Second Sight Films, out 16 November

 

 

George A Romero’s 1978 zombie epic gets the VIP treatment with this seven disc release which features three cuts of the movie, three soundtrack discs and more.

When Flash Gordon was released on 4K earlier this year in prestige packaging, the view was shared that it was the bar by which other sets would be measured. Along comes Second Sight’s superb Dawn of the Dead package and the bar has been raised.

The first three discs are all 4K UHD transfers, being the original 127 minute theatrical version, the 137 minute Cannes cut and 120 minute Dario Argento cut. Each cut uses the best available sources – whether scans of the original negative, interpositive or internegative – as well as commentaries by Romero, Tom Savini, Richard P Rubinstein and various cast members. Which cut is best? The regular cut looks the best of all three, though I do have an affinity for the tighter ‘Dario Argento Presents…’ Zombi cut, not least because it features more of Goblin’s pounding score.

The fourth disc is a Blu-ray packed with 10 new and legacy features with an impressive running time of 7½ hours. This includes two cuts of the Document of the Dead documentary, a tour of the Monroeville shopping mall, Super 8 footage and interviews with zombies and bikers. The final three discs are the 17-track Goblin soundtrack to the European release and two discs devoted to selections from the De Wolfe music library which were used to score the other two cuts (partially and completely).

And if all of that wasn’t enough, the rigid box is completed with a novelisation of the movie and a 160-page hardback collection of essays, images, interviews and stills. For those who aren’t yet watching on 4K, a Blu-ray edition of the set is also available with the same specifications, the three cuts of the movie being hi-def rather than UHD.

Verdict: When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth… in glorious, gory HDR 4K! The movie (in all three cuts) has never looked better, there’s an embarrassment of extras, both digital and print – this must be the 4K set of the year. 10/10

 

Click here to order from Amazon.co.uk