Movies
BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD Documentary Explores Impact Of Horror Film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Opening November 6 in New York at IFC Center, watch the trailer for Rob Kuhns’ feature documentary BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD.
In 1968 a young college drop-out named George A. Romero directed NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, a low budget horror film that shocked the world, became an icon of the counterculture, and spawned a zombie industry worth billions of dollars that continues to this day.
BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD, a new documentary, shows how Romero gathered an unlikely team of Pittsburghers — policemen, iron workers, teachers, ad-men, housewives and a roller-rink owner –to shoot, with a revolutionary guerrilla,run-and-gun style, his seminal film. During that process Romero and his team created an entirely new and horribly chilling monster – one that was undead and feasted upon human flesh.
This new documentary also immerses audiences into the singular time in which “Night” was shot. Archival footage of the horrors of Vietnam and racial violence at home combined with iconic music from the 60s invites viewers to experience how Romero’s tumultuous film reflected this period in American history. BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD shows us how this young filmmaker created a world-renowned horror film that was also a profound insight into how our society really works.
In the documentary, Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer of “Walking Dead,” as well as Producer of THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS explains how the zombies in NIGHT, as well as its mythology, are the basis of her hit show. Hurd got her start with Roger Corman and also speaks about what it’s like to make a film with little experience and no money.
Romero also goes through his efforts to get the film distributed and the ferocious attacks on NIGHT by U.S. critics when first released. Variety, for instance, called it, “an unrelieved orgy of sadism” which “casts serious aspersions on the integrity and social responsibility of its Pittsburgh-based makers.”
That all changed when the film went to Europe where it received huge box office and praise from prestigious film journals like “Positif” and “Sight and Sound.”
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was eventually invited to become part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In spite of the enormous success of the film worldwide, Romero and his partners got only a small fraction of the profits. The distributor accidentally removed the copyright notice from the negative and NIGHT fell into the public domain. The film went viral, with pirated copies playing worldwide. There’s no way to know how much money it has made.
Since its release NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD has been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress and the National Film Registry.
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