‘One For the Fire’… Night of the Living Dead, 40 Years Later

Yes. Halloween 2008 has passed. So has Thanksgiving and even Christmas, but it’s still 2008 and I feel the need to officially recognize the year of the 40th anniversary of ‘Night of the Living Dead’. No other movie, except maybe ‘Psycho’, has had such a massive and long-running influence on modern American horror.

The original ‘Night of the Living Dead’ film was groundbreaking and despite it’s relatively low-budget effects, it was scary then and it’s still pretty damn scary now. I really don’t think there’s any need for me to go into detail about the film itself, as any true fan needs no explanation. If you haven’t seen ‘NOTLD’ then it’s most likely because you have no REAL interest, or you’re not akin to “scary” movies. Either way, it’s been 40 years… no excuses!

What I can say is that I’ve seen the film numerous times and with every viewing I still enjoy it immensely and find it manages to stand the test of time. Having inspired remakes and sequels of all kinds, the film has also been the catalyst for a still thriving and popular genre in and of itself, reaching from the Hollywood studio to independent and international filmmakers alike.

With the 40th anniversary, ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was commemorated with a brand new restored and remastered DVD release, authorized by director George Romero himself. There’s a story here… an unfortunate thing happened in regards to those responsible for making this revolutionary piece of cinema. The film’s name being changed at the last minute led to the trademark being unintentionally left off, ‘Night of the Living Dead’ has been lost amidst the realm of public domain ever since it was released.

As a result, countless low-quality, cut-up and just plain bad copies and transfers of this film have made their way onto VHS and DVD and into movie watcher’s collections. That can now be remedied, as this restored version is now available. This DVD release also includes two feature commentaries, a Q&A with director George Romero, the final interview with actor Duane Jones and a great feature-length documentary called ‘One For the Fire’ directed by Chris Roe.

We Are Movie Geeks had the pleasure of talking with Chris Roe on a number of occasions and he’s an incredibly humble and talented man. I highly recommend picking up this new and director-approved version of the original film to update your collection and watch the documentary after re-viewing this classic cinematic gem. ‘One For the Fire’ contains several interviews with director George Romero as well as the various cast and crew members that were involved in the production. The aforementioned trademark tragedy is spoken of as well as many other great stories about what went into making this film. Cast members are reunited, stories are shared and the memory of the late Duane Jones is honored.

Take a look at the clip below from the documentary: