Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition (1999)

★½
The 30th anniversary edition of Night of the Living Dead will no doubt go down in history as one of filmdom's greatest oddities. In 1968, a group of Pittsburgh filmmakers made one of the scariest horror movies of all time. Night of the Living Dead was groundbreaking, influential and shocking all at once. It went on to continued success on video thanks to a missing copyright notice and eventually spawned two sequels. In 1998, for the film's 30th anniversary, original co-writer John A. Russo wrote and directed new scenes and inserted them into the original narrative. Not since the colorization of old movies have I heard of a more ludicrous form of film rape.

Adding new scenes wasn’t the end of it. A new music score, re-editing and remastering are the three other major changes to the film. Of these changes, only the remastering is a complete success. The 1999 D.V.D. release of the 30th anniversary is the best version I've ever seen. The image is far clearer and sharper than anything that has come before. Gone is the grainy look of old. Now we get pictures in which blurred images are distinguishable. I must congratulate the folks who made this film look so good. If this had been the only change, then I would have nothing but cheers, but unfortunately, Russo's tinkering only makes us appreciate the original version more.

The new version begins at a building, where two guys load a coffin onto the back of a truck. Russo tells us, on the commentary track, that the movie begins "slightly" different from the 1968 film. This “slightly” different opening actually lasts for over five minutes but never mind. When the new opening ends, we cut back to the original footage, in which we see Johnny (Russell Streiner) and Barbra (Judith O'Dea) arrive at the cemetery. The purpose of this new beginning is to provide us with the origin of the cemetery zombie, played by William Hinzman (then and now). Did we really need to know his origin? The answer is an emphatic “no.”

The D.V.D. commentary track features director John A. Russo, producer Russ Streiner, photographer and actor William Hinzman and producer Robert Michelucci, all of whom were involved with the making of the original. Russo informs us that he and George Romero had wanted to make this new version, but when Romero began writing another movie (probably Bruiser), Russo decided to take the reins himself and create a new beginning, insert small scenes throughout the film and tack on a different ending. Maybe in Romero's hand, this would have worked. In Russo's hand, we get terrible acting and poor synching. Observe (during the new beginning) the awful performances (especially by Scott Vladimir Licina as a priest) and the fact that the voices don't match the lips of the actors.

Hinzman reprises his role as the cemetery zombie, and on the making-of featurette, we see him being made up to look like his younger self 30 years ago. This makeup job didn’t even remotely work. The movie cuts from his new footage back to the old footage, and we can plainly see his advanced age.

The new score, by Scott Vladimir Licina (the priest), is sometimes effective, but I noticed how the suspense has been drained out of the scenes. The original soundtrack, though not a masterpiece, evoked the terror and nightmarish quality of the scenario. On its own, the new score is fine, but it's ineffectively used, and is oftentimes out of place.

Other new scenes include more on Beekman's Diner, a location mentioned in the first movie. The purpose is to show us where all the zombies originated before they shuffled over to the farmhouse. There is also a rerecorded radio broadcast, inserted to explain why the zombies are numerous in this largely rural community. I think an acceptable move here would have been to go with the new broadcast but leave out all the new scenes. The ending, taking place "One Year Later," provides an unsatisfying finish. The priest was bitten by a ghoul and survived the infection. Scientists are studying him to figure out why he's okay. Hicks believes that God spared him for a greater good. Sound familiar? Looks like Russo read Stephen King's The Stand.

Russo tells us that this is what Romero and his crew wanted to do in 1968 but lacked a large enough budget to accomplish everything. That may be so, but the film has been accepted for what it is for the last 30 years. Tampering with the film won't make it better. If Romero had indeed been involved, then perhaps he could have made something worth watching. John Russo is not a good editor or director. Romero would not have allowed for such bad acting. Russo cut out some of Romero's original footage, all of it good, to make room for his material.

If this is the film that was released in 1968, would it have become a classic? No, but then again if the budget had been available to make this story, then Romero would have found a way to make it work. He had a better eye for acting and an ear for dialogue, so I believe he would have recognized weak scenes and cut them out, leaving us with something closer to the original. As it is, this new edition was met with universal condemnation. Kyra Schon, the actress who played Karen, voiced her hatred for this film. (She hates the fact that her face is on the cover art.)

The D.V.D. also includes a forgettable "Dance of the Dead" music video, an uninformative making-of featurette and two versions of the film: the re-edited version and the original version with the new score. Last, but not least, is a scene from William Hinzman's Flesheater, one of the worst movies ever made. The 30th anniversary edition of Night of the Living Dead arrived with only a little media attention and harsh backlash from fans. If you must see this, see it for the beautiful picture.

© 2000 Silver Screen Reviews