ticket, and wobbled down the aisle to the middle of the sixth row. The next thing I knew, heads were exploding and great dripping chunks of human flesh were being ripped from screaming victims by man-eating zombies. It was overwhelming. I made it home and promptly had the only hallucinations I've ever had in my life- of zombies piling out of a van I was driving to attack the traffic cop who'd pulled me over. To say that it was quite an experience is an understatement. I went back to see it at the next opportunity and for years it was the one movie I suggested whenever it turned up at a Midnight showing. It remains, to this day, one of my all-time favorite movies.) (I was so smitten that I sat down and wrote a "sequel," which I titled DAY OF THE DEAD, and sent it off to George Romero in Pittsburgh. For legal reasons, I was told, there was nothing he could do with the script, but it was fun writing it and I've since written scores of stories for Neil Fawcette's HOMEPAGE OF THE DEAD- including a series entitled THE UNDEAD- and shot my own Romero-inspired zombie movie, THE LIVING DEAD.) It was also exciting to see a documentary about the MAKING of DAWN OF THE DEAD. On one of the dvds, there's a home movie that someone shot showing a gag that never appeared in the final film: someone shoots a zombie in the eye with a crossbow. The effect looks good to me, but it's never appeared in any version of the movie I've ever seen. Tom Savini, in one interview that appears on the latest DVD, states that the word "zombie" doesn't really describe the creatures in the DEAD movies (although Ken Foree's character is the one who calls them zombies in DAWN OF THE DEAD, when the motorcycle gang invades the mall). I would suggest "the undead." Regardless, zombies will never die.

I came into "Document of the Dead" expecting more about "Dawn of the Dead, to be completely honest. This being an extra on the "Dawn of the Dead" DVD set, and titled like a play on words (say, documenting the dead) it seemed like an on-set making-of showing the actual production. It does have such footage, and said material is the centerpiece of the documentary, but it's part of a larger examination of George Romero's career. Understandably, we kick things off with a look at Romero's name-making movie, "Night of the Living Dead", specifically to highlight the director's shooting and cutting style. Same thing for his next movie, "Martin". And then we get to "Dawn", which featured candid interviews with the cast and crew (Foree, Emgee, Reiniger, Savini) and plenty of unseen additional footage of the mall (paydirt). Even some time-lapse photography covering the process of turning an extra from human to full- on zombie. It's during this stage of the film that such challenges as distribution rights (for independent films), taking on the MPAA, and various cost factors are discussed, which does shed plenty of light on what goes into making a non-Hollywood movie (at least as of 1978). They also go into Romero's editing style, using one of his Calgon commercials from the '60s to show how he cut his teeth. But that's the last of the archival footage, as "Document" abruptly cuts to behind-the-scenes material of Romero's new film ('89), "Two Evil Eyes". Admittedly, I was in it for "Dawn", so my attention started to go. A better segue might've also helped, but there you go. 6/10

Fans of the Dead Trilogy have to at least seen this flick twice let alone own a copy in their video library. It is a wonderful look in the early to mid career of George Romero and his work in the art of Horror Movie Making. We take a deep look into not only Pittsburgh, where Romero lived and worked, but Romero himself and the journey into Night of the Living Dead, and the many films to follow. I enjoyed this film for the simple reason that it was shot on film and for a very low budget. It added to the realness of the story and the struggle of an Independent Film Maker and his journey into creating a film that will last for generations.

'Document of the Dead' is an interesting look at the making of 'Dawn of the Dead' and other works of George A. Romero, but despite the subject matter, 'Document...' for me was a little disappointing. Well hyped in the press and by the production crew itself, I couldn't help feel a little sold short by the final package. Admittedly this in part can be explained due to technical difficulties when the film was being made, (see trivia) and we can only guess how much more interesting 'Document...' would have been with those extra 66 shots, but the film has other faults. Sound quality at times was poor, while the voice of narrator Susan Tyrell I found coma inducing, and at times narration was overtly technical to the point of boredom. There was also some repetitive cuts (including a whole rerun of the final credits and time coded footage) that obviously wasn't supposed to be there, though I'm not sure if this was down to the original production team or the video distributor. Die hard Romero fans will no doubt salivate at the behind the scenes and extra unseen footage, as may curious independent filmmakers and students, but the presentation here will more likely bore unfamiliar, less technically minded audiences. Romero's work, and how he works is in no dispute though, it is fascinatingly interesting. He comes across eloquently while still remaining down to earth and you can't help empathise with his struggle despite his successful track record. Interviews with Tom Savini also help immensely, livening the film with his energy and obvious passion he has for his work. 'Document...' isn't quite the companion to 'Dawn of the Dead' that I was hoping for, but under the circumstances it's understandable, in fact it's a credit to the film makers that it ever got put out there at all! But despite covering some of Romero's other work, Dawn footage is what we were all here for and it's a shame that in the end there just wasn't quite enough.