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Lexmark3200
04-15-2004, 09:49 PM
Okay people...I saw the remake of this so-called "absolute masterpiece of horror" a week ago or so, and thought Universal's version was actually much better and more vicerally effective than the horribly slow paced, comic-like puzzle that was contained on Anchor Bay's new DiviMax transferred George Romero original version DVD which I picked up with the little woman a couple of days ago.

But lets put the plot of this proclaimed "best horror film of all time" --- a claim I cannot even begin to justify when you put this next to idyllic horror cinema gems like John Carpenter's Halloween or The Exorcist --- to the side and concentrate on the DVD itself, as I always try and bring to you good folk at audioreview.com; first off, JUST RATING THE VIDEO QUALITY BY ITSELF on this new anamorphic transfer, this is an absolutely STUNNING picture----the colors, for a film of this age, are rich and vibrant; the horribly fake looking red paint that was used for blood jumps off the screen. No complaints with the video.

Now...lets get to the biggest letdown of this release and something I just dont get....this Anchor Bay effort of Dawn of the Dead boasts newly remixed DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, plus I believe a 2.0 and mono mix....this is the worst DTS mix I have ever heard, well, maybe next to "Airport"....I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY studios continue to release older films like this in DTS when there is NO SURROUND INFORMATION whatsoever, save for OCCASIONAL score or the richochetting of bullets off pipes and such; the entire film sounds like mono----no joke here----and seems like a waste of time to call this DTS. The audio sounds terribly dated and hollow, with everything in the front soundstage....now, I KNOW this was a film from the 70s....I believe the same year Carpenter's "Halloween" came out....but why can films like the aforementioned Halloween, ALSO an independent effort like Romero's Dawn of the Dead, be remixed for 5.1 by the SAME STUDIO --- Anchor Bay (and be rather effective in 5.1 DD, may I add) --- and yet this so-called masterpiece sounds weak, with sound levels all over the place....one minute the weird music is blaringly loud with some distortion and suddenly the next piece of dialogue you cant hear if your receiver isnt up that high....I dont get this. Anchor Bay cant release the audio on this disc the way they did with the much smoother-sounding Halloween? Which also featured much better surround usage, if I may be so bold.

agtpunx40
04-16-2004, 09:50 AM
I have to say I love the movie, but that's not what I'm here to discuss. Now that you've seen it though, do you see all the references to it in 28 days later. 28 days later is full of direct references to older post-apocholytic (sp) movies. Anyway, I agree with you on the dts thing. I guess if you didn't like the movie you won't be interested but there is going to be a 3 disk release that has one of the other cuts of the film, as well as the one that was released recently. The other cut is a little faster moving than this one, and hopefully the sound will be better, although I doubt it.

Lexmark3200
04-16-2004, 10:00 AM
I have to say I love the movie, but that's not what I'm here to discuss. Now that you've seen it though, do you see all the references to it in 28 days later. 28 days later is full of direct references to older post-apocholytic (sp) movies. Anyway, I agree with you on the dts thing. I guess if you didn't like the movie you won't be interested but there is going to be a 3 disk release that has one of the other cuts of the film, as well as the one that was released recently. The other cut is a little faster moving than this one, and hopefully the sound will be better, although I doubt it.

AGT,

Thank you for your kind response; although I did not see 28 Days Later, I have been reading ALL OVER THE INTERNET direct comparisons and rip off's from Romero's zombie splatter fest....so you are probably right, 100 percent. Yeah, I didnt really enjoy Dawn of the Dead and was never a zombie horror fan; I like the haunted house/possession themes more in my horror, as well as slasher franchises like Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. I did, however, enjoy the remake of Dawn, believe it or not....I just thought this original should not have been labled "a groundbreaking classic" or some such rhetoric. So I wont be picking up the three disc set which is scheduled to arrive for Halloween time next year along with the DVD of the remake. Yeah, the DTS audio sucked on this disc....EVERYTHING came from the front soundstage except for ONE SCENE in the boiler room where gunshots bounced off the surround channels.....Anchor Bay wants to give something a full 5.1 DTS treatment and offer only ONE SCENE in action oriented surround? Does this make sense? Me and my girlfriend went half on buying the original Dawn DVD after enjoying the remake so much; we chipped in to buy the original DiviMax disc.

ThreeDHomer
04-17-2004, 06:15 PM
Why do you keep reviewing movies that no one cares about? I am not being mean, but who cares about these movies? When you reviewed some boxset about Airplane Crash Movies I thought I was on Candid Camera. Is this for real I kept asking myself. Who would buy such crap? You are allowed to review movies, but try ones that have over a 20,000 distribution total.

three D

RGA
04-17-2004, 06:29 PM
Dawn of the Dead isn't a "so-called" masterpiece - it IS a masterpiece. DDawn of the Dead was filmed in mono - so whatever they claim the sound mode is is totally irrelevant because the film is mono.

Dawn of the Dead isn't a zombie movie at its core. Why this film is leagues superior to Halloween is precisely because Dawn is not what it seems to be about - Halloween while an excellent horror thriller is only a horror thriller...and it no longer scares.

I'll give you the Exorcist - because that film was truly disturbing when it was released and despite the parody still creates a genuine feeling of uneasiness due to some of the best make-up sound effects in any horror film.

The new Dawn was fun - the old Dawn is one of the great American films - the trick is to look past the surface.

This film will be released in the summer as a boxed set.

Lexmark3200
04-17-2004, 09:31 PM
Dawn of the Dead isn't a "so-called" masterpiece - it IS a masterpiece. DDawn of the Dead was filmed in mono - so whatever they claim the sound mode is is totally irrelevant because the film is mono.

Dawn of the Dead isn't a zombie movie at its core. Why this film is leagues superior to Halloween is precisely because Dawn is not what it seems to be about - Halloween while an excellent horror thriller is only a horror thriller...and it no longer scares.

I'll give you the Exorcist - because that film was truly disturbing when it was released and despite the parody still creates a genuine feeling of uneasiness due to some of the best make-up sound effects in any horror film.

The new Dawn was fun - the old Dawn is one of the great American films - the trick is to look past the surface.

This film will be released in the summer as a boxed set.

Yeah, okay, RGA....Halloween NO LONGER SCARES PEOPLE? Are you for real? And Dawn of the Dead was a masterpiece-----are you serious? Halloween IS NOT? I would take Carpenter's slasher original ---- a piece of cinema that DEFINED the slasher motif NO MATTER WHAT you say --- over Romero's drawn-out soap opera any day of the week....you know what you do? Go look up online reviews about Halloween and see what NINTEY PERCENT of the reviwers say --- that TO THIS DAY, this film still provides the thrills necessary to scare an audience.....the atmosphere, the score, the independent feel....and Romero's Dawn of the Cheesy Special Effects just doesn't cut the same mustard spread. Halloween relied on NO gore pretty much; not only does Tom Savini provide red paint for the blood, the intenstines look terribly fake.

I know you need to look past the surface here --- I KNOW Romero was trying to make a social comment about the state of the consumer at the time --- I EVEN MET George Romero at a film festival once --- but no matter, the film wont EVER hold a candle to William Peter Blatty's/William Friedkin's Exorcist or Carpenter's all hallow's eve documentation.

Lexmark3200
04-17-2004, 09:36 PM
Why do you keep reviewing movies that no one cares about? I am not being mean, but who cares about these movies? When you reviewed some boxset about Airplane Crash Movies I thought I was on Candid Camera. Is this for real I kept asking myself. Who would buy such crap? You are allowed to review movies, but try ones that have over a 20,000 distribution total.

three D

Do you have ANYTHING positive to add to this post at all? Im just curious.....I provide these reviews so some people could get an idea of the sound and visual quality on some of these discs....FOR YOUR OWN INFORMATION, if you must know. Perhaps YOU dont like the Airplane Crash Movies --- AND YOU GOT THAT WRONG TO BEGIN WITH, they're known as the Franchise Collection, genius --- but Universal HAS SOLD almost as much as the distribution total you provided here of the Airport Terminal Pack. I am NOT KIDDING. Go on home theater forum.com and read the FOURTEEN PAGE THREAD about the owners of this DVD set.

You have no idea, whatsoever, what you are talking about, dude.....its CRAP to you, so therefore it is crap, right? This isnt America all of a sudden? I know tons of people who bought this set.