criterionforum.org

I recently received the Dawn of the Dead set and very much enjoying it, especially the Travis Crawford commentary (though I would disagree and much prefer the Cannes cut over the theatrical one, which Crawford pretty much dismisses outside of a couple of moments), but since his commentary is bang up to date talking about the decline of malls with the financial crisis in 2008 and then the enforced Covid-19 shutown and the number of 'dead mall explorers' on YouTube, I thought I would link to the seminal series that does not get mentioned by name: Dan Bell's Dead Mall series.

Crawford does a great run down of all of the zombie films influenced by Night and Dawn and does mention the Resident Evil series as well as the commercial that Romero directed for the original Resident Evil 2 video game (that features Brad Renfro) but just as important as the way Romero's films influenced the Italian horror boom particularly is that Dawn also has had an enormous influence over video games, and understandably so in some ways because zombies are perfect apolitical antagonists for action shooting games that can be mown down with impunity because they are not human anymore (even the very political Call of Duty series has its own zombie mode for more knockabout fun). Plus Dawn of the Dead's 'procedural' scenes of tidying up the mall translate quite well into doing quests in a game! In particular I wanted to highlight that Dawn of the Dead itself had an 8-bit adaptation that came out for the Amstrad CPC in the mid-80s and later in 1990 ported to a 16-bit Amiga version (the Amstrad version was first game ever published by Ubisoft, later of course famous for the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series, which is why there are a lot of French elements to its graffiti and character names!). Its very much in the same 'moving from screen to screen' style of the Aliens game from the mid-80s, which I remember playing as a kid years before I was allowed to watch the films!

I am particularly grateful for the commentary highlighting the documentary work of Tony Buba (who plays the biker using the blood pressure machine). His most celebrated documentary Lightning Over Braddock has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino with a collection of shorts. As well as it noting that Gaylen Ross is now a documentarian and is currently making films focused on China.

Also here's the Romero PBS interview that Crawford mentions.

FYI I pre-ordered my DoTD set from Zavvi and it arrived in New Jersey this morning. Still no arrival of the package I also ordered from Diabolik.

It has been really interesting to go through the three soundtrack CDs on the Dawn of the Dead set. The Goblin score on the first disc is entirely the same as otherwise released but I was previously familiar with an “Unreleased and Incidental Music Cues” edition of the library cues which was only 14 tracks as compared to 52 tracks across the two “De Wolfe Library Compilation” discs in this edition.

All of the music from the fourteen track edition are here, although one of the tracks on the previous release is called "Mall Montage Scene" which combines four pieces together. It was really nice to get the tracks in full now and see how they play out in unedited form and the same could be said for a lot of the other pieces, especially the five or six separate songs that get cut together in the final scene of the film, including two layered directly on top of each other in the 'helicoptering off into the sunset' moment which only serves to show how the musical collaging is going into overdrive in the final moments and using snippets of underscore from all over to create its own narrative out of them before eventually settling down in reaching The Gonk over the end credits! I had always been impressed by the 'mall montage' scene but had not realised quite how heavily collaged together the final scene also was until hearing all of the separate components that went into it in this way!

Anyway I thought I would list the tracks here with the fourteen that appear in the previous edition bolded. That shorter edition actually did really well at highlighting the most important tracks, so this might be a guide as to which of the tracks to focus on if you were only going to listen to a couple. It was fun to try and place where a few of the other tracks turn up in the film without using the film as a guide and just my memory of it, but they play out pretty much in the order they appear in the film anyway:

CD 2:

Cosmogony Part 1
Dramatic Moments No. 1
Sinistre
Dramatic Moments No. 2
Violence
Cosmogony Part 3
Eclipse – that kind of sounds as if it could be the score to a Tom & Jerry cartoon, just a little more threatening!
Dark Forest – xylophone, tambourine and flute!
Cause I’m A Man
Figments (just called “Figment” in the earlier release)
Dynamise 65
Cosmogony Part 4
The Mask of Death
Cosmogony Part 2
Victorian Vintage (the swanee whistled jaunty ‘escalator’ music after the power gets turned on to the mall for the first time! Although with that title I am now imagining it working just as well underscoring Charles Laughton drunkenly weaving home at the beginning of Hobson's Choice!)
Queka
Scarey I
Scarey II
Zap
Spinechiller
Violent Payoff Version 2
Waiting For The Man (that is used under the helicopter refuelling scene)
Flossie
Neurotic Bird (underscoring Fran versus the Hare Krishna zombie)
Desert de Glace
Dank Earth (Part I) (known as “Dark Earth” in the previous release. Later sampled in the opening track of the 2005 Gorillaz album, Demon Days)
Red Sequence
Barrage
Face At The Window (Fran meeting the Baseball player zombie and then the pan across the mall full of dead zombies)
___

CD 3:

We Are The Champions * (the opening part of the mall montage scene where everybody is playing arcade games)
Ragtime Razzamatazz * (mall montage continued – clothes shopping)
Tango Tango * (mall montage scene continued – the ice rink bit)
Fugarock * (mall montage scene concluded with a casual stroll through the mall to funky electronic Bach-ing muzak)
Sonata
El Chapo – beautiful cello and harp on this track
Dramaturgy Part 1 (just “Dramaturgy” on the earlier release)
Night Life
Sun High (the desolation montage of disillusionment)
Cantano (the Spanish guitar piece that plays underneath the argument at the dinner table over the TV)
On His Own
Mechanical High Jinx (the bikers having fun)
Dramaturgy Part 2 (the battle)
So Fantastico (the evisceration and Stephen in the lift)
Violence Sting 1
Caverne de Glace
Dramatic Moments No. 3
Deserted Vaults (Fran and Peter separate as the zombies enter the upstairs sanctum)
Action Pack (the ‘happy ending’ as Peter springs up from his torpor)
Kadath (helicoptering into the sunset – combined with Dramatic Moments No. 4 in final film)
Proud Action (Peter jumping into the helicopter)
Dramatic Moments No. 4 (helicoptering into the sunset – combined with Kadath in final film)
The Gonk

* We Are The Champions, Ragtime Razzamatazz, Tango Tango and Fugarock all appear in the “Mall Montage Scene” of the “Unreleased Tracks and Music Cues” release, which combines them and fades them in and out in the manner heard in the film itself.

It was particularly great to hear more of the Cosmogony tracks, which in their drawn out drones feel as if they anticipate some of Jonny Greenwood's work with Smear or the There Will Be Blood score. And it was particularly nice to now have some names attached to the music cues, which highlighted the work of Pierre Arvay in his mournfully beautiful pieces (Eclipse, Desert de Glace, Sonata, El Chapo, Caverne de Glace).

By the way the one De Wolfe track from Dawn of the Dead that does not appear on the above collection is "Wide Horizon/Ice Floe" (another Pierre Arvay piece!) that briefly occurs as the bikers are massing and our heroes are locking down the gates of the mall the best they can before they arrive. It might be because that piece of music is even better known for its stop-and-start usage over the ascetic Bergman-styled opening credits (the ones with "WIK" and "ALSØ WIK" etc!) of Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

I have been enjoying the essays contained in the book that comes with the set, particularly the two that come in the middle of the collection: "Dawn Man: Challenged Masculinity in Dawn of the Dead" by Manuela Lazic (which focuses on the way that Stephen kind of abandons Francine as he becomes infatuated with the mall and playing wargames with the two soldiers Peter and Roger, whilst Francine remains more pragmatic about the transient nature of their current environment. After all she has a new life to protect, rather than just a lifestyle to maintain) and a companion piece to it in a way in "Combat Shock: Reflections on Vietnam and the War Movie Genre in Dawn of the Dead" by Martyn Conterio (which picks up on the seductive idea of creating smaller and more localised conflicts to make an otherwise overwhelming situation manageable, from the apartment block at the opening to colonising the mall, before the all out battle for dominance at the end which just ruins the illusion for the living by showing that the dead always win in such battles).

I particularly like the way that both essays really focus in on Stephen's character and the way that he acts as the 'cautionary tale character', talking about how he kind of 'fails' at roles of masculinity in both spheres he tries to inhabit. In his relationship he becomes too caught up in the excitement over the mall to recognise Francine's doubts and is trying to provide an 'old world' life for her in terms of all of the obvious lifestyle trappings and trinkets (which reaches its apex at the marriage proposal with the ring over a candlelit dinner, which Francine recognises kind of doesn't mean anything in a post-societal breakdown world in which she is the only woman in their 'clan'). Francine herself in a self-protective move even 'usurps' Stephen's key role of being able to fly the helicopter, making him even more expendable.

Stephen also wants to be one of the boys too but gets treated with a bit of condescension by Peter and Roger as the actual soldiers (who the film also critiques for Roger's PTSD-style over confidence and Peter almost getting seduced by the mall himself), getting talked about as "Flyboy" all the time and being both eager to fire a gun yet a terrible shot at the same time (the worst of both worlds!) in the early scenes, along with the second essay talking about the way that Peter kind of denigrates Stephen by implication (and shows the economic and class divisions again) in the gun store scene for his earlier poor skills by the comment that "the only person who could miss with this gun is the sucker with the dough to buy it". He gets to join in with Peter and Roger playing games with the zombies (which turns out to be underestimating their skills in countering any pushback. Roger with the zombies; Stephen with the actual human antagonists of the bikers) at the same time as he cannot communicate with Francine any more about her growing sense of unease about the superficiality and artificially manufactured nature of the situation.

During the truck sequence Stephen is probably the most helpless of all the characters (even Francine gets to fire a shot off from the roof!), stuck in the helicopter only able to try and fruitlessly attract the attention of the other characters to the danger that they are in. Although while both essays set me thinking about this more deeply, I was a little surprised that whilst noting these flaws in Stephen's character neither of them mention the payoff in the ultimate tragedy that Stephen faces - not becoming a zombie but in that scene inside the lift where he fights off the horde despite getting badly bitten in the process he finally does get a perfect head shot for the first time! But there's nobody around to praise him for finally having done that and he ends up dying alone, the revolver left hanging from his newly rigor mortis stricken trigger finger in his zombified state as he returns back to his friends to proudly show off his skills. (In a way he's anticipating Bub being an actual zombie soldier with a dead on aim persisting even after death in Day of the Dead by being the wannabe version of it)

Second Sight have announced on twitter that they are releasing 'The Babadook' on 4K UHD.

Also, the standard (non-limited) editions of Dawn of the Dead on blu and 4K are scheduled for March.

Pre-order for Raw Limited Edition with a release date of April 19th.

Special Features

• The Girl Can’t Help It: a new interview with Actor Garance Marillier
• Making Ends Meat: a new interview with Producer Jean des Forets
• New audio commentary by film critic Alexandra West
• Audio Commentary with Julia Ducournau and film critic Emma Westwood
• In the Name of Raw: an interview with Director Julia Ducournau
• A Family Affair: a new video essay by film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Raw À Votre Goût –featurette with Julia Ducournau & film critic Emma Westwood
• Quick Bites with Julia Ducournau & film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Genre Matters Panel Discussion
• Australian Premiere Introduction
• Australian Premiere Q&A with Julia Ducournau and Kier-La Janisse
Alternative opening, deleted scenes, trailers
• New optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase
• Perfect-bound booklet with new essays by Hannah Woodhead and Emma Westwood plus interview with Julia Ducournau by Lou Thomas
• 3 collector’s art cards
• 4th art card exclusive to Second Sight store customers

Catalogue number: 2NDBR4128

Certificate: 18

Region: B

L.A. wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:56 pm Pre-order for Raw Limited Edition with a release date of April 19th.

Beautiful! Pre-ordered.

Glad someone's doing this magnificent film justice and I can retire the barebones Universal disc.

Nice surprise. I was about to order the Universal release from Germany (for third of the price), but will definitely get the Second Sight edition instead.

I figured at best they'd just port the great Australian release, but no, they had to go and add even more extras. Now I'm conflicted.

If I remember the subs were burned-in on the Australian Blu-ray. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I’d have to check. Don’t really notice if subs are forced unless they’re in a language other than english.

I just saw that Second Sight’s working on a release of Lake Mungo. Don’t let the “found footage” format of this one put you off, it’s a really good film dealing with grief; and you know, a little something more since it’s a horror film.

Oh yeah, that's a good one

Second Sight seem to be working with Nicolas Winding Refn on a 4K UHD release of Drive

Adam X wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:57 am I just saw that Second Sight’s working on a release of Lake Mungo. Don’t let the “found footage” format of this one put you off, it’s a really good film dealing with grief; and you know, a little something more since it’s a horror film.

I just saw Lake Mungo this weekend and enjoyed it more than I expected! It had some real emotional complexity.

Old news, but it was announced last month that the non-Limited Edition releases for Dawn of the Dead will be available on March 22. (The limited editions have pretty much sold out, but leftover copies seem to trickle out once in a while, so check with retailers if you're looking for them.) The UHD set is £29.99, and the BD set is £24.99, and they're both pretty loaded - four discs apiece, with three discs featuring a different cut and the fourth loaded with bonus features. A pretty excellent deal for those of us who balked at the pricey "limited" editions, which went for £69.99 and £79.99 for the BD and UHD editions respectively.

(For the most part, the non-limited editions lose everything that wasn't on a BD, like three audio CD's and two books. You can see what's been marked as "limited edition" contents here.)

Also, they made this announcement about Walkabout (still being offered as a limited edition BD set, no UHD sadly):

"We recently discovered some of our stock for this release had some very slight damage. We have been discussing replacements and are pleased to say we will have additional stock for this release coming soon. We will update with date once confirmed."

FWIW, for U.S. buyers, I think Rarewaves currently has the best deal on the limited edition Walkabout - less than $40, though that doesn't include shipping. (If you're a new customer, sign up for the newsletter and get a 10% discount - I think shipping is more or less a flat fee up to a certain point, so if you load up, the discount will cancel it out and then some. You're not charged for sales tax either.)

hearthesilence wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:37 amAlso, they made this announcement about Walkabout (still being offered as a limited edition BD set, no UHD sadly)

I ordered their Walkabout release along with a few other things from their webstore prior to that announcement, and recently received it in a separate parcel, so I’d say that issue’s dealt with.

Lake Mungo Limited Edition available for pre-order. Release date May 31st.

Special Features

• Archive audio commentary by Producer David Rapsey and DoP John Brawley
• New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Emma Westwood
• Captured Spirits: an interview with DoP John Brawley
• Ghost in the Machine: an interview with Producer David Rapsey
• A Cop and a Friend: an interview with Actors Carole Patullo & James Lawson
• Kindred Spirits: Filmmakers Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead on Lake Mungo
• Hosting Spirits: Filmmaker Rob Savage on Lake Mungo
• Simulacra and Spirits: a video essay by film academic Josh Nelson
• Autopsy of a Family Home: a video essay by filmmaker Joseph Wallace
• Deleted Scenes
• English SDH subtitles for the hearing impaired

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thomas Walker
• 80 page soft cover book with new essays by Sarah Appleton, Simon Fitzjohn, Rich Johnson, Mary Beth McAndrews and Shellie McMurdo; an interview with actor James Lawson by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; plus rare behind-the-scenes photos courtesy of John Brawley
• 3 art cards with new illustrations by Thomas Walker

Catalogue number: 2NDBR4132

Certificate: 15

Region: Free

Second Sight are really killing it with both their film choices and covers. Anyone know if they ship to the US?

They do.

Thank you for confirming, Swo! Much appreciated!

Second Sight wrote:***MARTIN UPDATE***
“Following a lot of discussions and some logistical delays over the past year we finally have more news on Martin. Originally intended as a Blu-ray only release we are now going ahead with a 4K UHD as well. This means going back to the original scan and a new restoration in 4K which will take some time. We hope for a late summer release and will keep you posted. Thanks for everyone’s patience on this one.”

The best sort of delay