BOTH GEORGE A. ROMERO'S "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" AND JONATHAN DEMME'S "THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" GET 4K MAKEOVERS FROM CRITERION!
The Criterion Collection always sets a high standard for the films they release on DVD and Blu-ray, and their latest discs are no exception! Romero's NIGHT has been completely restored, and comes with a second disc packed with amazing extras (including the NIGHT OF ANUBIS workprint)! THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS boasts a new 4K transfer with new and archival extras! File both of these under "must own!"
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
Synopsis: Shot outside Pittsburgh on a shoestring budget, by a band of filmmakers determined to make their mark, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, directed by horror master George A. Romero, is a great story of independent cinema: a midnight hit turned box-office smash that became one of the most influential films of all time!
A deceptively simple tale of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls, Romero's claustrophobic vision of a late-1960s America literally tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combined gruesome gore with acute social commentary, and quietly broke ground by casting a black actor (Duane Jones) in its lead role. Stark, haunting, and more relevant than ever, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is back!
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Black & White | 97 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Audio - Uncompressed LPCM Mono
Extras:
DISC ONE
- NEW! 4K digital restoration, supervised by director George A. Romero, co-screenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner, and producer Russell W. Streiner!
- NEW! Restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Gary Streiner!
- NEW! NIGHT OF ANUBIS - The never-before-presented workprint of the film with introduction by Producer Russell Streiner!
- Audio commentary (from 1994) featuring director George A. Romero, Producer/Actor Karl Hardman, Actor Marilyn Eastman, and Co-writer John Russo.
- Audio commentary (also from 1994) featuring Producer/Actor Russell Streiner, Production Manager Vincent Survinski, and actors Judith O'Dea, S.William Hinzman, Kyra Schon, and Keith Wayne.
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| Even the undead are shocked by the list of extras in this 2-disc set! |
- NEW! Light in the Darkness - Filmmakers Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, and Frank Darabont have a roundtable discussion about the importance of Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
- NEW! Learning From Scratch - Brand new interview with co-writer John Russo!
- NEW! Tones of Terror - An interview with Producer Jim Cirronella, about the use of stock music in the film.
- NEW! Limitations Into Virtues - A visual essay featuring filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos.
- Walking Like the Dead - Archival interviews with ten actors who portrayed zombies in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
- Tomorrow - Excerpts from NBC's "Tomorrow" show, featuring directors George Romero and Don Coscarelli.
- Higher Learning - Archival interview with director George Romero from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
- Duane Jones - Archival audio interview with actor Duane Jones from 1987.
- Judith Ridley - Archival interview with actress Judith Ridley from 1994.
- Venus Probe - A 1967 newsreel detailing the real-life findings of the Mariner 5 space craft in Venus' atmosphere.
- Never-before-seen 16mm dailies reel!
- TV Newsreel
- Two original theatrical trailers
- Two TV Spots
- Five vintage radio spots.
- Collectible poster featuring an essay ("Mere Anarchy is Loosed") on the back, by critic Stuart Klawans.
Synopsis: In this chilling adaptation of the best-selling novel by Thomas Harris, the astonishingly versatile director Jonathan Demme crafted a taut psychological thriller about an American obsession: serial murder. As Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee who enlists the help of the infamous Hannibal 'the Cannibal' Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to gain insight into the mind of another killer, Jodie Foster subverts classic gender dynamics and gives one of the most memorable performances of her career.
As her foil, Anthony Hopkins is the archetypal antihero cultured, quick-witted, and savagely murderous delivering a harrowing portrait of humanity gone terribly wrong. A gripping police procedural and a disquieting immersion into a twisted psyche, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS swept the Academy Awards (best picture, director, screenplay, actress, actor) and remains a cultural touchstone.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 119 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
Extras:
DISC ONE
- NEW! 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Tak Fujimoto!
- NEW! New interview with critic Maitland McDonagh.
- Audio commentary from 1994 featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and former FBI agent John Douglas.
- Thirty-eight minutes of deleted scenes.
- Original theatrical trailer
DISC TWO
- Four documentaries featuring hours of interviews with cast and crew: Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster, Inside the Labyrinth, Page to Screen, Scoring "The Silence," Understanding the Madness.
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Storyboards
- Exclusive to this release: A book with intro by Foster, an essay by critic Amy Taubin, pieces from 2000 and 2013 by author Thomas Harris on the origins of the character Hannibal Lecter, and a 1991 interview with Jonathan Demme!
