Johnboy3434

Night of the Living Dead '68. You know it. I know it. My grandpa’s dog knows it. People who’ve never seen a zombie movie in their life have heard of it. Some hail it like the Second Coming, as though we should all get on our knees and bow before its sheer badassness.

…

I didn’t think it was that great. Don’t get me wrong, as 1960s horror films go, it was up there in the top ten. Unfortunately, the only other title in that category with any redeeming value is Psycho (now <span class=“Italics”>that’s</span> a horror masterpiece). But, if only in an attempt to make up for this striking revelation of nonconformity, I would like to say that Dawn of the Dead '78 absolutely blew my socks off. That was a <span class=“Italics”>damn</span> good movie. Now, being a horror junkie, I make a pledge that I will watch (legally or otherwise) every installment of a horror series that I think is worth watching. This zombie classic met that standard, at least. So, I go looking for the sequels so I can have them under my belt, as well. I knew, just from listening to other horror fans that Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and Land of the Dead came next. What I didn’t know was that they weren’t alone. The Living Dead series has the single most revoltingly confusing history of sequels, remakes, sequels to remakes, remakes of sequels and totally unrelated movies with incredibly similar names that I’ve ever seen. But that’s not what I’m posting about.

NotLD68 (to distinguish it from the cheesier but ultimately more enjoyable NotLD90) has one quality that distinguishes it from other modern horror classics: it’s in the public domain. This means that anyone with the ability to burn a disc could throw their own DVDs out on the open market and the Copyright Nazis couldn’t do a thing about it. As such, there have been countless VHS, LD, and DVD releases over the entire lifespan of home video as we know it. Horror movies (by comparison with other genres) usually get low-profile DVD releases on which sites like Amazon and others don’t pick up all the info. Some of these versions have alternate, wedged in, and even colorized footage.

Now, I’m the kind of person who’s always liked deleted and/or extra scenes, no matter how crappy they are. As you can imagine, I worship the fan-edit genre. It’s fun to mess around with a classic. This is why I now have no problem with GL playing around the OT. Since he’s provided us with a choice between the old and new (however crappy the old’s picture and sound is in comparison), I harbor no ill-will, anymore. But anyway, my favorite thing to do is take every frame of film that could possibly be put together and stick it into the main feature. The aim of my little project here is to do exactly that with NotLD68. I’m going to take the different versions of the classic (yes, even the much-maligned 30th Anniversary Edition; all footage must go!), and cram as much of it into one film as the narrative will allow. Also, since black and white actually bores a lot of people (seriously, I’m not joking), I’ll be using colored and/or tinted footage whenever possible.

Right now, I’ll bet you’re thinking: <span class=“Bold”>Wait, you’re going to take the many versions of a beloved piece of horror cinema and splice them together? You’ll be mixing monochrome, tinted, and color footage as well as pieces of at least two different soundtracks? It’ll look like an idiot pasted it together!</span>

That’s the beauty of it: an idiot <span class=“Italics”>is</span> pasting it together! This is a personal project of mine, more for me than anyone else. I’m just quirky like that. If anybody wants to see it, though, I’d be glad to torrent it. But I need some help from any horror experts on the board. Which of the multitudinous DVDs should I buy? I know I’ll at least have to buy the 30th Anniversary Edition and Benefit for the Living Dead for the extra scenes included, but I need to know what others to get. I need:

1.) The color version with the best picture (minimal grain, blur, and distortion).
2.) If the above has any changes from the original cut (other than color, obviously), the one with the best black-and white picture.
3.) The version (whatever color) with the best sound (minimum pops, scratches, and hums, etc.; not just the best score).
4.) Any other versions besides the three cuts already indicated.

Any help would be appreciated! With any luck, I’ll soon be able to give you Night of the Living Dead as it was never meant to be seen!