Dawn of the Dead may be one of the finest remakes ever.
Detail is incredibly strong and every single detail can easily be picked out. From the pock marks on Ving Rhames skull to the blood drops splashed throughout the film, the level of detail is exceptional. A few of the close-ups that seemed a little too bleached out dropped in detail, but this was a result of the filmmaker´s style and not the transfer. The cameras often move hectically and often create a motion blur. During these moments, detail still stands strong, but style again prevents "Dawn of the Dead" from being an absolutely stunning film. Black levels are strong, although the green and blue filters used sometimes plague blacks with a little color tint. Shadow detail is strong and detail is never lost in the darkest moments. My overall impression of this transfer is that it is very strong, but the ability for style to hinder a high definition film is apparent. For another example of this (and one that is stylistically similar), go watch a "Saw" film.
Sound:
Joy to the world! English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is one of the supported soundtracks for "Day of the Dead." If the person responsible for this decision was in arms reach, I would give them a huge bear hug for this little favor. Dolby TrueHD support is one of the things I love about HD-DVD and it has been disappointing in the number of films that have thus far supported the sound format. "Day of the Dead" comes fully equipped with the highly desired sound format, but also English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtracks. The Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack is strong, but when compared to the TrueHD mix, that soundtrack almost seems subpar and inadequate. I´m going to assume the TrueHD track is that much more superior and this review concentrates solely on that format.
Every little detail can be heard in this soundtrack. The metallic clank of a shell casing, to the ripping sound of flesh under a zombie bite comes across in this six channel soundtrack. "Dawn of the Dead" is an action packed film and the soundtrack thrives under the sound design provided by the film. Each gunshot was deep in presence and magnified by the .1 LFE channel. The horrific sounds of a zombie invasion sound true and frighteningly fun. The sounds of doors crashing down sends a tingle up ones spine. This soundtrack simply sounds amazing. Tyler Bates musical score is warm and menacing in its presence. It uses bass effectively to build tension. The film´s imaging is strong across all channels and every speaker gets a workout during TrueHD playback. Dialogue is equally strong and never drowned out by the wondrous sound effects. While the visuals were strong, the sound is amazing on "Dawn of the Dead." Let´s just hope for more TrueHD support.
Extras:
"Dawn of the Dead" the Unrated Director´s Cut is a special feature itself, as the film contains a number of scenes that were not included theatrically. This new unrated director´s cut is the same as the one previously released onto DVD and contains the same ten additional moments of footage. Some of the scenes are added moments of gore, while others are character building moments. Michael details his Best Buy employment and another survivor, Glen, discusses his homosexuality. These were some of the nicer character building moments. The gore wasn´t too extreme, but showed a one-armed man being gunned down and a few other juicer moments. I personally enjoy the additional moments and feel it fleshes out the film a bit.
Director Zack Snyder was well involved with the value added content for the DVD release of his film. He is involved with a brief Introduction by Zack Snyder (1:04) that is all too brief, but simply states that gore is present that would not have been approved by the MPAA. The quality is rough of this introduction and I felt it was a little too quick to be overly worthwhile. The Feature Commentary by a Snyder and producer Eric Newman is a good one. The two discuss decisions made during filmmaking and share many nice anecdotes about the film´s production. They talk briefly about the original and how impressed they were with Tom Savini, stuntwomen and others involved with the production. Snyder is having a ton of fun recording this commentary and it shows. This was a fun and informative commentary track that is well worth listening too and also serves a purpose of pointing out all the new scenes in the director´s cut.
Six additional features join the introduction and commentary on the disc. The Lost Tape: Andy´s Terrifying Last Days Revealed (16:22) is not necessarily deleted footage, but additional footage featuring the film´s beloved sporting goods store owner, Andy. There was apparently a strong desire for more Andy footage and this delivers the goods. I enjoyed the film and it was very nice to see what was happening from Andy´s perspective during the zombie invasion. Special Report (21:03) is another mock feature that is based upon the fictional world of "Dawn of the Dead." This is another fine little film that adds more information to the world and the events surrounding the mall survivors. It is sometimes gory and always entertaining. This and Andy´s footage are great supplements that play nicely with the feature film.
The more commonplace supplements follow the two short films on the disc. Deleted scenes entitled Undead Scenes (11:28) may be played with optional commentary by the director and producer. These dozen or so scenes are nice inclusions on the disc, but it is apparent that the best moments from the cutting room floor were reinserted for the director´s cut. There are some nice moments here, but nothing overly spectacular. Raising the Dead (7:53) looks at the makeup of the zombies and how the makeup was altered as the running time of the film grew longer and more decomposition set in. This was a nice little making of supplement. It is followed by Attack of the Living Dead (7:24), which is a look at more of the zombies included in the film and the special effects used in their destruction and dismemberment. Finally, Splitting Headaches: Anatomy of Exploding Heads (5:36) takes a further look at more zombie deaths. Oddly, I have a splitting headache today that won´t go away. I enjoyed the supplements, regardless of my headache.
Closing Comments:
I joined the masses of George A. Romero fans when word first got out that "Dawn of the Dead" was being remade and involved a rookie director and little or no starpower aside from the incredible Ving Rhames. It was Rhames´ involvement that led me into watching the film and I was very surprised when I had completed my viewing. This was a highly entertaining picture that was far better than I had expected and a load of fun. The HD-DVD was surprising in having a very strong set of visuals and one of the best sounding soundtracks yet to appear on HD-DVD. Hopefully, more films reach the level of quality in TrueHD sound as this film did. The extras contained on the disc were ported from the DVD and just as fun the second time around. All-in-all, this is a fun release of a very fun film. I´ve now seen this film four times and it still entertains me. The HD-DVD release is a fine addition to mine, or anybody else´s high definition library.
Sound:
Joy to the world! English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is one of the supported soundtracks for "Day of the Dead." If the person responsible for this decision was in arms reach, I would give them a huge bear hug for this little favor. Dolby TrueHD support is one of the things I love about HD-DVD and it has been disappointing in the number of films that have thus far supported the sound format. "Day of the Dead" comes fully equipped with the highly desired sound format, but also English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtracks. The Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack is strong, but when compared to the TrueHD mix, that soundtrack almost seems subpar and inadequate. I´m going to assume the TrueHD track is that much more superior and this review concentrates solely on that format.
Every little detail can be heard in this soundtrack. The metallic clank of a shell casing, to the ripping sound of flesh under a zombie bite comes across in this six channel soundtrack. "Dawn of the Dead" is an action packed film and the soundtrack thrives under the sound design provided by the film. Each gunshot was deep in presence and magnified by the .1 LFE channel. The horrific sounds of a zombie invasion sound true and frighteningly fun. The sounds of doors crashing down sends a tingle up ones spine. This soundtrack simply sounds amazing. Tyler Bates musical score is warm and menacing in its presence. It uses bass effectively to build tension. The film´s imaging is strong across all channels and every speaker gets a workout during TrueHD playback. Dialogue is equally strong and never drowned out by the wondrous sound effects. While the visuals were strong, the sound is amazing on "Dawn of the Dead." Let´s just hope for more TrueHD support.
Extras:
"Dawn of the Dead" the Unrated Director´s Cut is a special feature itself, as the film contains a number of scenes that were not included theatrically. This new unrated director´s cut is the same as the one previously released onto DVD and contains the same ten additional moments of footage. Some of the scenes are added moments of gore, while others are character building moments. Michael details his Best Buy employment and another survivor, Glen, discusses his homosexuality. These were some of the nicer character building moments. The gore wasn´t too extreme, but showed a one-armed man being gunned down and a few other juicer moments. I personally enjoy the additional moments and feel it fleshes out the film a bit.
Director Zack Snyder was well involved with the value added content for the DVD release of his film. He is involved with a brief Introduction by Zack Snyder (1:04) that is all too brief, but simply states that gore is present that would not have been approved by the MPAA. The quality is rough of this introduction and I felt it was a little too quick to be overly worthwhile. The Feature Commentary by a Snyder and producer Eric Newman is a good one. The two discuss decisions made during filmmaking and share many nice anecdotes about the film´s production. They talk briefly about the original and how impressed they were with Tom Savini, stuntwomen and others involved with the production. Snyder is having a ton of fun recording this commentary and it shows. This was a fun and informative commentary track that is well worth listening too and also serves a purpose of pointing out all the new scenes in the director´s cut.
Six additional features join the introduction and commentary on the disc. The Lost Tape: Andy´s Terrifying Last Days Revealed (16:22) is not necessarily deleted footage, but additional footage featuring the film´s beloved sporting goods store owner, Andy. There was apparently a strong desire for more Andy footage and this delivers the goods. I enjoyed the film and it was very nice to see what was happening from Andy´s perspective during the zombie invasion. Special Report (21:03) is another mock feature that is based upon the fictional world of "Dawn of the Dead." This is another fine little film that adds more information to the world and the events surrounding the mall survivors. It is sometimes gory and always entertaining. This and Andy´s footage are great supplements that play nicely with the feature film.
The more commonplace supplements follow the two short films on the disc. Deleted scenes entitled Undead Scenes (11:28) may be played with optional commentary by the director and producer. These dozen or so scenes are nice inclusions on the disc, but it is apparent that the best moments from the cutting room floor were reinserted for the director´s cut. There are some nice moments here, but nothing overly spectacular. Raising the Dead (7:53) looks at the makeup of the zombies and how the makeup was altered as the running time of the film grew longer and more decomposition set in. This was a nice little making of supplement. It is followed by Attack of the Living Dead (7:24), which is a look at more of the zombies included in the film and the special effects used in their destruction and dismemberment. Finally, Splitting Headaches: Anatomy of Exploding Heads (5:36) takes a further look at more zombie deaths. Oddly, I have a splitting headache today that won´t go away. I enjoyed the supplements, regardless of my headache.
Closing Comments:
I joined the masses of George A. Romero fans when word first got out that "Dawn of the Dead" was being remade and involved a rookie director and little or no starpower aside from the incredible Ving Rhames. It was Rhames´ involvement that led me into watching the film and I was very surprised when I had completed my viewing. This was a highly entertaining picture that was far better than I had expected and a load of fun. The HD-DVD was surprising in having a very strong set of visuals and one of the best sounding soundtracks yet to appear on HD-DVD. Hopefully, more films reach the level of quality in TrueHD sound as this film did. The extras contained on the disc were ported from the DVD and just as fun the second time around. All-in-all, this is a fun release of a very fun film. I´ve now seen this film four times and it still entertains me. The HD-DVD release is a fine addition to mine, or anybody else´s high definition library.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]21426[/release]