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Writer/director George A. Romero was so much more than that "zombie dude" with the "big goofy" glasses. His legacy, stretching across four decades, is as tasty as a celebrated hound of horror’s best slobbered on bone. From 1968’s Night of the Living Dead to the pre-production done on Road of the Dead, Romero was always working some angle of the genre. As a result, he became an icon and, as it just happened in October of this year, he now has his own star on Hollywood Boulevard. It is too bad he had to pass away rather unexpectedly in order to get that attention from Hollywood’s elite. His fans always knew he was a legend.
It is important to note that Arrow Video’s collection of under-appreciated Romero films, highlighting a three-year stretch of filmmaking immediately following Night of the Living Dead, was never meant to be a memorial. The three-film set – including 1971’s There’s Always Vanilla, 1972’s Season of the Witch, and 1973’s The Crazies – was planned long before his sudden passing.
But now, in the wake of mortality, this retrospective does indeed read as a memorial to a once-living legend. From the 2K restoration of There’s Always Vanilla to the 4K treatments of Season of the Witch and The Crazies, the films – whether they be originally shot on 35mm or 16mm – absolutely sparkle with a boldness in their colors and their details that has NEVER been seen before; there is a new seriousness to their presentations on 1080p that is breathtaking and definitely NOT expected. Damn, do these gnarly beasts from Romero’s back pages ever look fine in glorious High Definition!
Restored to their original condition thanks to Arrow Films, there is a new level of craftsmanship discovered in each of the films. These three films are unedited - and, in the case of Season of the Witch, made much longer - and their prints are cleaned up, thousands of instances of dirt and debris have been meticulously scrubbed for this set. The original mono soundtracks have also been cleaned.
The set begins with the blu-ray debut of There’s Always Vanilla, Romero’s only romantic comedy. For some of you, the movie – his second feature – will come as a surprise as Chris Bradley (Raymond Laine), a once soldier and now drifter, learns he must grow up fast after getting Lynn (Judith Ridley), a local Pittsburgh hottie, knocked up. It is easily Romero’s worst film, but those willing to frame in in a culture-clash lens will see just want Romero was interested in pursuing as the old guard, fairly rigid in its stance of life and responsibilities, must figure out how to navigate the waters of the new frontier with its own customs. Interesting enough as curiosity item, the film is solely for completists.
With Season of the Witch, Romero gives us his first look at feminism in the 1970s as an unfulfilled housewife (Jan White, in a wildly uneven performance) finds herself growing fascinated with witchcraft thanks to the influence of Marion (Virginia Greenwald) and her own lack of a life outside of a hurried husband and a very social teenager. Romero doesn’t always get the mode of feminism right, though. He was attempting to provide a counterculture argument to the stumbled upon movement; his understanding seems to be in its infancy, though. Crushed by the film’s aggravated drop in budgeted finances, the film was always at odds with its handlers, who wanted a pornographic movie instead of the pro-feminist movement film that they were handed. Romero stuck to his guns and, with the money drying up, didn’t shoot the much-requested sex scenes. Instead, the seedy look of the film adds to the empty search this bored housewife goes through in trying to awaken her true self.
The most well known title is, of course, The Crazies and, man, does the film ever burst off the screen with an otherworldly energy. This is the story of Trixie, a military-made biochemical weapon that is accidentally released over a small American town, causing people – beginning with parents in an eerie opening scene – to turn on each other and deliver all sorts of military-grade kills. The poor people in the town are terrorized by both those affected by the weapon and the military itself, which have been told to kill ANY one in the town. It went over in theaters like a bomb in 1973 but, today, it is celebrated a worldly-wise cult classic. Its inclusion here makes this release a must-own.
Complete with reversible sleeves for each film featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx and a 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger, Kier-La Janisse and Heather Drain, I can think of no better way to embrace the legacy of George A. Romero than with this set from Arrow Films. It is truly a masterpiece of mood and mayhem, filling each disc with almost legendary supplemental materials.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Video
Available on Blu-ray - November 14, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.67:1, 1.37:1, 1.33:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: LPCM Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Six-disc set (3 BD-50, 3 DVDs); DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Scanned and restored by Arrow Films, Between Night and Day celebrates a 2K scan of There’s Always Vanilla’s 35mm print, with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and mono soundtrack; a 4K scan of Season of the Witch’s 16mm AB camera negative, with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and mono sound; and a 4K scan of The Crazies’ 35mm camera negative, with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and mono sound. The results are beyond expected, cleaning up both sound and details in a crisp manner. Punctuated by a pop in colors and deeper black levels, these low budget cult classics shine on the HD format.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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See Special Features for each disc’s breakdown.
Special Features:
The opening of Pandora’s Box has begun with this release. The supplemental materials are damn tasty. With Criterion’s Night of the Living Dead due next year, can a 1080p release of Martin be far behind?
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard DVD presentations
- Original Mono Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Reversible sleeve for each film featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
- Limited edition 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger, Kier-La Janisse and Heather Drain
THERE’S ALWAYS VANILLA
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Affair of the Heart: The Making of There’s Always Vanilla – brand new documentary featuring interviews with producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner
- Digging Up the Dead – The Lost Films of George A. Romero – archive interview with Romero discussing his early films There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz
- Memorabilia Gallery
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
SEASON OF THE WITCH
- Brand new 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the camera negative (90 mins)
- Alternate extended version (104 mins)
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- When Romero Met Del Toro – filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro in conversation with George Romero
- The Secret Life of Jack’s Wife – archive interview with actress Jan White
- Alternate Opening Titles
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz
- Memorabilia Gallery
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
THE CRAZIES
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Romero Was Here: Locating The Crazies – Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, PA and the locations used in The Crazies
- Crazy for Lynn Lowry – cult star Lynn Lowry discusses her early career including her role in The Crazies
- Q&A with Lynn Lowry filmed at the 2016 Abertoir Film Festival
- Audio interview with producer Lee Hessel
- Behind-the-scenes footage with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz
- Alternate Opening Titles
- Image Galleries
- Trailers & TV Spots
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
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