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 Night of the Living Dead (1968) 

What grade would you give this film?
A 29%  29%  [ 2 ]
B 57%  57%  [ 4 ]
C 14%  14%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 7

 Night of the Living Dead (1968) 
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College Boy Z

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Post Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Night of the Living Dead

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Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film directed by George A. Romero. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it grossed some $12 million domestically and $30 million internationally. Night of the Living Dead was heavily criticized during its release because of its explicit content. However, it eventually received critical acclaim and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as a film deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

The film follows Ben (Duane Jones), Barbra (Judith O'Dea), and five others, who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania and attempt to survive the night while the house is being attacked by mysteriously reanimated ghouls, otherwise known as zombies. Night of the Living Dead is the origin of six other Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero and became the inspiration for two remakes of the film, film of the same name directed by Tom Savini, and Night of the Living Dead 3D, which was directed by Jeff Broadstreet and contained a much different storyline.


Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:28 pm
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George A. Romero

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This landmark film gave rise to the zombie movie genre that we know today. made on a peanuts budget, this film terrorized audiences when it was released in 1968, and continues to terrorize them today even though the film is considered pretty tame by today's standards.

A classic film

A+


Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:58 pm
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Veteran

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I watched most of this as an adult when I couldn't sleep one night and found it terrifying. I know it's tame by today's standards, but it has an atmosphere of dread and terror that most current horror films don't have. After I watched I really couldn't sleep.


Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:37 pm
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This was highly overrated. One of those movies that was great at the time, but no longer is.


Sat Mar 05, 2005 9:46 pm
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A


One of my all time favorites. Took FOREVER for me to find this!

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Extremely effective, but also overrated somewhat. The black and white also hurts the film because of the gore, and yet it's still very disturbing.

A-

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Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:28 pm
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Post Re: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Great flick. Love the opening. Barbara is really annoying though. She should have died much sooner :P.

8/10 (A-)


Tue Dec 14, 2010 5:49 am
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Post Re: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
It definitely has plenty of horrifying moments and stands up close to 45 years later. However, it also falls victim to typical cliches, the biggest one being the scared woman who does nothing (Barbara). Ben though really leads the film effectively.

Sidenote: Karl Hardman looks a good bit like Rob Corddry here.


Mon Nov 12, 2012 4:44 pm
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Post Re: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Brilliance!

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Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:22 pm
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Post Re: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
It's easy to pass this off as tame or overrated, but I can imagine what this stirred up in people fifty years ago. And honestly, for me, the movie holds up incredibly well. It's as basic as the genre gets but it's an excellent horror film with genuine creepy moments. And the zombie genre doesn't exist without it (I've seen some of the "zombie" films made before 1968, and they don't hold a candle to Romero's low budget classic).

It has its shortcomings: with the shoe-string budget, certain areas come up short (the editing and pacing can feel a bit choppy at times, while the minimal zombie makeup makes certain extras look less the undead and more like the highly confused). And there's the fact that the female lead, Barbara, is written to be useless and panic-striken. But it does give the male lead role to a black actor, something that was progressive in 1968. And Duane Jones is excellent in the role.

And if the horror of the film wasn't enough for viewers in 1968, it features a rough ending where all of the characters are dead or presumed dead. Ben is the lone survivor, but gets mistaken for one of the undead and is shot and killed. There's something especially creepy about the photographic ending, where Ben and other corpses are thrown on a pile and set ablaze. It lends a bit of a realistic ending to it, as if this is based on a true story. Not sure if that's what Romero intended, but it's how I took it.

There are better zombie films, even within Romero's Dead series (Dawn of the Dead is the reigning king), but Night of the Living Dead is still a superb horror film. It looks especially good on the Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release.

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