Brilliant.
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One of my favourite films in the past few years is the romantic comedy "Shaun of the Dead" from director Edgar Wright and co-written with rising comedy star Simon Pegg. Billed as a "Smash Hit Romantic Comedy with Zombies," "Shaun of the Dead" is an effective comedy and action film featuring a trio of talent that has successfully followed up this great little comedy with the successful "Hot Fuzz." Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have co-written both films and Wright serves as the team´s director. Pegg´s lifelong best friend Nick Frost is the third part of the filmmaking triangle and serves as the team´s solid supporting actor and his long friendship with Pegg translates marvelously on the big screen and the two share chemistry and feed off each other in a manner that has not been seen since Laurel and Hardy.
Shaun (Pegg) is quickly approaching his thirty-something years and he continues to work as a salesman for an electronics chain and co-habitats with his college buddy Ed (Nick Frost). Ed refuses to work or even clean up his own mess at their flat, where the third member of the household, Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) demands that Ed begins to clean up his act or get out of the flat. Pete isn´t the only person demanding change or dire consequences from Shaun. His girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is tired of spending every day at the Shaun´s favorite pub, the Winchester, with Shaun and Ed and tells Shaun that something has to change. Liz´s flat mates David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis) fully agree with Liz and Shaun knows he is walking a thin line in his relationship.
To save his relationship, Shaun promises to take Liz to a nice dinner. However, Shaun is unable to get a reservation and can only think of taking Liz to the Winchester in lieu of the nice dinner date. This forces Liz to play her hand and she dumps Shaun; leaving him heartbroken and in despair. The next morning, Shaun awakens and walks blindly through the world. He is unaware that death and destruction has occurred all around him and that he is now walking among the z-word itself, zombies. Shaun and Ed put together a plan that will send Shaun on a mission to retrieve his mum Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and his step-father Philip (Bill Nighy). Philip has been bitten, but Barbara refuses to leave with Shaun without taking Philip with them.
The second half of the plan involves retrieving Liz and taking her to a place where Shaun and Ed believe they will be the safest. They decide to go to the Winchester and wait out the zombie infestation at their favorite pub. This makes Liz less than happy, but she decides her best chance of survival is with her ex-boyfriend and she takes her overly reluctant flat mates with her. The large group of people departs sans Philip for the Winchester and Shaun must extend his newly found heroic leadership abilities and battle through the hordes of undead and get his love, his mother, his best friend and the pain in the ass roommates to the Winchester. There, the plan begins to fall apart and Shaun and company must fight for survival within the walls of their beloved (or detested) pub.
"Shaun of the Dead" is a labor of love that is heavily influenced by George A. Romero´s "Night of the Living Dead." The film is full of homage to the horror classic. From the line "We´re coming to get you Barbara," to the manner in which zombies devour their prey around the isolated Winchester, it is clear that Pegg and Wright were faithful fans of Romero´s film and this comedy plays out more like a beloved tribute to the 1958 film than it does coming across as parody. Romero himself loved this picture and rewarded the filmmakers with a role in the fourth film of his series, "Land of the Dead." For those that hold "Night of the Living Dead" dearly, "Shaun of the Dead" is an absolute treat.
What makes "Shaun of the Dead" so special is the fact that the film is just as rewarding for those that are not familiar with "Night of the Living Dead" or simply do not think much of the genre-defining zombie film. The characters come across as entirely believable and they are severely flawed. Neither Shaun nor Ed resembles anything remotely close to a hero. They are driven entirely by their will to survive and Shaun´s desire to protect Liz, the woman he loves. Pegg and Frost are great comedic talents and excel in both physical comedy and masterful delivery of their cheeky lines. One could suggest they got lucky with their first film, but the two were just as wonderfully funny in the second film, "Hot Fuzz."
"Shaun of the Dead" is a modern classic. Whereas the film that influenced it defined the modern zombie film, this defines its own genre. I don´t know exactly what label to place upon the genre created by Pegg and Wright, but these films are Comedy Homage and not Comedy Parody. They poke fun at the films that created the basis for their story, but they do so in a respectful, intelligent and masterful way. This is a witty comedy that does contain strong language and glorious gory bits, but it never delves into adolescent humor that has dominated motion picture comedies for the past so many years. "Shaun of the Dead" (and "Hot Fuzz") are a fresh breath of air in today´s world and I hope that Pegg and Wright are nowhere near done in rewriting the rules of the comedy. Bravo.
Video:
I had not expected much from "Shaun of the Dead" in the picture department. The film was a low budget project that was filmed under the hazy skies of England and much of the film took place in tight quarters and a pub. However, the 2.35:1 framed picture features very strong levels of detail and wonderfully vivid colours (British spelling, chaps). The reds of the blood and Shaun´s ink stain translate brilliantly to screen and the perfectly saturated colors feel normal and never exhibit any problems with bleed or other familiar flaws of a highly colored transfer. The level of detail is what surprised me the most. Throughout "Shaun of the Dead," the film exhibited strong details. Characters faces were finely detailed, as were the bits of gore and London´s exteriors. A minor amount of edge enhancement could be seen around some of the lighter shades in the film, but aside from this complaint, this was a surprisingly good transfer.
Sound:
Audio was another surprisingly good element of the HD-DVD transfer of "Shaun of the Dead." The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtrack is clean, powerful and nicely accentuates the action on-screen. Throughout the entire film, sound effects filled the speakers. Whether it was the firing of the Winchester rifle, the splitting of skulls or crashing cars, "Shaun of the Dead" is an effective sounding film. Sounds can be heard clearly panning from one rear speaker to the next and then to the front channels. Ambient and environmental effects help create a more inhabitable world for the characters. The film´s musical numbers and score by Daniel Mudford and Pete Woodhead are nicely emphasized by the mix and the Queen song played during a fight sequence at the Winchester sounds stunning. As any good comedy requires, the dialogue is clear and intelligible and not a single joke is lost in digital translation.
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[release]21396[/release]