Alex Huys

History in film

 

 

 

Night of the Living Dead

 

 

Release date:

October 1st 1968

 

Directed by:
George A. Romero

Writer:
George A. Romero

John A. Russo

 

Cast:

 

 

Duane Jones ...  Ben

 Judith O'Dea ...  Barbra

 Karl Hardman ...  Harry Cooper

 Marilyn Eastman ...  Helen Cooper/Bug-eating zombie

 Keith Wayne ...  Tom

 Judith Ridley ...  Judy

 Kyra Schon ...  Karen Cooper/Upstairs body

 Charles Craig ...  Newscaster/Zombie

 S. William Hinzman ...  Cemetery Zombie (original and new scenes) (as Bill Heinzman)

 George Kosana ...  Sheriff McClelland

 Frank Doak ...  Scientist

 Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille ...  Field reporter

 A.C. McDonald ...  Zombie/Posse Member

 Samuel R. Solito ...  Zombie/Posse Member

 Mark Ricci ...  Washington scientist

 

Overview:

Night of the Living Dead was originally released into theatres in 1968, but has had many subsequent re-releases. The main brain behind this movie was George A. Romero but many forget to credit John A. Russo, who was the co-writer (who just like Romero, went on to create a zombie series of his own, known today as the living dead series.) Because the original distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, neglected to place a copyright on Night of the Living Dead, but instead on Night of the Flesh Eaters (which was the original working title), the movie has fallen under public domain, because of this, there about 23 versions being retailed on DVD and 19 on VHS. The majority of these releases were slapped together by companies not associated with Romero for the sole purpose of generated money at the expense of unknowing fans. The only ones worth getting are the 20th Century Fox release and the Romero approved Elite Entertainment millennium edition. The main story follows the main character of Ben and his survival alongside other humans against a Zombie onslaught. One by one they slowly succumb to the zombie menace, either by turning into to one through a bite or by being eaten alive.

 

Historical Accuracy:

Since there is very little relevance to history in the film, other then subtle notion of zombies to communism, and Romero’s efforts to portray the racism of that time period through characters in the movie, I will discuss how the Zombie emerged through folklore in the American Slave trade. The original zombies were created through voodoo in the Afro-Caribbean culture. They were people who had their souls taken away thus lacking free-will resulting in them working as slaves for a “zombie-master”. Early American films that first dealt with zombies were victor Halpein’s White Zombie (1932) , Jacques Tourneurs I walked with a zombie (1943), and John Gilling’s The plague of zombies (1966). George A. Romero is regarded as the first one to instate the zombie rules, such as that they are flesh eaters, one bullet to head will kill them, and that fire is the only proper way to dispose of the body. For more information on the zombie culture and zombie films I highly recommend the website www.zmdb.org

 

Entertainment:

I highly recommend this movie. It’s a classic, a must see and very entertaining regardless of its age.