Horror movie vet, Danielle Harris (Halloween) along with Jesse Corti, Bill Moseley, Joe Pilato, Alona Tal and Cornell Womack are lending their voices to “Night of the Living Dead: Origins.”
Ok, you know how I love any, anything in 3-D. So again with the happy when it comes to this one. Check out the zombietails:

De Soto also said nearly all zombie movies end up in an enclosed environment, be it a house or a mall, and he aims to change that. He’s counting on the CGI technology that he and his New Golden Digital effects company is developing.
“I wanted to make this look like a living Monet; it’s expressionism,” De Soto said. “It’s going to be the first zombie movie played on a epic scale. This is the ‘Empire of the Sun’ of zombie films. … I lived through the L.A. riots and saw the city on fire; I remember seeing people running, people getting pulled out of cars. And with 9/11, these images have been ingrained on people of my generation. I just thought that is the way it would really be, a lot of chaos.”

Source: www.heatvisionblog.com

Have you seen George A. Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead film from 1968? No?!? Go to Hulu and watch it tonight!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/41065/night-of-the-living-dead

(I tried to embed the video for you, but it wouldn’t work for some reason.)

This film has one of the best horror film endings ever! Don’t be fooled by remakes! Although, the newest remake shows some promise.

Night of the Living Dead: Origins, a 3D CGI reimaging of the original is in the works. New director Zebediah de Soto is at the helm. Here are some more details from The Hollywood Reporter By Borys Kit:

The story again follows a group of humans trying to stay alive during a zombie attack.

Corti (“Heroes”) is voicing a news reporter, and Harris (“Halloween II”) plays a woman who held her family together forced to come to grips with its absence.

Moseley (“Carnivale”) is reprising the role he portrayed in a 1990 live-action remake “Living Dead”: a Wall Street-type with an expense account attitude.

Pilato, who appeared in 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead,” is voicing Harry Cooper, a blue-collar worker who lives for his injured daughter, and Tal (“Supernatural”) voices his wife, Helen, who blames her husband for all the ills of the world.

Womack (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”) is a no-nonsense New York cop.

The movie is being animated with the voicework in the early stages

De Soto said some of the casting is “a nod to Romero fans. Horror is a genre and zombie movies are a subgenre that people have been following for years and years.”

De Soto, whose background is in the commercials world, said he grew up in a household where his mother forbade him to watch television, fearing it would lead to smoking and drinking. When he finally saw his first horror movie, Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” it made such an impression on him that it created an obsession.

“When you’re not allowed to watch TV and then you see this movie where this broadcaster speaks about this (zombie) disaster, it translated as so real to me,” he said.

De Soto also said nearly all zombie movies end up in an enclosed environment, be it a house or a mall, and he aims to change that. He’s counting on the CGI technology that he and his New Golden Digital effects company is developing.

“I wanted to make this look like a living Monet; it’s expressionism,” De Soto said. “It’s going to be the first zombie movie played on a epic scale. This is the ‘Empire of the Sun’ of zombie films. … I lived through the L.A. riots and saw the city on fire; I remember seeing people running, people getting pulled out of cars. And with 9/11, these images have been ingrained on people of my generation. I just thought that is the way it would really be, a lot of chaos.”

“Put a unique spin on this, throw it out there so it can grow legs, get some traction and go viral.  I want a footprint!”

I woke in a cold sweat.

Words and phrases that should be killed are sprouting faster than zombies in a George A.Romero film.   They’re more persistent than sallow vampires in the twilight.  I can’t stop thinking about them though some say I’m anal (props to Freud for that evergreen).  Others have likened our kind to being word police, but I consider us mavericks.  No, wait.  The paunchy maverick slid back to the Senate  and unleashed The Rogue.

Yikes!  I step back from that since the first definition of “rogue” in dictionary.com is “a dishonest, knavish person; a scoundrel.”  Hmm.  Well, I guess it’s safe to call yourself a rogue if you know your audience never uses a dictionary.

Actually, I’m just a guy who loves the language, respects the creative use of it and dislikes lazy use of language, especially among “educated” professionals.  I’m just giving you a heads-up that.

Really, I’m being totally transparent.

The phrase making the sales rep rounds is “reaching out.”  Several, from different parts of the country have used that on me, always beginning, “Dennis, I’d like to reach out and see how our company can help you.”

Well, friend, it’s like this:  if I’m drowning, I really want you to reach out and help me.  However, if your goal is to fill inventory, get the manager off your back and boost your commission, a simple media kit will do.  If it looks like your station is a good fit, I’ll reach out to you.

And then you know what we’ll do?  We’ll have a conversation!

Actually I’ve heard this in higher ed more than in the media.  It usually begins with a problem (masked as “a challenge”) between two people or parties who disagree (have “different goals”) and the path to a solution is to have one of these conversations.  Conversation implies civility which means you can’t raise your voice or even let your face get red from rising blood pressure.

“Conversations” are bland, mishmashes of buzzwords that suffocate our ancient instincts to reach out and kill the opponent.

Hey,  I’m just sayin’. . . .

****

( I’ve had a lot of feedback from readers.  I’m thinking of setting up a separate page with all three posts and everyone’s contributions.  So please send me the words and phrases that drive you nuts.)

Note:  Thanks to the guys over at Target x  who picked up on our shared love of language and continued the, umm, conversation.

Logo Zombis

A veces uno no sabe muy bien como van a ir estas cosas, pero nos pusimos en contacto con el Terrat TV y con mucho morro y desparpajo, y sobre todo gracias a la magna labor de Adrià, hemos conseguido una entrevista, a estas nuevas estrellas supervivientes o murientes del Apocalipsis Zombie!

1) ¿De dónde surge la idea de hacer una serie sobre zombis y siendo vosotros los únicos supervivientes de un Apocalipsis Zombi?

-Rafel Barceló: Los zombis nos encantan desde hace tiempo. Esas caras semi-podridas, esos andares, esos gritos guturales… son entrañables. Lo de que los protagonistas sean dos supervivientes, a parte de ser una de las constantes del género, nos permite hacer humor sobre cosas muy serias: ¿Cómo debe plantearse una nueva civilización? ¿Qué debe pasar a la posteridad? ¿Si se hacen nuevas leyes, cuales se conservan y cuales no? Y así…

- Berto Romero: Desde hacía tiempo nos apetecía hacer algo de este tipo. Una misma situación con dos personajes y una buena excusa para hablar de cualquier cosa. Dos tipos no demasiado inteligentes con todo el tiempo del mundo para pensar, charlar e intentar construir su propio futuro nos pareció una situación muy adecuada.

2) ¿Por qué elegís los zombis y no cualquier otro personaje de terror, como por ejemplo: hombres lobo, vampiros, momias, etc,etc…?

- RB: Los zombis son los que permiten más la metáfora. Son monstruos, pero antes de serlo eran tus vecinos, y en algunos casos tu familia. Eso permite muchas lecturas. Como masa idiotizada estamos muy cerca de ellos. Personalmente odio a Drácula, con su elegancia y sus maneras de noble. Lleva capa, por Dios, será hortera…

- BR: Las pelis de zombis siempre se apoyan en la metáfora. Eso nos gusta, y quisimos trasladarlo al tipo de comedia que nos gusta. Pero tranquilos, que no profundizamos y vamos a hacer caricatura de temas generales. Va por ahí la cosa, sí.

Rafel Barceló & Berto Romero - supervivientes!

- RB: Las de Romero todas, Zombis Party, Brain Dead, Evil Dead…

- BR: Totalmente de acuerdo. Muertos vivientes power. Recomiendo “Dead Set”, la miniserie de Channel 4. Muy buena.

4) ¿Qué preferís un Muerto Viviente o un Vivo viviente?

- RB: En principio prefiero a los vivos. Pero tampoco muy vivientes. Vivos Tranquilitos.

- BR: Por mi experiencia, vivos vivientes. Quiero decir que nunca he visto uno de los otros. No existen de verdad, ¿verdad? ¿eh? ¿verdad?

5) ¿Tu novia es un zombi? (Si es posible, mientras respondéis escuchad Alaska de fondo…)

- RB: Mi mujer no es un zombi. Aunque si lo fuera yo sería de los que intentaría mantenerla en un cuartucho con vida. Debe ser muy fuerte dispararle a la cabeza a tu pareja.

- BR: Mi novia es muy buena persona, y por lo que yo sé, mantiene sus constantes vitales en todo momento.

6) ¿Necrofilia o Necrofagia? (Tenéis que mojaros!)

- RB: Necrofagia. ¿Cuando quedamos? Tengo un patio con barbacoas.

- BR: Necrofagia siempre. ¿Qué somos? ¿Unos degenerados o qué?

7) Por ahora habéis tocado temas como el amor, la religión, la fiesta,… ¿Y para cuando tenéis pensado tocar la Crisis?

- RB: No lo sabemos. Aunque nuestros planes son tocar temas más universales, y menos de actualidad. De manera que si quisiéramos tocar algo parecido a la crisis sería el capitalismo, o la avaricia.

- BR: Yo creo que estar en un mundo dominado por los zombis ya es bastante crisis. No veo cómo añadirle otra a la situación, la verdad.

Zombólogo (Zombi + Monólogo)

Aparte de vosotros dos como zombis, ¿Tenéis pensado hacer alguna invitación tipo Guest Star al Follonero, Andreu Buenafuente,..?

- RB: No lo hemos planteado todavía, pero yo creo que a los dos nos ha pasado por la cabeza.

- BR: Sí, estamos abiertos a todo. Y en cuanto a la serie, también.

9) Al igual que las pelis de George A. Romero conllevan una moraleja y una crítica social, ¿Cuál sería vuestra función social?

- RB: Yo creo que esta: “si no queda otra persona en el mundo, más vale que te lleves bien con esta”

- BR: Yo tengo otra: “Si todos los demás están muertos, tú siempre estarás en la flor de la vida”.

10) ¿Por que elegís Internet a través de El Terrat TV como vía de promoción de vuestra serie?

- RB: De una manera natural. Nosotros teníamos en la cabeza esta serie desde hace tiempo. El terrat empezó a hablar de una tele por Internet. Nosotros colaboramos con el terrat y estamos a muy a gusto.

- BR: Yo la quería para prime time en la Sexta los domingos, pero cuando se lo propuse a los directivos se echaron a reir y se fueron a otra sala.

11) ¿Zombies o Infectados?

- RB: Creo que es lo de menos. Lo que importa son los resultados. Aunque personalmente soy un romántico y me gustan las explicaciones que incluyen contaminación atómica.

- BR: Zombis, zombis. Que infectados son los de la Gripe A.

Muchas gracias a los dos! Y como colofón (que no es lo mismo que colocón!) final… El nuevo episodio de Zombi:

Zombi / 4 – Civilización
¿Civilización o barbarie? Ese el gran dilema de cualquier sociedad humana. Especialmente si vive rodeada de zombies con hambre de cerebro.

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese is president of the Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the prevention of the decaying of motion picture film stock.

Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and violence. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas; all of which he collaborated on with actor Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed and earned an MFA in film directing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Trivia:

Listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the film Kundun (1997), which Scorsese directed. [19 December 1996]

Awarded third annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995]

Presented with a special tribute at the 1976 Telluride Film Festival. It was presented by Michael Powell. [1976]

He is a longtime friend and was once a housemate of The Band’s Robbie Robertson. He directed The Last Waltz (1978), the documentary of their supposedly last gig which Robertson produced. Robertson later produced the soundtrack for Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986).

Good friends with editor Thelma Schoonmaker & cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Scorsese introduced Thelma to her husband Michael Powell and he often quotes Powell as an influence.

His name is pronounced “Scor-sez-see”.

He directed Michael Jackson’s Bad (1987) (V) music video. The full length video runs 16 minutes and is in both black & white and color. It is usually shortened down to just the color segment for television.

He appears as attached to his pet white Bichon Frise Zoe as he was to his beloved parents – except Zoe is right beside Marty every day in the office.

Daughter Francesca Scorsese born. [16 November 1999]

John Woo dedicated his action film Dip huet seung hung (1989) (“The Killer”) to Scorsese on a commentary he did for the movie’s DVD.

Daughter Domenica Cameron-Scorsese with Julia Cameron.

Taught both Oliver Stone and Spike Lee at NYU.

Was at one point going to make a movie about the life of comedian Richard Pryor.

He was an altar boy at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was used in his early films I Call First (1967) and Mean Streets (1973). Old St. Patrick’s is also where the baptism scene in The Godfather (1972) took place.

Was at one point slated to direct Clockers (1995), but for reasons that are not entirely clear, handed the directing chores to his onetime NYU student Spike Lee, while staying on as producer. He was also at one point going to direct Little Shop of Horrors (1986) for David Geffen, with Steven Spielberg as the executive producer. He was ultimately uninvolved, but claims that he wanted to shoot the movie in 3-D. It no doubt would have been a loving homage to Roger Corman, for whom he directed Boxcar Bertha (1972).

He took a cameo in his film Taxi Driver (1976) (as a man about to kill his wife) only because the actor who was supposed to play the role was sick on the day the scene was to be shot. Says he is generally uncomfortable in front of the camera.

Has a dog named Silas.

Is the subject of the song “Martin Scorsese” by alternative band King Missile.

Father of actress Cathy Scorsese from his first marriage.

Is of Italian-Sicilian descent.

Has asthma.

Of the three films he’s been trying to make since the mid-1970s, he has done two: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002). The third film, a biopic of Dean Martin called “Dino”, has been on hiatus at Warner Brothers since the late 1990s. Scorsese has a very specific all A-list cast in mind, probably why it has yet to be produced. He wants Tom Hanks to star as Martin, Jim Carrey to play Jerry Lewis, John Travolta to play Frank Sinatra, Hugh Grant to play Peter Lawford, and Adam Sandler to play Joey Bishop.

Was voted the 4th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, making him the only living person in the top 5 and the only working film director in the top 10 (Ingmar Bergman being retired as a filmmaker).

Appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000) as a shrill version of himself who comes to regret his decision to cast Larry David as a violent gangster in a movie after David repeatedly ruins the suit he needs to wear as the character.

Several characters in his films refer to the legendary (noir) actor John Garfield, star of the original The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), which is also mentioned.

He was one of three major directors to have been offered the opportunity to direct Schindler’s List (1993) by producer Steven Spielberg, the other two being Roman Polanski and Billy Wilder. Scorsese thought a Jewish filmmaker should direct it; Polanski wasn’t yet ready to deal with the painful subject (having lost his mother in the Holocaust); and Wilder (who was retired and who lost his mother and grandmother in the Holocaust) finally told Spielberg that he should do it himself.

Because so many of his actors win or are nominated for awards, actors are dying to work with him. The film With Friends Like These… (1998) pokes fun at this very real desire.

Both The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002) were personal passions of his that he had wanted to make since the 1970s. When he first starting considering them, Robert De Niro was in his mind to play the lead characters in both (Jesus Christ in “Temptation” and Bill Cutting in “Gangs”). De Niro ultimately turned down the part in “Temptation” and it was decided he was too old to play Cutting by the time that “Gangs” finally went into production.

He has famously collaborated with Robert De Niro in 8 films. Scorsese has said that his creative collaboration with De Niro is very deep and that they can often understand each other without even talking. Their collaboration has had many dry spells (including recently), but Scorsese says he shows almost every script he writes or considers directing to De Niro to see what the actor’s thoughts on them are even when De Niro ultimately has no involvement the film.

Appeared in an “American Express” ad where he goes to pick up photos of his nephew’s birthday party at a drug store, and then proceeds to nervously pick through what’s wrong with each picture while trying to get the clueless photo-lab clerk’s opinion on them. He proceeds to buy more film with an American Express card and calls the people on the pictures saying they need to reshoot. Scorsese says this funny ad is probably the closest he’s come to accurately “playing” himself.

Apart from his legendary work as a filmmaker, he has been a vocal supporter of film preservation for almost three decades. His efforts to create a strong public awareness for the work of film archives include The Film Foundation, a non-profit organisation which he started together with other filmmakers. The Film Foundation regularly partners with the American film archives on the restoration of “lost” or endangered films. With this background he has agreed to serve as Honorary President of the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna.

Personally spurns the notion of the “director’s cut” feeling that once a film has been completed, it should not be further altered in any way.

He lost three best director – and best picture – Oscars to leading-man actors turned directors: Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, and Clint Eastwood (Raging Bull (1980) lost to Redford’s Ordinary People (1980); Goodfellas (1990) to Costner’s Dances with Wolves (1990); The Aviator (2004) to Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (2004)). On the only two occasions when he was Oscar-nominated as Best Director in years ending in zero, he was beaten by actors making their directorial debuts (Redford and Costner).

In 1975, he accepted the Oscar for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” on behalf of Ellen Burstyn, who wasn’t present at the awards ceremony. She won for her performance in Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.

Has mentioned that he thought Robert De Niro’s best performance under his direction was as Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy (1982).

Ranked #3 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Greatest directors ever!” [2005]

His favorite films include: Citizen Kane (1941), The Red Shoes (1948) and Il gattopardo (1963) (“The Leopard”).

Was friend, protégé, and employee of actor-director John Cassavetes.

When asked where audiences would find the next Martin Scorsese, he said to look to Wes Anderson, the young director of Rushmore (1998).

Has directed, as of 2008, 6 biopics: Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997) and The Aviator (2004).

He received a Degree ad honorem in “Cinema, TV and Multimedia Production” from the University of Bologna on 26 November 2005.

Served as mentor to Georgia Lee and invited her to apprentice for Gangs of New York (2002) in Europe.

The 1912 American Mutoscope & Biograph Company short The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) heavily influenced Scorsese in the making of his own gangster films Goodfellas (1990), and Gangs of New York (2002). The film was picked by Scorcese for his 2005 tribute at Beaubourg, centre d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977) in Paris, France. Biograph is the oldest movie company in America and in existence today, headed by producer/director Thomas R. Bond II.

Scorsese and Taxi Driver (1976) are, among others, named as inspiration for the Massive Attack debut “Blue Lines”.

He signed a four-year, first-look deal to develop projects with studio executives of Paramount. [November 2006]

The Departed (2006) is the highest-grossing movie of his 40-year career ($132,373,442 (USA)).

The Aviator (2004) was his first movie to gross over $100 million in the U.S.

He has worked with big names of music business: Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, ‘Michael Jackson (I)’ and David Bowie.

Directed 17 different actors in Oscar nominated performances: Jodie Foster, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis , Cate Blanchett, Winona Ryder, Ellen Burstyn, Sharon Stone, Diane Ladd,Cathy Moriarty, Juliette Lewis, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Newman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Alda and Mark Wahlberg. (Burstyn, De Niro, Newman, Pesci and Blanchett won Oscars for their roles in one of Scorsese’s movies).

When he won his Best Director Oscar for The Departed (2006), he received the award from legendary directors, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg. The four were part of the “New Hollywood” movement of the 1970s and combined have 9 Academy Awards and 38 Nominations.

As a teenager in the Bronx, Scorsese frequently rented Michael Powell’s The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) from a store that only had one copy of the reels. When it wasn’t available the owner told him, “that Romero kid has it,” referring to George A. Romero who was also a big fan of the film. Today, both directors cite the film as a major influence.

Says he was happy with the fact that it took so long for him to win Best Director, because if he had won it earlier, it would have affected his directing and films.

Recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipients that year were Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, and Brian Wilson.

Says the only thing he regrets in his career is that he was only able to make The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) on a small budget although he imagined it to be a grand version.

Was originally going to direct The Honeymoon Killers (1969), but was replaced after a week of shooting.

Served as a guest critic on “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies” (1986) following the death of ‘Gene Siskel’. The episode was “The Best Films of the 90s” in which Roger Ebert cited Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as one of the best films of the 90s (#3). Scorsese’s full list of his favorite films of the 1990s: 10.) Tie: Malcolm X (1992) and Heat (1995), 9.) Fargo (1996), 8.) Crash (1996), 7.) Bottle Rocket (1994), 6.) Breaking the Waves (1996), 5.) Bad Lieutenant (1992), 4.) Eyes Wide Shut (1999), 3.) Duo sang (1994) (“A Borrowed Life”), 2.) The Thin Red Line (1998), 1.) Dao ma zei (1986) (“Horse Thief”).

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

Resides in New York City. His production offices are located on W. 57th Street in Manhattan.

Attended Cardinal Hayes high school in the Bronx as a young man. Fellow alumni included George Carlin, George Dzundza, Regis Philbin and Jamal Mashburn.

Is a fan of the British Hammer Films series.

A huge fan of Fawlty Towers (1975). He describes the episode “The Germans” as “so tasteless, its hilarious.”.

In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 7 of Scorsese’s films are listed: Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Departed (2006).

Haig Manoogian was Scorsese’s mentor at NYU. He eventually produced Scorsese’s first film (I Call First (1967)) and when he died in 1980, Scorsese dedicated Raging Bull (1980) to Manoogian.

Roger Ebert is a great admirer of Scorsese’s work. 14 of Scorsese’s films were given four stars by Ebert (Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), After Hours (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shine a Light (2008)), seven of his films are in Ebert’s Great Movies list (“Mean Streets”, “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull”, “After Hours”, “The Last Temptation Of Christ”, “Goodfellas”, and “The Age of Innocence”), and Ebert has written an entire book of his reviews, interviews and essays on Scorsese’s work simply titled “Scorsese By Ebert”.

As of November 10th 2009, five of his films are on the IMDb’s Top 250 Films list: Goodfellas (1990), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Departed (2006), and Casino (1995).

Amazon Specials!

O que me incomodou em Distrito 9 foi a tentativa desesperada de justificar a fantasia pelo verossímil. A impressão é que cada cena (principalmente na primeira metade do filme) parece exclamar: “você está vendo um filme de alienígenas, mas isso não é importante, afinal tudo se trata de uma metáfora.” É aí que reside o problema do filme de estréia do sul-africano Neill Blomkamp. Não funciona como um tratado sociológico e muito menos como uma obra de ficção.

Na trama, uma nave resolve parar em cima de Johannesburgo, na África do Sul. Ao longo de vinte anos, os alienígenas são capturados, assentados e organizam uma grande favela na periferia da cidade. E tudo isso é narrado na forma de documentário, temos falsos especialistas que falam, cenas filmadas como em telejornais. Tudo para dar o ar verossímil à situação inusitada.

Se houve um acerto, foi colocar a África do Sul como o cenário para a tese do filme, mostrando como o ser humano é especialista em rejeitar o outro. Toda a problemática causada pela diversidade de povos e culturas residentes no país africano é apresentada em Distrito 9.  Há uma clara separação entre os sul-africanos negros, os descendentes de holandeses, de ingleses, os nigerianos. E os alienígenas entram como um elemento estranho para evidenciar tudo isso.

No entanto, ao deixar que esse pano de fundo tome conta da obra, Blomkamp cai na própria armadilha. A trama acaba perdendo fôlego pois não desperta interesse. Sabe-se que a história não vai a lugar algum, sabe-se que existem obras mais profundas e interessantes sobre a tese abordada.

Saí do cinema com um filme na cabeça: O Despertar dos Mortos, de George A. Romero. Uma aula. Filme que pode ser visto com todos os olhos, olhos de caça ou de caçador. Além de uma fantasia maravilhosa, também é um visceral mergulho na sociedade norte-americana. Violenta e sutil, a obra-prima de Romero é forte em todos os seus aspectos. Coisa que o indeciso Distrito 9 não é.

di Emanuele Di Nicola

La premessa
Se solitamente è il contenuto che conta, stavolta è impossibile non segnalare il destino distributivo del film di George A. Romero. Diary of the Dead (2007), quinto capitolo della serie degli zombie, firmato da un regista che ha più volte riscritto le regole della narrazione cinematografica (tra i ’60 e gli ’80, ma non solo), esce con due anni di ritardo in un’unica sala italiana (Nuovo Cinema L’Aquila, Roma, quartiere Pigneto).

Acquistato in Italia dalla piccola e indipendente PFA Films, opera indipendente essa stessa (come tradizione del maestro), Diary ottiene una collocazione invisibile che non permetterà a nessuno di conoscerlo. Sperando nel futuro conforto di un Dvd, allora, dobbiamo registrare l’ennesimo episodio di oscurantismo contro un monumento – oggi non più di moda, ahinoi – e sperare che Survival of the Dead (sesto capitolo dei morti viventi, in concorso a Venezia 2009) guadagni un’altra visibilità.

Il film
Telegiornali pilotati, notizie embedded, versioni ufficiali. Dall’altra parte blogger, myspace, YouTube. E’ chiaro, stavolta è il sistema dell’informazione il bersaglio degli zombie di Romero. I quali, come al solito, sono l’innesco non di un semplice horror (peraltro destabilizzante nell’escalation di tensione), ma di una più ampia riflessione sul tessuto sociale americano e – per metonimia – globale. Cosa è vero e cosa è falso di ciò che vediamo in televisione? Il film apre con questo interrogativo, presentando un servizio di telegiornale sullo strano caso di una famiglia di immigrati negli States (e sottolineo: immigrati) che si “risveglia” dopo morta… Il filmato sarà poi manipolato nella messa in onda ufficiale, per rassicurare la popolazione sull’ennesima invasione, mentre circolerà in versione integrale online, riaffermando il contenuto della “notizia”. Per semplificare, media ufficiali/nuovi media è il dualismo che innerva l’intera pellicola.

Ma la questione è più complessa di così: al centro dell’intreccio, infatti, è il solito gruppo di ragazzi che vuole girare un film e usa telecamere amatoriali per catturare il risveglio dei morti. Subito si apre la riflessione sul mezzo, quindi il secondo livello di lettura, come in Cloverfield per intenderci. Il personaggio del regista, caricando un video zombiesco sul suo myspace, afferma trionfante: “Abbiamo avuto 70mila contatti in 8 minuti!”. Ma non era la televisione che comanda la nazione? Forse è il web, dunque. Però attenzione: Diary lascia intendere chiaramente che la metastasi di notizie incontrollate, dove ognuno racconta la sua versione del fatto, può generare mostri. In ogni caso, esattamente come per il cineasta, l’indipendenza resta il timone da seguire per un’informazione sostanzialmente trasparente.

Tutte riflessioni che si inseriscono comunque in un “film di Romero”: nel senso più classico del termine, con azione sincopata, istanti di horror puro (la memorabile scena del clown e la bambina), sarcasmo sociale a palate – l’arrivo dei militari: e sulle malefatte del potere si spengono le telecamere -, deliri apocalittici. E’ la fine del mondo e il predicatore urla dalla radio: “Pentitevi! Mettetevi in ginocchio!”. Come in Zombi (Dawn of the Dead, 1978) il prete con una gamba sola avvertiva i due soldati: “Quando non ci sarà più posto all’inferno, i morti cammineranno sulla terra…”. Romero è sempre imprescindibile, se qualcuno ce lo fa vedere.

(Diary of the Dead – Regia: George A. Romero – Cast: Joshua Close, Michelle Morgan, Shawn Roberts – Durata: 95′ – Distribuzione: PFA Films)

Fonte: Cinepressa Blog

Diary of the Dead, noto anche come George A. Romero ’s Diary of the Dead, è un film del 2007 horror americano. Anche se prodotto in maniera indipendente, è stato distribuito nelle sale dalla Dimension Films ed è stato rilasciato nelle sale cinematografiche il 15 febbraio 2008 e il DVD di The Weinstein Company e Genius Entertainment il 20 maggio 2008.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Fantastico | Horror | Thriller | George A. Romero | Michelle Morgan | Joshua Close | Shawn Roberts

Many fans know that Night of the Living Dead was originally titled Night of the Flesh Eaters. The name was changed at the last minute, at the behest of the distributor, and the rushed adjustment had unfortunate consequences. Since the new title frames lacked a copyright notice, the movie passed into the public domain immediately—and the filmmakers lost out on a lot of money. But what if the movie had retained its original title? For one thing, the title frames would probably have looked something like this:

Also, as long as we’re in this alternate reality, it’s fun to speculate on possible names for the sequels. Would Romero have followed a similar tack to what actually happened, giving us Dawn of the Flesh Eaters, Day of the Flesh Eaters, Land of the Flash Eaters, Diary of the Flesh Eaters and Survival of the Flesh Eaters? Unlikely. I think he would have taken a more varied approach. After all, “Flesh Eaters” has a slightly goofy ring to it, despite the bald-faced, cannibalistic meaning. Imagine George Zucco or Bela Lugosi, circa 1950, surrounded by cardboard sets and cheesy flesh eaters. Easy, right? “Living Dead,” on the other hand, is like a snatch of grim poetry. The word combination is impossible, intriguing, and wrong in the best kind of way. The complete title, Night of the Living Dead, has rhythm and balance, almost like a line from a haiku. It rolls right off the tongue, while that first title is jerky and more difficult to enunciate.

Seems like Night of the Living Dead got its title because that’s how it was meant to be. With any other moniker, despite the unmistakable quality of the movie itself, it might have sunk without a trace, and the Zombie Godfather of Pittsburgh would have gone back to making commercials and industrial shorts. Sometimes, bad luck is good luck in disguise.

- Diary of Dead – 2009 – ♥♥♥ e 1\2 -

di

George A. Romero

Non era di certo difficile pensare che la nostra “gloriosa” distribuzione cinematografica italiana facesse giungere l’ ultimo Horror di Romero in così pochi cinema (si possono contare sul palmo di una mano). Perchè non si tratta solo di Horror ma di “political horror” decisamente poco “politically correct”. Diary of Dead utilizzando il punto di vista esclusivo di due videocamere utilizzate dagli stessi protagonisti del film, di telecamere di sorveglianza e videocamere di telefonini è un apologo politico sulla società americana e la sua paura del terrorismo. Un terrore che non viene da fuori ma che è nascosto dentro di noi, in ogni luogo. Infatti nel film chiunque muore è destinato a risvegliarsi e diventare uno zombie “mangia umani”. Ma ancor prima è un film sull’ informazione che ci circonda oggi: quella falsa data dai media a confronto con quella libera su internet che però spesso è eccessiva e confusionaria. E non è quindi difficile pensare ai perchè in un paese come il nostro, che al momento vive proprio questo dilemma informatico un film come questo sia stato così ampiamente censurato dalla distribuzione. La visione in soggettiva ricorda i precedenti REC e Cloverfield, tra i quali il film di Romero si pone esattamente al centro avendo sia la critica verso l’ ossessione delle persone di riprendere tutto (Cloverfield) sia l’ angoscia provocata dalle claustrofobiche riprese in presa diretta che accrescono la suspence (REC). Il voyerismo al quale oggi tutti noi siamo sottoposti trova il suo massimo sfogo nella pellicola horror di Romero nel quale i protagonisti sono del tutto assuefatti dagli orrori della morte e incuranti del rischio preferiscono continuare a riprendere quasi compulsivamente che scappare. Ciò che sicuramente c’è da dire è che il film di Romero è sostanzialmente  un film indipendente che è prodotto con un budget limitato (nonostante l’ ottima fattura del trucco artigianale sembrerebbe non far pensare lo stesso) e che critica fortemente gli attuali teen horror che pur vantando di finanziamenti ben superiori finiscono per riproporre sempre i medesimi format comunicativi del cinema horror standard. In Diary of Dead c’è invece una voglia di evoluzione e di innovazione: la dimensione inscatolata che relegava i protagonisti in un’ unica location che poteva essere una casa, una soffitta o un supermercato qui trova sfogo in un on the road movie che fa attraversare ai suoi personaggi una Pennsylvania colma di svariati quanto differenti microcosmi rurali. L’ unico rammarico resta quello di non vedere mai decollare il quinto film della saga dei morti viventi di Romero. Ci scorre davanti gli occhi quasi come fosse un telegiornale, del quale passivi non possiamo che essere spettatori, anche se non sempre coinvolti emotivamente. La natura umana per Romero non è poi così differente da quella dei suoi zombies. Ognuno è comunque ossessionato da qualcosa. Chi spinto dall’ istinto di uccidere e mordere i vivi. Chi invece è maniacalmente preso dal documentare tutto, anche la morte.

(Riprendere tutto...anche poco prima di morire)

(Zombie artigianali ma verosimili)

George A. Romero was the first man to put flesh eating hordes of the undead onto celluloid in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead. Since then the pasty looking ones have taken on a life of their own (sic), with an endless army of the great exhumed hitting the big screen for our enjoyment and delectation.

Romero set the trend for the super low budget style of the zombie films we know and love today, creating the film on a budget of $114,000 and using a simple narrative, snappy writing, smart camera tricks and clever design and make-up to work with the constraints of his budget rather than against it. The end result was a film that took in a total of $30million worldwide.

Obviously, this seemed like the perfect amateur money making formula. But what the thousands of copy-cats failed to notice was that it was the immaculately constructed script and mythology that went into making Night of the Living Dead such an iconic, subversive piece of cinema, not just gratuitous brain-munching.

And so a new genre was born, the ultra-low budget, mainly god awful and predominantly straight-to-video zombie film. Here lies one of the greatest creations in cinema history, a place where you can enjoy a good 80 minutes of attention grabbing, nonsensical, cinematic bliss – with the most sublimely absurd titles known to man.

For the uninformed, here are some of my favourites:

• Space Zombie Bingo!!! (Three explanation marks, three!)
• Zombie Holocaust (simple, concise, effective)
• Zombie Strippers (for raising the bar of absurdity)
• Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! (a personal favourite and proof repetition gets you noticed)
• Zombie Honeymoon (never a good way to start married life)
• The Zombie Diaries (criminally undermined in the Bridget Jones series)
• Stubbs the Zombie in ‘Rebel Without a Pulse’ (no more explanation needed)
• Wu long tian shi zhao ji gui AKA Kung-Fu Zombie (because we all dreamed that, one day, someone would)
• Gay Zombie (because zombies swing both ways)
• Z: A Zombie Musical (who says the undead can’t sing and dance?)
• Zombie Vegetarians (representing team veggie)
• Get Along Little Zombie (a heartwarming tale of flesh eating youngsters)
• No. My Other Possessed-Zombie Girlfriend. (if there’s a better title out there, I sure as hell don’t know it)

And finally… A few more top zombie facts, zombie-fact-fans:

Although Romero was first to put flesh eating zombies to screen, the first big screen appearance of the zombie was in the 1932 film White Zombie, starring man-god Bela Lugosi as the wonderfully named voodoo master, Murder Legendre.

In writing Night of the Living Dead, Romero openly’ admits to ripping off Richard Matheson’s superb 1954 book, I Am Legend, which everyone should have read.

Despite having no end of trouble finding a distributor for the film (many of whom wanted a re-shot ‘Happy’ ending), Romero refused to change the original print or make cuts to get his film into cinemas and insisted it should be shown in its entirety.

The cause of the zombie outbreak is never explained throughout the film’s duration. This might be obvious to some but it’s a subtlety that lots of people miss – another reason why it is so great. The closest we get to an explanation is offered by a scientist citing radiation from a space probe – another nod to militant cold war tactics in the film.

The film was made using chocolate sauce for blood and cooked ham as a substitute for human flesh, with mortician’s wax as make up for the zombies.

There are nine characters named ‘Zombie-with-gun’ in sequel, Day of the Dead.

It has been remade twice, made 3d and treated in 2004 to produce a colour version of the original. All of these are rubbish.

Everyone can do a good zombie impression, with sound effects. But mine is best.

They Live is a 1988 film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym “Frank Armitage.” The movie is based on Ray Nelson’s 1963 short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning.”

Part science fiction thriller and part dark comedy, the film echoed contemporary fears of a declining economy, within a culture of greed and conspicuous consumption common among Americans in the 1980s. In They Live, the ruling class within the monied elite are in fact aliens managing human social affairs through the use of a signal on top of the tv broadcast that is concealing their appearance and subliminal messages in Mass media.

Trivia:

• The line “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum” was ad-libbed by Roddy Piper. According to director John Carpenter, Piper had taken the line from a list of ideas he had for his pro wrestling interviews.
• The credited writer, “Frank Armitage,” is a pseudonym for the director, John Carpenter. “Frank Armitage” is a reference to a character in Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror.” Carpenter stated in an interview that he agreed with many of Lovecraft’s world views, which helped shape the film’s direction.
• The fight between Nada (Roddy Piper) and Frank (Keith David) was only supposed to last 20 seconds, but Piper and David decided to fight it out for real, only faking the hits to the face and groin. They rehearsed the fight for three weeks. Carpenter was so impressed he kept the 5 minute and 20 second scene intact.
• The communicators that the guards use are the P.K.E. meters from Ghost Busters (1984).
• There is a thinly veiled jab at “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies” (1986), with both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as aliens. “Siskel” is denouncing George A. Romero and John Carpenter as too violent. (In fact, Siskel had written a scathing review of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968).)
• The only character given a first and last name is Holly Thompson (Meg Foster).
• John Carpenter wanted a truly rugged individual to play Nada. He cast wrestler Roddy Piper in the lead role after seeing him in WrestleMania III (1987) (V). Carpenter remembered Keith David’s performance in The Thing (1982) and wrote the role of Frank specifically for the actor.
• Roddy Piper’s character never gives his name nor is he referred to by name throughout the entire movie. He is simply referred to as “Nada” in the credits, which means “nothing” in Spanish. The name is most likely a reference to George Nada, the main character of Ray Nelson’s short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning,” which was the basis for ‘They Live’.
• Graffiti artist Shepard Fairey got his “obey” name from this film.
• SQ1’s video for “Can You Feel” references the scene of revelation in “They Live”.
• The Cripple fight in episode 67 of South Park that aired on June 27, 2001. was taken blow by blow from the fight between Frank and Nada in the alley. If you watch it its a match scene for scene of the alley fight

The preview includes a part of The Breathing Dead Audio Book, Narrated by Paul Rees.

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Check it out and order from:
iTunes
Amazon.com
Audible.com
Audible.co.uk
and all other good download site.

It's great listen for Zombie fans.

5) Ed Non-Morto

Direttamente da: Shaun of the Dead (Film)

Perché ha un posto fra i migliori: Immaginiamo che nessuno possa mettersi a polemizzare sulla presenza in classifica di Ed, ovviamente dopo il processo di zombizzazione, probabilmente il personaggio più divertente del film più divertente del mondo Zombie. Chi non vorrebbe avere un amico zombie a casa, con cui giocare alla playstation o da coccolare come un cucciolo? L’importanza di Ed è proprio questa: uno Zombie può esserci amico, l’importante è tenerlo in catene.

4) Lo Zombie Conquistador

Direttamente da: Zombie/Zombi 2 (Film)

Perché ha un posto fra i migliori: Non avrà avuto troppo spazio nel capolavoro di Lucio Fulci “Zombie” (Conosciuto anche come “Zombi 2”), anzi, lo zombie Conquistador appare solo in una scena, per pochi minuti, mentre addenta il collo di una donna destinata senz’altro a morte certa, ma il suo impatto è stato talmente forte da convincere Fulci ad usare il suo faccione in un’infinità di immagini promozionali, oltre che nel trailer del film. Ok, non sarà stato importante per la storia degli Zombie, ma è veramente il più figo di tutti.

3) Clairvius Narcisse

Direttamente da: La vita vera

Perché ha un posto fra i migliori: Nel 1962, quando fu sepolto, Clairvius Narcisse sembrava a tutti gli effetti un uomo morto. Quello che gli Haitiani non sapevano era che l’uomo era stato avvelenato da uno stregone locale con un cocktail che prevedeva la presenza di una mezza dozzina di sostanza tossiche diverse, per farlo apparire morto anche dopo un esame più attento. Clairvius fu riesumato su indicazione dello stregone (Burlone il ragazzo!) e nei due anni successivi lavorò come schiavo in una piantagione di canna da zucchero in uno stato zombesco, con grande soddisfazione del datore di schiavitù (Iperproduttivi gli zombie..), ad ogni modo questo è il primo caso di Zombizzazione scientificamente provata della storia.

2) Lo Zombie del Cimitero

Direttamente da: La notte dei morti viventi (Film)

Perché ha un posto fra i migliori: Per tutti coloro che non hanno avuto il privilegio di  vedere I primissimi Zombie movie mai prodotti, come White Zombie (1932), il primo zombie ad apparire nel capolavoro di George A. Romero è al contempo il primo zombie della storia del cinema. Nella scena d’apertura al cimitero lo zombie combatte con Johnny e gli fracassa la testa su una lapide, dando inizio alla leggenda.

1) Bub

Direttamente da: Day of the Dead (Film)

Perché ha un posto fra i migliori: Se avete visto Day of the Dead, il seguito, targato ovviamente George A. Romero di quel capolavoro indiscusso che è Zombi, sarete senz’altro d’accordo sull’assegnazione di questo primo posto a Bub, il più importante Zombie vissuto, o non-vissuto sulla terra. Nel film, dopo esser stato catturato e aver subito ogni sorta di esperimenti e umiliazioni, rivela al pubblico che un Non-morto non è poi così differente da un essere umano, anzi. Bub è lo Zombie più intelligente della storia e la sua figura sarà di ispirazione per la crescita del movimento zombi, oltre che per la nascita di una nuova consapevolezza dell’intelligenza Zombie.

“The night of the living dead”, 1968.

Un film américain réalisé par George A. Romero. C’est même son premier film à celui-là…
Le film reprend la trame de Rio Bravo de Howard Hawks. Qui a dit que les mecs qui faisaient des films d’horreurs n’avaient pas de culture…
Le film est aussi marqué par les convictions politiques de l’auteur. L’acteur principal est un jeune afro-américain : chose rare pour l’époque. Il ne faut en effet pas oublier que la ségrégation était encore de mise aux États-Unis un an auparavant…

Cinq suites (si on peut appeler ça des suites, je dirai plutôt, des “volets” mais tout le monde s’en fout…) ont été entreprises par George Romero : Zombie (1978),
le Jour des morts-vivants (1984),
Le Territoire des morts (2005),
Chronique des morts-vivants (2008)
et Diary of the Dead Sequel (2009) .
Un remake du film a été réalisé en 1990 par Tom Savini, célèbre spécialiste des effets spéciaux de maquillage et collaborateur habituel de Romero.

Suite à un défaut d’enregistrement du copyright du film à sa sortie, il se trouve actuellement dans le domaine public. Il est donc librement téléchargeable sur internet.

ET MAINTENANT LE FILM !!
Il est en version originale et sans sous-titres…
Si le besoin de sous-titres se fait pressant, vous n’avez qu’a télécharger le tout !!

Let this statement absorb into your mildly retarded to intelligent mind(s):  Shaun of the Dead is a perfect movie.  From second zero until end credits, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg created a masterpiece.  Name me a scene in that film that they could have cut out… yup, shut up.

Centering a film around zombies in the last ten years is a simple way to start a movie, which has become the center of much critiquing and BITCHING from fans and fuckers alike.  Yeah, I will admit that screenwriters, producers, and directors need to adjust their attention a little in the genre of horror, but how easy is it to get an idea, name, or message out into the mass populace through the invention of zombies?  Easy as a girl named Breezy (ask me later).

“Rom-zom-com” was a genre coined by Shaun of the Dead.  It’s fucking silly, but I allow it.  A romantic-zombie-comedy is something we all wish we thought of first, but alas, we didn’t.  Closest pick that could be lumped into this genre is Zombie Honeymoon, but that flick is a bummer to say the least (rent it though).

George A. Romero is a man that horror buffs tip their hats to because whether you like it or no, he brought zombie films into the mainstream and did it well.  Some of his films look a little dated – for the obvious reasons – with all the undead cinema flooding the market now, but Shaun of the Dead took the schematic of rotting men and women lumbering about and feeding on human flesh infused humor, heart, and headshots.  In my opinion Romero has been rolling down a slippery slope of guts and flesh since Land of the Dead, but after watching Diary of the Dead I got a feeling the man needs to put the camera down and start penning some screenplays or producing projects that are up his gore soaked alley.  His new picture Survival of the Dead has the potential of bringing him out of this mass grave of shitty zombie movies, which he has directed himself into, but sometimes you just gotta pass the torch and move on.  Let’s get back on topic though, shall we?

Edgar Wright is one of those writers/directors who knows what he loves and it isn’t afraid to create something that is merely an homage to those things with a little something else added to it.  His sitcom Spaced even has a subtitle track on the DVDs entitled “Homage-o-Meter” that simply references anything within the realm of film, music, literature, and a bunch of random shit because that’s what compromises majority of the show.  Genius?  A little less, but leaning more towards prophetic.

The sappy – but good kinda sappy – that is strategically placed amongst the fart jokes and disemboweling in Shaun plucks on the heart strings so well because there usually isn’t a need for it within the genre.  Your typical horror fan that forks out $6.50 for Saw 23 (currently in pre-production) doesn’t need emotional substance within the film as long as the violence grows exponentially with each severed Achilles tendon.  Yet, when Bill Nighy – playing the stepfather – “death bed” confesses how hard it’s been raising Simon Pegg, I know I started welling up the first time I saw it.  And don’t get me started about the Mexican standoff involving Shaun’s mother.  Reservoir Dogs, you have now been trumped.

We’ve all seen plenty of slashers and the such where you can pretty much wave a finger at majority of the players and figure who’ll be letting out a sigh of relief right before the end credits roll and who’ll be dirt-napping ASAP.  Now if you can actually write a decent character then flesh them out as the camera rolls on them – whether they get the axe or not – we’re at least feeling for them as they attempt to survive through three acts.  But if you watch any trailers for movies within the last 10 years, Hollywood loves to show us EVERY FUCKING THING THAT’LL HAPPEN WITHIN 93 MINUTES condensed to a two and a half minute stream of clips, especially every dumb breeder that’s gonna fall on a dick or knife in I Know What You Did Last Summer With Your Dirty Mouf .  I remember watching the Episode I trailer in ninth grade and being so pissed off because it was obvious that Qui-Gon eats it.  Once again, thank you Mr. Lucas for perverting nearly everything that was holy during my childhood.  Sorry… I get kinda angry most of the time when I go off on tangents.

Every character in Shaun fits into at least one stereotype or more, which works as long as you give them a soul.  The token black guy wouldn’t be such a disposable character in cinema, but when does the “black friend in the group” ever get more than five lines that aren’t silly or just jive.  Stereotypes and cliches in movies work – especially in genre films – because it can create a familiarity with the audience that is comforting, but the fun and talent comes when the write and/or director abuses that comfort and throws you into oncoming traffic.  Sometimes you’re taken from your idea of what is safe and sure in your life or simply lead down a path you didn’t see coming.  I wouldn’t say that Shaun is abound with twist, turns, and surprises, but when you take the idea of the “bumbling idiot” (Pegg) and give him a family, friends, wit, and then hordes of zombies to bash his way through, you start to give two shits about him.  Stir in that drama I was talking about from before and what do you get?  A damn fine character.  Now let’s throw a bucket of blood over the whole mess and you we got ourselves a right good film.  Now me personally, I just need a rack of $7.99 failure ribs from Safeway and some Simply Apple Juice, then I’m in fat kid Heaven.  Moving on.

Shaun of the Dead may not be on the highest of cinematic plains, but for a film that panders to gore-hounds, drunks/stoners, those who still think farts are funny (real Americans), and people who hate bad kissers, it’s a work of art.  It’s a movie that reminds me of why I still love all the sentimental bullshit John Hughes put out or why constantly quoting the Cohen Borthers three bowling alley burnouts never gets tired.  It brings me back to why I shielded my  five year-old eyes from Carpenter’s shape-shifting alien in the Arctic or how Landis made someones dead bestfriend the funniest aspect of London.  Simply put, it’s a movie that makes me love movies.

Un film del 2009, regia di George A. Romero, con Alan Van Sprang / Kenneth Welsh / Joris Jarsky / Athena Karkanis. Prodotto da (90min)

Horror

In una piccola isola al largo delle coste del Nord America i morti risorgono per aggredire i vivi. Gli abitanti dell’isola non riescono a uccidere i loro cari defunti, nonostante questi minaccino la loro incolumità. Solo uno di loro, il patriarca Patrick O ‘ Flynn, si ribella per uccidere gli zombie, ma viene bandito dall’isola. Sulla terraferma l’uomo si unisce a una piccola banda di sopravvissuti in cerca di un luogo sicuro dove vivere in pace. Il gruppo si impossessa di un traghetto infestato di zombi e fa ritorno all’isola dove scopre che i locali hanno rinchiuso gli zombi dentro le loro case, fingendo di vivere una vita normale con essi.

Para comemorar o halloween, nada melhor que criar uma nova sessão, baseado no nome de um episódio do Simpsons que rolou dentro do especial Treehouse of Horros III, Dial Z for zombies vai tratar de tudo  relacionado a mortos-vivos. Como a FOX tirou do youtube o video com esse episódio dos Simpsons, posto aqui o trailer do primeiro filme de George A. Romero, considerado por muitos (e por mim também) “pai” dos filmes modernos de zumbi, The night of living dead lançado em 1968.

In 1968, America was a land of great unrest. Vietnam had turned out to be anything but a cakewalk, race relations were still strained, prominent public figures were assassinated, and the disgruntled younger generation had begun to take far fewer baths than before. In this climate of tension and fear (and smelly young people), Pittsburgh native George A. Romero decided to lighten the mood with a cheerful ray of sunshine called Night of the Living Dead—my favorite horror movie ever. Roger Ebert tells of the first time he saw it, at a Saturday matinee attended mostly by children. As events unfolded, his fellow theater patrons were stunned into quiet shock, scared shitless and traumatized for life. No wonder—as I posited yesterday, this was a new kind of horror, Psycho being the only close precedent. Here was the kind of horror you felt. Imagine the sight that greeted the parents when they returned from their shopping rounds!

Out of the darkness, the dead appear.

General consensus seems to be that Night of the Living Dead, released six months after the Tet Offensive, is an allegory for the Vietnam War. I’ve often heard that the zombies in the field suggest demoralized US soldiers staggering through rice paddies—strangers in a strange land. But if that’s the case, what do the living people symbolize? You could just as easily claim that the zombies are Viet Cong, while the survivors represent embattled Americans thrust into a situation they’re painfully unprepared to handle. And if politics aren’t your thing, Night is open to other interpretations. After all, this is sophisticated, modern horror. In Laughing Screaming, author William Paul dwells on the movie’s family-related horrors. Jamie Russell, meanwhile, in his first-rate zombie guide Book of the Dead, writes that Night is about “the horror of the body.” Hey, it’s all good!

Ben doesn't like what he sees.

Now, what about the style? As it happens, Night of the Living Dead is an exercise in subtle, skillful filmmaking. The craftsmanship is obscured by more visceral thrills, and it’s no surprise when critics see Night as crude and reminiscent of cinéma-vérité. Romero himself can be quite self-deprecating about the technical side of the production. But there’s genuine craft on display here, and an affectionate attention to the history of horror movies. In particular, there’s a distinct influence from the German expressionists of the silent era. Dark, angular set design, which mirrored the tormented interior lives of the characters, was a stylistic hallmark of silent German cinema; shadows and intentionally overwrought acting contributed to the feeling of an off-kilter dream world. In addition, the themes most often revolved around death, insanity and sin. And all of these elements, in one way or another, are clearly mirrored in Romero’s debut effort.

Barbara is about to get a nasty surprise.

Early on, main character Barbara (Judith O’Dea) must flee the country cemetery where a zombie has attacked her brother Johnny (Russ Streiner). After an awkward run down a country road, she seeks refuge in a seemingly deserted farmhouse—the interiors and lighting of the place are straight out of silent German cinema. And the ghouls themselves move like distant cousins of Cesare, the somnambulist in Robert Wiene’s 1919 classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Actually, even the living characters move like him in the beginning. Just watch as Barbara and Ben (Duane Jones) warily explore the house, pressed against the walls while shadows dance across their faces. From Book of the Dead: “Romero and his producers Carl Hardman and Russell Streiner (who both appear in front of the camera playing Cooper and Johnny respectively) had originally wanted to make a non-horror art-house movie.” Well, guess what? They didn’t completely ditch the art-house sensibility … they just disguised it a bit with walking corpses, head bashing and people getting eaten. You can have your bloody cake and gobble it down too!

Ben goes upstairs for a closer look.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

I don’t know why I’m still here. I remember dying, vividly. It wasn’t a good death.

I’d heard the reports of the dead coming back to life and feeding on the living, but like most people I think I didn’t believe them. How crazy is that, right? Stupid, stupid, stupid is what it is! I went to the movies with my girlfriend. We were sitting near the front row because we got there late – girls take goddamned forever to get ready, you know? Anyway I was pretty pissed off. I’d wanted to see the movie, and it put me in a bad mood to be seeing it with my neck craned up the whole time.

I remember hearing screaming from behind me…and it wasn’t a horror movie. My girlfriend turned around to look and then she started screaming, so I turned around too.

There were dozens of them, flesh rotting from their bones, eyes staring straight ahead – those that had eyes – and they were feeding, ripping flesh off of the screaming, gibbering living. “We’ve got to get out of here” I shouted and grabbed my screaming girlfriend by the arm. Most people, idiots, were trying to run up the aisle to the main exit but it was flooded with zombies. There were emergency exits not 20 feet from where we were sitting and it was towards those that I pushed my girlfriend.

The alarm sounded as soon as we opened the door into a back alley that led to Copper Street, the one where the theater was. I think it was Copper Street. It’s hard to think right now, my mind feels sluggish. Anyway, we ran out and fortunately there weren’t any zombies that I could see right away. I could hear the screaming in the theater; it sounded like a horror movie was playing, except the screaming kept on going, wouldn’t stop.  A few other people came out behind us.

I heard a noise behind me, like someone burrowing in a garbage dump. I turned around and there it was, one of the living dead, burrowing in a garbage bin. It looked up and made a snarling noise.

I will say that George Romero, director of the Living Dead movies, got the look pretty much right. The skin was a bluish-red color, the lips red and dripping with gore. There were bruises all over their skin, and the marks of their demise were apparent. However, George missed a few details. For one thing, they didn’t shuffle like they were walking down the aisle at a wedding – they moved like normal humans pretty much. Also, there was the smell, an odor of corruption and decay that was overwhelming. It made you want to vomit.

There was one other thing, the noise. Zombies don’t growl, moan or groan. They scream, they howl. I can tell you from experience that it is the most unnerving thing you’ve ever heard. The sound isn’t quite human, it’s higher pitched like the vocal chords have changed. It’s different than the screams of their victims.

Some poor schlub came out of the emergency exit right at that moment and the zombie pounced. He had ripped open the guy’s jugular before he even knew the zombie was there. Frankly, I didn’t stick around to see what happened next. I yanked my girlfriends arm and started running towards the street, away from the feeding ghoul. As we ran down the alley I saw a 2×4 board leaning up against the wall. I grabbed it without stopping with my free hand. Might as well have a weapon, I figured.

When we got to the street, the scene was nightmarish. There were restaurants and bars aplenty near the theater and they were all filled with screaming zombies chowing down on the hapless patrons inside. It was total chaos; people were trying to get to their cars and zombies were catching up to them while they fumbled for their keys. A few had managed to make it and were weaving in and out of the carnage, trying to get away.

I knew where we were parked – in a lot around the block. The greatest concentration of zombies seemed to be away from where the car was so I turned right onto the street. My girlfriend was sobbing and crying that I was hurting her. Well honey, better hurt than dead…or food for the dead. I heard that distinctive zombie scream close by and saw one angling towards us. As it came close enough I swung the 2×4 at its head and it went down. I didn’t stop, even though the board had split and was really too short to swing again the way I had.

As we rounded the corner another zombie came out and stood directly in our path. I had to let go of my girlfriend’s arm and with both hands rammed the board into the zombie’s chest. It went down and again, I didn’t want to stick around to see if I’d hurt it. I grabbed the girl’s hand again and started running but my hand was slick and hers slipped out of my grip. “Come on!” I remember yelling at her and started running again. There weren’t any zombies that I could see and no people either. The lot was just across the street and I could even see my car.

I didn’t want to make the mistke that the other poor saps had made, so I fished my car keys out of my pocket, now that I wasn’t holding on to my girlfriends arm. I pressed the keyless unlocking button and heard the gratifying beep beep that signified my car was unlocked. All we had to do was get in it, start the engine and drive away to safety.

I’d started to cross the street when I heard my girlfriend scream behind me. A couple of zombies had evidently been behind us and one of them had grabbed her. She looked at me with eyes like saucers, and while my memory is fading, getting dimmer, this was one thing that still remains very vivid. “Help me,” she pleaded in a little girls voice. It was already far too late though.

They wrestled her to the ground and the screaming began. One of them ripped a chunk of her face off and another had reached her blouse and yanked it off, then started feeding on her breasts. I guess he liked his meat more tender.

I stood there, watching it for a moment, mouth gaping then I turned away. Dead was dead, and there was nothing I could do for her. I started running for the lot and then I heard a noise, a car horn. I turned towards it to see an SUV barreling down on me and I could see the panic-stricken eyes of the person driving it.

The impact wasn’t as painful as you might think. I remember flying through the air, my limbs flopping around like dead fish. I landed on my skull on the pavement as the driver who had hit me raced onwards, not stopping. Smart guy I remember thinking. It was the last thing I thought as everything went black.

The next thing I know I was standing up and I could see my body on the street. The skull had been caved in and it  looked like one of my legs was broken and my hip was shattered. I’m dead I thought to myself and there was a sense of wonder about it. I looked back and could see five or six zombies crouched down around my girlfriend whose eyes had glazed over. I think she was dead too, or close to it. She had stopped screaming at least.

They say that when you die you see a light. I did, but it wasn’t the pure, white light they talk about. It was spotty, unstable like the power source had been compromised. The light flickered in other words. I went towards it and I got a sense that there were people I loved waiting in it, but I couldn’t make out who. The light really began to flicker and I started running towards it with a sense of urgency. I could feel a deep sorrow emanating from the light and then it went out. I felt this awful pain then, one of the emotional loss of not going where I was supposed to go. The other was physical. I began to scream.

I wasn’t on my feet any longer. I was lying on the pavement where my body had landed after the SUV hit it. I sat up. I could feel my injuries – apparently Romero got that wrong too. My leg was definitely broken but I got up anyway. I had a horrible headache and I was slick with my own blood.  A zombie walked past me and paid me absolutely no attention. The realization hit me – I was one of them. A zombie.

The worst pain was not from my broken leg or my fractured skull. It is the pain of the hunger. If you’ve ever gone more than 24 hours without food, you might have an idea of what it is like, but even then you have no idea. It’s that need, so pressing that your whole body feels it. I guess a heroin addict in withdrawls might feel this bad, but having never used heroin I couldn’t say for sure. I just knew I was hungry.

I didn’t want to eat human flesh but I knew, instinctively that living human tissue was the only thing that could ease my pain. I walked back over to my girlfriend. Some of the zombies had left but there was still meat to be had. Her chest was open and some of her organs were still inside. I grabbed her heart and began to chew on it. Tears were streaming down my face. Oh God, what have I become?

It’s been a few hours since then. I’ve been walking down the street, limping more like. It is getting harder and harder to think. I can feel my humanity draining from me, and it scares me, scares me shitless. In another hour, maybe two at the most, I’m going to be like them, mindless screaming monsters marauding for human flesh. The hunger is beginning again and I know I will not be resisting its call. I am walking towards the suburbs, the development where I lived. I know there are lots of people there, flesh to feast upon. I want to turn and walk away, walk somewhere where there are no people but I know I can’t do it. The need is just too great.

I wonder if it was the same for all of them, the gradual loss of their humanity instead of the sudden change from person to zombie. I can’t say for sure, but I know how it is for me. I just hope the military gets here and figures out a way to kill us permanently. I hope they do it before I feed again. The taste of my girlfriend’s flesh is still in my mouth. It tastes foul and wonderful at the same time.

I can’t remember her name. I can’t remember my name. I’m glad I found this internet cafe so I can post this on my blog. I hope I remember how to do it. Maybe it will help someone to know, to figure out how to stop this. It won’t be me. I can’t stay here anymore. I must go and feed. God help me. God help us all.