Land of the Dead unrated DVD [Archive]

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marcx

10-03-2005, 03:26 PM

I thought the unrated disc should get its own thread--if not please merge....

Anway heres my original post from the LOTD thread...

I picked up the DVD last night--for those of you in NYC Kim's on
St. Marks has almost all the Oct. new releases out--this, High Tension, etc...

Anyway there is quite a bit more gore in the directors cut. The transfer and DTS track are sweet. So far I have watched the day in the life of the dead extra, shaun meets george, and the one about making zombiesi(a behind the scenes at KNB kind of thing) I am not at home nowbut Ill try to post some screengrabs later or tommorrow. The Cholo scene is really cool. I will say that I dont remember the theatrical cut 100% as I only saw it once but I came away from the DVD viewing with an even greater like of the story/characters. The added grue is a plus as well--lots more muncning,ripping,headshots etc...

There seem to be some shots that are still nto in the uncut version as I thought I saw some additional gore on a feature that just strings together the feasting scenes...

All in all Im psyched on this!

Oh and the cover has one of those silly slipcases that has the same exact art as the cover beneath it--I dont get the point of these....

Here are some pics...

marcx

10-03-2005, 03:29 PM

Oh I also listened to the commentary last night--its probably the best extra on the disc as some of the others fall in the fluff category. Some interesitng topics in the commentary--originally the opening credits were to have scenes for the earlier dead films but there were rights issues...

quite a few references to another follow-up...

There is also a misleading extra called scream tests:zombie casting call--its a bunch of dancing cgi zombies---uhhh ok.....

KillerCannabis

10-03-2005, 06:51 PM

Sweet. I'm going to be in NYC next week and Kim's is one of my usual hotspots. I don't know if I'll buy it then though, only because it's always a higher price than at BB on Tues. and I always hold out in case theres an exclusive bonus disc like they usually do. Nice to know there's going to be plenty of new titles waiting for me though. Maybe they'll have something I just really can't wait on.

BTW, does it look like the obvious green screen effects were replaced or removed? I don't know if Romero planned to replace those shots or not.

marcx

10-03-2005, 09:05 PM

There are definately some removed--he references this in the commentary.

There is also a lot of CGI blood enhancement--i think it works well but I know how some will feel about that....

And I know about the BB price but all reason left me when i saw the disc sitting there...

onebyone

10-07-2005, 08:45 AM

Fango (http://www.fangoria.com/ghastly_review.php?id=4840) just posted a lengthy and detailed review of the DVD release.

LAND OF THE DEAD (Universal)

Reviewed by MICHAEL GINGOLD

Mike sez…

MOVIE: 3 1/2 skulls
DVD PACKAGE: 2 1/2 skulls

It has been suggested that Universal pulled George A. Romero’s LAND OF THE DEAD out of its original October 2005 theatrical slot and rushed it onto big screens this past June in order for the DVD to come out during the lucrative Halloween season. Whatever the motivation, putting LAND up against big summer competition did it no favors at the box office, and the Unrated Director’s Cut special-edition disc continues the disservice. While there are good tasty morsels scattered about the bonus features, this isn’t the feast it could (and should) have been, and it suffers in comparison to Universal’s DVD treatment of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake—not to mention Anchor Bay’s boxed set of Romero’s DAWN.

Under any circumstances, but especially here, the disc’s highlight would have to be the film itself. The studio has done its usual sterling job with the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, which looks terrific from the very first scene—check out the way the green of the trees holds steady in the otherwise blue-tinged night—and bears perfect flesh (and blood) tones. The DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks are equally fine. While the R-rated theatrical cut (also being issued on DVD) got away with a hell of a lot of grisliness, gorehounds will revel in the additional splatter that has been restored for this disc—not to mention that even more of the red stuff has been added via CGI especially for this edition! Also put back in is an early scene that gives extra shading to John Leguizamo’s character and a bit of business involving little person Phil Fondacaro. While hardly revelatory, the new material adds additional spice to the full meal of shocks, character and subtext Romero has whipped up for this latest chapter in his DEAD chronicles.

Which is why it’s disappointing that so little of the film’s dramatic content is explored in the audio commentary by Romero, producer Peter Grunwald and editor Michael Doherty (whose name is misspelled on one of the menu screens). Given that three people are involved, there are a surprising number of, um, dead moments in the conversation, and precious little time devoted to the story development, the underlying themes or LAND’s relationship to previous chapters (indeed, Romero insists early on that no narrative connection to them was intended). At around the two-thirds mark, the director even points out that “We should talk about the performances”—and is then back on the subject of locations within a minute or so.

We do learn quite a bit about where various scenes were filmed, which moments are new to this cut and which portions of the movie were digitally augmented, while Doherty makes a few interesting observations about his contributions to shaping both action and personal moments. Romero offers occasional fun tidbits, like his interest in exploring zombie animals in any future DEAD films (alluding to an undead-rat scene cut from an early draft of LAND) and confirming this viewer’s suspicion that in the crossing-the-river sequence, he wanted to show his ghouls walking underwater—until he saw the similar tableaux in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

One of the few acknowledgments of LAND’s political allegory comes in the Undead Again: The Making of LAND OF THE DEAD featurette, when Romero refers to the villainous Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) and his underlings as “the Bush administration.” The 13-minute minidocumentary is too cursory to be fully satisfying, but has its moments, as when Asia Argento muses that “There’s a certain smell to fake blood…it reminds me of my childhood,” along with plenty of on-set footage. The Remaining Bits are just that: less than three minutes of deleted snippets, unremarkable save for a couple of amusing gore gags. A Day With the Living Dead is described on the package as Leguizamo’s “personal tour through an entire working day,” but the seven-minute running time hardly allows for an immersion in either the acting or production process. While Leguizamo’s goofing does result in a few good laughs, the whole thing feels too calculated.

When Shaun Met George is exactly the kind of spontaneous-feeling, off-the-cuff piece that Leguizamo’s should have been. It documents SHAUN OF THE DEAD creators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s visit to the LAND set to play zombies, offering the best you-are-there atmosphere of any of the disc’s supplements. The duo’s enthusiasm for Romero and his films, and their joy at basically living a DEAD fan’s dream, is palpable and makes this lots of fun to watch.

There’s also a quintet of extras exclusive to the unrated DVD, and they’re as mixed a bag as the others. Best of the bunch is Bringing the Dead to Life, in which KNB’s Greg Nicotero shares the details of zombie creation, including a number of the notable individual ghouls. There’s plenty of juicy FX footage here, plus a fun anecdote by Romero, who recalls meeting a very young Nicotero for the first time—in a restaurant in Rome! Despite its title, Zombie Effects: From Green Screen to Finished Scene is devoted to CGI, not special makeup, offering interesting before-and-after comparisons of digitally altered setpieces. Similarly, Bringing the Storyboards to Life presents those drawings alongside their onscreen counterparts.

The other two supplements in this batch are musical throwaways. Scenes of Carnage simply sets a montage of gore shots to a minute and a half of classical music, while Scream Tests: Zombie Casting Call—which suggests a revealing peek at how the undead extras were chosen—is just a minute of rough-CGI ghouls dancing. Surely there were better ways to fill the DVD and honor the man whom LAND’s trailer (sadly absent here, perhaps due to rights issues involving the use of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD clips) and the disc packaging justifiably refer to as a “legendary filmmaker.”

VenicuS

10-07-2005, 12:58 PM

I'm a Romero whore, so I'll buy it so it can occupy shelf space next to the other three Dead films, but I agree that Universal's schedule change was a bone-headed move. Although, I have hope that I get a chance to catch the one-night-only theatrical run of the unrated version on Oct. 17.

ReelFear

10-07-2005, 07:38 PM

I also picked up a copy a full 18 days before street date at Kims, NYC. Marcx said all that needs to be said about this disc. Way more Gore, great looking and sounding disc with fantastic extras.
i will just add that because this is the first film Romero shot in full 2.35 scope, I couldn't stop thinking this felt like a John Carpenter film. From the compositions, fast action and editing, and western-esque characters and dialogue, I could be fooled into thinking this was the work of another great horror icon. (Anyone else notice this?) Regardless, my appreciation for LOTD has certainly increased after watching this Unrated directors cut DVD. The movie moves fast and delivers the goods.

atann

10-07-2005, 07:48 PM

I just won a signed poster of the film by Romero!

Faceman

10-09-2005, 08:13 AM

My buddy picked the disc up at a place on 33rd or so.

Personally for me, the extras are filler. Nothing but alot of ass kissing and not much insight. The CGI dancing zombies wasn't funny. The only extra worth noting are the before/after shots. Those are very well done.

Shannafey

10-11-2005, 07:50 PM

Uncut Dead Lands On Screen
The unrated director's cut of George Romero's latest zombie film Land of the Dead will be shown in theaters for one night only on Oct. 17 at 36 Regal, United Artists and Edwards movie theatres across the country, organizers announced. The screening will be hosted by Fangoria Entertainment, publisher of Fangoria magazine, along with Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which is releasing the original theatrical version on DVD the following day.

The film, starring John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Simon Baker and Asia Argento, will be presented in high-definition and cinema surround sound in cities nationwide including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Tampa, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Cleveland, Miami, Denver and Pittsburgh. The event will also feature an exclusive big-screen interview with Romero. Tickets are available online at Fangoria's Web site or at participating Regal, United Artists and Edwards movie theatre box offices at the standard movie ticket price.

indiephantom

10-18-2005, 12:07 AM

I hope my local BB has this to buy and that it is the "unrated", because I while I hate them I have a gift card that will cover the cost. But I'll pick it up elsewhere regardless. I've only seen it once too and I plan on watching it on Halloween if not before. :fire:

sumo8675309

10-18-2005, 12:24 AM

indiephantom

10-18-2005, 12:27 AM

i just checked the flyer for the week and it's only $16.99 at bestbuy

sweet.

Paul0889

10-18-2005, 01:17 AM

i just checked the flyer for the week and it's only $16.99 at bestbuy for the unrated version

16.99 along with the 2 disc special edition of Saw

Regurgitate

10-18-2005, 01:44 AM

So is the theatrical cut available as well? I dunno about more CGI.

indiephantom

10-18-2005, 01:55 AM

So is the theatrical cut available as well? I dunno about more CGI.

Yes, it's supposed to be.

adric

10-18-2005, 02:02 AM

all ads ive seen are just for unrated version

indiephantom

10-18-2005, 02:21 AM

the rated one is supposed to be full frame only. It will probably be mostly available for rental.

Jeremy

10-18-2005, 02:34 AM

I've got a screener copy of this on the way from Universal, expect an official review shortly...

Peter Vincent

10-18-2005, 04:10 PM

As much as I love this movie, I'm holding off on buying it right off. The cheapest I've seen it is $16.99 and I need my dough to go to NYC the end of this month. I'm sure we'll be seeing this 2 for $20 at Best Buy or Circuit City down the road. I luckily held off on Seed Of Chucky: UR and that's EXACTLY what happened.

Shannafey

10-18-2005, 05:08 PM

I just read that it is $14.99 at CompUSA.

Stige

10-18-2005, 05:17 PM

I have no patience , got mine in the mail today

maybrick

10-18-2005, 05:40 PM

Damed

10-18-2005, 05:49 PM

Well, considering Universal did alright with this film (total international tak), they probably figure at least 1/2 of those who saw it will buy it, so they stand to make a good deal more $$$$ from it.

Methinks Universal will want another Romero Dead flick after all this is said and done.

Damed

10-18-2005, 05:52 PM

the rated one is supposed to be full frame only. It will probably be mostly available for rental.

Was about 50/50 split between number of copies of Full Frame and Widescreen at my WalMart.

Mortis

10-18-2005, 06:03 PM

I've just returned from Walmart and the theory that Universal had always planned to save the heavy promotion for the DVD release rather than the theatrical one has appeared to have been proven true. They have a HUGE display for LAND OF THE DEAD!!!

Retail price: $14.88.

I just called mine and the lady said $15.84. That's not bad considering Best Buy is around 40-45 minutes away and Wal-Mart is only 10. I'll be stopping there tonight.

Dave

10-18-2005, 07:15 PM

Land was $16 at my Wally World, so your mileage may vary. Glad to see they are putting some effort into getting some nice DVD sales. Hopefully that will increase the possibilities of future Dead movies.

I was on the fence about buying the Land DVD. It's the weakest in the series, imo, but 'Unrated' and 'DTS' made it a must buy for me. Not sure what particular order I'd rate the series in. I enjoy Day and Dawn very much. Night is great but I don't watch it often - I'd watch the Savini remake more than the original.

nukfut

10-19-2005, 12:36 AM

Land was $16 at my Wally World

Damn. I pre-ordered it at DDD for $21.59. Yikes. I just called them and at least got a price credit down to $18.38...

Next time I'll shop around more. D'oh!

bigdaddyhorse

10-19-2005, 12:58 AM

$17.99 at Best Buy and Circuit City today. CC had a LOTD mini-comic attached, so I broke down since I'm a whore like that.
Then BB had a free ticket for Saw 2 with Saw Uncut, so between that, the cover (which is the coolest yet, despite the old Platinum oversize jewel case, admit it) and the sale price I grabbed that too.

betterdan

10-19-2005, 12:58 AM

You're fired again nukfut!

nukfut

10-19-2005, 01:14 AM

Then BB had a free ticket for Saw 2 with Saw Uncut

I got suckered into this with The Fog, a movie I was 50/50 on owning. But when I saw the free ticket to see the remake, I thought "What the Hell?" Of course, after the horrible comments I've read on this site... lol.

Shit, it's a free ticket. Maybe before I head to the theater I'll have a few beers to soften the blow. Then again, as long as it has a couple of Tom Welling shirtless scenes it'll be worth the gas money to drive the cinema.

BloodMan

10-19-2005, 01:19 AM

the extra gore scenes were ok... didn't add much. Didn't really like it much this time around. But gotta have it to complete the set. :)
Oh, and I hate the DVD case... its one of those new cases with the lil snap things you gotta open b4 u actually open the case. I had a case like that for Orca... only opened that like 3 times and one of the tabs already came off. Grr :)

betterdan

10-19-2005, 01:52 AM

I always bust those little tabs off on purpose the first time I open it.

RyanPC

10-19-2005, 01:54 AM

This DVD will be the next thing I buy. I'm beginning to love Wal-Mart now. :)

Mortis

10-19-2005, 01:55 AM

I picked it up for $20 at Wal-Mart. The foolscreen, rated version was $16.

The Black Death

10-19-2005, 01:57 AM

got it today after class, just finished watching it... I liked all the extra gore, you just can't really have a Dead movie without it. I still feel like this is more of an action movie than the comparably slower paced Night D and D, but I think its a fun movie, and definitely worth having to complete the series.

onebyone

10-19-2005, 02:00 AM

KingJeff

10-19-2005, 02:05 AM

I'm working my way through the disc now. I always go for the commentary first. Got it at BB and used a $5 RZ Cert, so it was only $13. I tried to use a McDonald's/BB $3 coupon but it wouldn't work in conjunction with the RZ Cert.

bigdaddyhorse

10-19-2005, 03:11 AM

I got suckered into this with The Fog, a movie I was 50/50 on owning. But when I saw the free ticket to see the remake, I thought "What the Hell?" Of course, after the horrible comments I've read on this site... lol.

Shit, it's a free ticket. Maybe before I head to the theater I'll have a few beers to soften the blow. Then again, as long as it has a couple of Tom Welling shirtless scenes it'll be worth the gas money to drive the cinema.

Or just hock it in the parking lot for like 7-8 bucks and get the dvd for cheap after it's done. Not sure if scalper laws apply. :)

indiephantom

10-19-2005, 04:01 AM

Was about 50/50 split between number of copies of Full Frame and Widescreen at my WalMart.

Didn't see one rated cut in the city. My Wal-Mart was only selling it in combo packs with DOTD(04).

knewby

10-19-2005, 11:31 AM

My Wal-Mart had 'em for $14.44....the cheapest by far around me. I've given up on Best Buy anyway.....half the time they advertise a movie and when you go they don't have it.................. :fire:

Katatonia

10-19-2005, 11:34 AM

My Wal-Mart had 'em for $14.44....the cheapest by far around me. I've given up on Best Buy anyway.....half the time they advertise a movie and when you go they don't have it.................. :fire:

You're lucky, the Wal-Mart here had them all priced at nearly $20.

Shannafey

10-19-2005, 01:31 PM

Picked it up and watched it last night. I liked it more the second time around!!

4Gotten1

10-19-2005, 02:54 PM

Yeah, I just watched the unrated cut last night and have to say I really enjoyed it more the second time around. Granted, I saw it in theatres the first time, I was able to see more details and pick up little nuances and things like that last night. And I loved the extra footage. Awesome! The added gore (and additional scene with Cholo) is well worth the purchase of the unrated version, IMO. I feel Romero and Nicotero did a great job of balancing between the CGI effects and the old school approach. I have to say I'm much more satisfied with LOTD now than I was after seeing it for the first time in theatres.

indiephantom

10-19-2005, 03:22 PM

Picked it up and watched it last night. I liked it more the second time around!!

Man, I watched the first 20 minutes again and was blown away. I was a fan of it, but as I read somehow else say...this baby is going to age beautifully. :banana: That's the sign of a great film.

baggio

10-19-2005, 03:39 PM

Mark Relford

10-19-2005, 04:04 PM

Picked it up and watched it last night. I liked it more the second time around!!

Same here! The extra gore and the added scene with Kaufman's neighbors sure helped! Gotta agree with Fangoria's review though... The extras could've been more substantial. I've been spoiled by the other Dead DVDs. :D

fceurich39

10-19-2005, 08:22 PM

This DVD will be the next thing I buy. I'm beginning to love Wal-Mart now. :)
same here they ar finally getting there shit together got the unrated version of land and fullscreen of batman begins dont care about extras only for horror movies. and also got the kick ass saw uncut with the even more kick ass cover art

allmessedup

10-19-2005, 08:38 PM

I just finished watching it and still really enjoyed it--it's just a fun zombie/action movie.
I agree, I wish there'd been a few more extras--like the DREAM OF THE DEAD documentary or something. But still a great addition to my collection that I can see myself rewatching numerous times.

thrashard76

10-19-2005, 11:40 PM

I got LOTD today with Boogeymen as a 2 pack at Walmart for $20....I can't wait to watch it.

turdburglar

10-20-2005, 04:29 AM

I just went shopping for "Land of the Dead" here in Duluth, MN. My mission was to find the WS-uncut version.

Best Buy - $17.99 had 4 copies of the regular, 1 copy of FS uncut
Target - $16.99 had no copies uncut, about 5 of the regular
Walmart - (I'm ashamed to admit this) but this is where I got mine.
had 2 copies of the WS-uncut for $16.82, but thats not what I got...

They had a 2 disc set of Boogeymen/ Land uncut WS for only $19.86

I couldn't pass it up!

Also got my uncut version of SAW for $16.99 at Best Buy. It came with a free movie ticket for SAW 2. Glad I waited...

Its also nice to see that it appears the new LOTD dvd's are selling like hot cakes!

BloodMan

10-20-2005, 04:38 AM

bigdaddyhorse

10-20-2005, 04:57 AM

The Walmart here were selling Land uncut/Dawn remake combo's. What a piss off I thought... now idiots will think its a sequel to last years Dawn remake... which alot of fucknuts around here (my town... not you guys) think already. Stupid.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

In a sick, fucked up twisted logic kinda way, it IS a sequel to Dawn 04. It's a sequel to the original idea and name of Dawn, so there you have it.

I'd laugh my ass off if I heard someone bitching about why are these zombies so slow though. :lol:

DefJeff

10-21-2005, 07:16 AM

I never bothered looking at the old LOTD thread because I wasn't interested in this at all, but then I started reading this thread and the positive reactions about the film.. soooo I went and bought the uncut disc today.

I didn't really enjoy it all that much though, it's easily my least favorite of the "Dead" films. Overlooking the awful CGI blood and headless priest thing, my big complaint was that I didn't really have a character I liked enough to keep me interested. It's not that I really disliked any of the characters, it's more like they were just there for me. Cholo was such a weak version of Rhodes, it saddend me.

I did love the gore though, it gave the movie some really fun moments and that's mostly what kept me watching until the end. I'm actually glad I didn't catch this in the theater, seeing a version that I can only imagine has the good gore cut out would've been excruciating.

Mortis

10-21-2005, 06:24 PM

I watched it again last night and it just gets better and better. I realized that I was in the building with the high ceiling that they used in Fiddler's Green. I was even there after I saw the movie in the theater, but I never put two and two together for some reason.

ReelFear

10-29-2005, 06:22 PM

I met George A. Romero last night at the Chiller theatre in Rutherford, NJ. He was totally cool, friendly, and was happy to sign my original DOTD poster and take photos. A great experience!

old-boo-radley

11-23-2005, 08:02 AM

I got the DVD the other day and finally got to see it for the first time. My expectations were high as the Dawn remake was surprisingly good, so I figured George should be able to easily top it. But, it is safe to say the extra gore in the Dawn remake combined with the fact that it was just plain more interesting make it topple over Land with ease. Too much of this film regarded the "social commentary" which in my mind was always the thing for the Romero nuts to talk about trying to make more out of his movies than was really there. Dawn of the Dead is one of the best films of all time, no doubt about it, but it wasn't because of the "social commentary."

I think the movie needed more gore and definitely more character development, perhaps a running time of 105 minutes would have suited the film better. I did like the movie, it just isn't up to par with what it should have been. Everything in the movie had been done before from the countless Italian rip-offs. In a different time, I would have been excited to see the zombies use weapons, but now that I've seen my share of zombie flicks, I've been there and done that. Of course, he didn't have far he could go with the subject. I'll probably like it more down the line, I was mostly upset that there wasn't one scene that just totally kicked my ass. The chainsaw scene in the Dawn remake comes to mind in regards to a scene so gory and bloody that it just sticks with you. As for Dead Reckoning, man, you gotta think he was pissed at the big ass vehicle they used in the Dawn remake, completely stealing any thunder he would have had.

But, I sure hope there is another (maybe 8 more, even ;)) in his zombie cavalcade. I just hope that the zombies don't get much smarter, to me the hoarde of the zombie and the claustrophobia as a result of this was always the best thing, not the fact they can use weapons or can seemingly communicate.

I am reminded of a statement I made when I watched the trailer for the first time, "It looks like a remake of the Dawn of the Dead remake!" and it indeed holds true. Except without the stupid MTV headache inducing cuts, and I thank Romero whole-heartedly for that.

Mortis

11-23-2005, 09:33 AM

I totally disagree. Listen to the extras to see what George has to say. The zombies in Dawn (the original, not the abomination of a remake) were icing on the cake.

Too much of this film regarded the "social commentary" which in my mind was always the thing for the Romero nuts to talk about trying to make more out of his movies than was really there. Dawn of the Dead is one of the best films of all time, no doubt about it, but it wasn't because of the "social commentary."

wago70

01-08-2006, 02:04 AM

Loved the film...hated the opening credits - that technique has been DONE TO DEATH (so to speak) in current horror films (speeded-up, twitchy editing and the title font design). I'm glad the rest of the film didn't look like that.
Only paid $9.99 Thanksgiving weekend at Walmart, too!

DVD Connoisseur

05-14-2006, 05:17 PM

Bought the Director's Cut of the film in the bargain bin of Virgin a few weeks ago (3 titles for £20). For some reason, my expectations were low but I was thrilled to bits with the movie. I found it very entertaining and the gore factor was excellent, IMHO.

At this moment in time, I'd go as far as saying this is my favourite of the series!