Director: George A. Romero
Writers: John A. Russo (screenplay) and
George A. Romero (screenplay)
CAST---
Duane Jones ... Ben
Judith O'Dea ... Barbra
Karl Hardman ... Harry Cooper
Marilyn Eastman ... Helen Cooper
Keith Wayne ... Tom
Judith Ridley ... Judy
Kyra Schon ... Karen Cooper
Charles Craig ... Newscaster / Zombie
Runtime: 96 min
Writers: John A. Russo (screenplay) and
George A. Romero (screenplay)
CAST---
Duane Jones ... Ben
Judith O'Dea ... Barbra
Karl Hardman ... Harry Cooper
Marilyn Eastman ... Helen Cooper
Keith Wayne ... Tom
Judith Ridley ... Judy
Kyra Schon ... Karen Cooper
Charles Craig ... Newscaster / Zombie
Runtime: 96 min
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
Here is the first one that started it all, George Romero’s low budget 1968 zombie film. There are quite a
few versions of this out there but I recommend you get yourself the Millennium Edition, by Elite
Entertainment. Romero himself states that this is a quality version of the film and the video transfer
process, truly a collectors edition.
When NOTLD was released many people were watching and soon many would imitate. Here in the US..
countless zombie flicks started popping out, always adding some twist to differentiate but it was always
clear that NOTLD was the inspiration. Many other countries like Italy and Spain started making their own
zombie movies. Romero later made “DAWN OF THE DEAD”, “DAY OF THE DEAD”, “LAND OF THE
DEAD” and recently “DIARY OF THE DEAD”.
The film in question starts out with Barbara, a young woman played by Judith O’ Dea and her brother
visiting a cemetery to place fresh flowers on their Grandfather’s tombstone. Then a zombie grabs
Barbara and attacks her. Her brother wrestles the fiend but has his head cracked on a stone and dies.
Yes my friends, the story jumps at you that quickly. In the first ten minutes we have ourselves a zombie
attack and a frantic woman running for shelter. The story then focuses on Barbara and Ben (a man she
meets at the farmhouse where she’s hiding out), played by Duane Jones. At this point Barbara is in some
sort of panic attack, played brilliantly. The forceful, in-command Ben keeps things moving until we meet a
few more characters that had been hiding out in the cellar all this time. There are exchange of ideas,
yelling, and punching between Ben and a family man who was hiding in the cellar with his wife and sick
child who had been bitten by a zombie. In my opinion Ben and Harry, played by Karl Hardman are equally
annoying because they don’t seem to want to compromise. If Harry was a strong as Ben these two brutes
would have had a hell of a battle while the zombies watched outside.
Now towards the end there is a brilliant scene where Harry’s kid has turned into a zombie and attacks
him. The black and white really works well here. The entire film is directed and shot creatively and
beautifully. The characters dialogue can often be funny but it is natural to that time. I recommend this to
anyone. Don’t just watch it, buy it. Classic Zombie masterpiece. Oh, and enjoy the jolting ending that if
you haven’t seen the film I don’t think you could guess. George, I can’t believe you got away with that
ending, I loved it.
- Jorge Antonio Lopez
few versions of this out there but I recommend you get yourself the Millennium Edition, by Elite
Entertainment. Romero himself states that this is a quality version of the film and the video transfer
process, truly a collectors edition.
When NOTLD was released many people were watching and soon many would imitate. Here in the US..
countless zombie flicks started popping out, always adding some twist to differentiate but it was always
clear that NOTLD was the inspiration. Many other countries like Italy and Spain started making their own
zombie movies. Romero later made “DAWN OF THE DEAD”, “DAY OF THE DEAD”, “LAND OF THE
DEAD” and recently “DIARY OF THE DEAD”.
The film in question starts out with Barbara, a young woman played by Judith O’ Dea and her brother
visiting a cemetery to place fresh flowers on their Grandfather’s tombstone. Then a zombie grabs
Barbara and attacks her. Her brother wrestles the fiend but has his head cracked on a stone and dies.
Yes my friends, the story jumps at you that quickly. In the first ten minutes we have ourselves a zombie
attack and a frantic woman running for shelter. The story then focuses on Barbara and Ben (a man she
meets at the farmhouse where she’s hiding out), played by Duane Jones. At this point Barbara is in some
sort of panic attack, played brilliantly. The forceful, in-command Ben keeps things moving until we meet a
few more characters that had been hiding out in the cellar all this time. There are exchange of ideas,
yelling, and punching between Ben and a family man who was hiding in the cellar with his wife and sick
child who had been bitten by a zombie. In my opinion Ben and Harry, played by Karl Hardman are equally
annoying because they don’t seem to want to compromise. If Harry was a strong as Ben these two brutes
would have had a hell of a battle while the zombies watched outside.
Now towards the end there is a brilliant scene where Harry’s kid has turned into a zombie and attacks
him. The black and white really works well here. The entire film is directed and shot creatively and
beautifully. The characters dialogue can often be funny but it is natural to that time. I recommend this to
anyone. Don’t just watch it, buy it. Classic Zombie masterpiece. Oh, and enjoy the jolting ending that if
you haven’t seen the film I don’t think you could guess. George, I can’t believe you got away with that
ending, I loved it.
- Jorge Antonio Lopez
N / A
OVERALL
BLOOD
BREASTS
BEASTS
