'Must Buy' release...

Arrow Video has released the definitive edition of Day of the Dead on Blu-ray this week.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of writer-director George A. Romero’s 1985 horror masterpiece, Day Of The Dead, with a special two-disc Blu-ray release that features a host of world exclusive extras, including a restored presentation of the film, a new hi-def soundtrack (the original ‘uncensored dialogue’ version, completely restored), four alternate sleeves, a double-sided poster, a 24-page collector’s booklet ‘For Every Dawn There Is A Day’, plus a very special collector’s comic – ‘Day Of The Dead: Desertion’ – featuring a brand new ‘Bub’ storyline. Also after years of ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ getting all the great documentaries, ‘Day…’ finally gets the retrospectives it deserves with the all-new ‘Joe Of The Dead’ and ‘Travelogue Of The Dead’.

Specially commissioned for this 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Day Of The Dead, the world exclusive 24-page comic ‘Day Of The Day: Desertion’ is written by ‘Hack/Slash Meets Re-Animator’ co-writer, Barry Keating, and ‘Halloween: Nightdance’ creator, Stefan Hutchinson, with artwork by ‘Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode’ illustrator Jeff Zornow. The storyline recounts the dark and disturbing origins of Day Of The Dead’s iconic zombie, Bub. Only available as part of this Blu-ray release, ‘Day Of The Dead: Desertion’ is just one of the many features that makes this release the one, must-have edition of Day Of The Dead for fans and collectors worldwide.

The Day of the Dead Blu-ray was developed in conjunction with the members of Cult Labs - (www.cult-labs.com) - a forum where film distributors interested in fan opinions spend time getting their expert feedback. One of the artwork options included in the packaging - the triple layer Night/Dawn/Day of the Dead poster was their most popular alternate choice. The main artwork is an all-new oil painting commissioned from artist Rick Melton.

In this, the third instalment in Romero’s ongoing zombie saga, the living dead have now taken over the world and only small pockets of human resistance survive. One such group of desperate survivors, a motley crew of scientists and soldiers, are holed up in a 14-mile long underground missile silo. As the scientists experiment on forcibly captured zombie specimens to try and find a way to control them, the soldiers become increasingly impatient with the lack of results and are eager to wage an all-out war on the undead. Soon, the tension between the two human camps erupts into a violent situation that is only overshadowed by the vicious zombie slaughter that surrounds them.

Easily the bleakest, goriest and most chilling of Romero’s zombie movies to date, Day Of The Dead sees Tom Savini and his special effects team hitting an all-time career high with an endless succession of super-realistic flesh tearing, bone snapping, gut spilling mayhem that for some viewers will prove almost too much to endure. The setting within a seemingly endless series of underground caverns adds an unbearable tension to a movie that is still as shockingly violent and claustrophobic today as it was twenty-five years ago.

Two all-new documentaries were commissioned for this epic release. In ‘Joe Of The Dead’ (directed by Calum Waddell) actor Joe Pilato talks about his career in movies - from his early appearance in the little-seen Pittsburgh horror outing ‘Effects’ (which also featured Romero regulars Tom Savini and John Harrison) to his small parts in ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ and ‘Knightriders’ and, of course, his work as Captain Rhodes in Day Of The Dead. In addition, Pilato addresses the remake, where his career went following Day of The Dead's disastrous box office upon its initial release and his thoughts on the movie being rediscovered and hailed as a classic.
In ‘Travelogue of the Dead’ (directed by Naomi Holwill), we join Pilato as he travels across Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow in October 2009 celebrating the 25th anniversary of Day Of The Dead and witness him meeting the fans, reciting his most famous lines from the movie - live and on stage - and drinking with the best of them! 


Calum Waddell also penned the ‘For Every Dawn There Is A Day’ collector’s booklet, which is an essay on the making of the movie that collects brand new interviews with Romero, Savini, editor Pasquale Buba, assistant director/composer John Harrison and actors Joe Pilato, Lori Cardille and Gary Steele.

The two-disc 25th Anniversary Edition Day Of The Dead (cert. 18) will be released on Blu-ray (£24.99) by Arrow Video on 29th March 2010.

Special Features
Four sleeve art options; double-sided fold-out poster; ‘For Every Dawn There Is A Day’ collector’s booklet; ‘Day Of The Dead: Desertion’ – an all new exclusive 24-page collector’s comic featuring new Bub storyline; 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and 1.0 Mono audio options.

Disc One (Blu-ray)
Theatrical feature; audio commentary with special effects team of Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, Everett Burrell and Mike Deak; Joe Of The Dead – Acting In A Romero Classic; Travelogue Of The Dead.

Disc Two (DVD)
The Many Days Of The Dead; Behind the Zombies footage; Romero Zombography;Photo Album of the Dead; Souvenirs of the Dead; Night Of The Living Dead trailer; Dawn Of The Dead trailer; TV Ads of the Dead; The Audio Recollections of Richard Liberty; Wampum Mine promo.

Purchase the film here.