Night of the Living Dead

[shand754]

I see there is a second UK release of Night of the Living Dead out next Monday.

Anybody on here getting it and if so can you let me know the region coding on it?

[mikegambit]

Its from Network so likely to be Region B locked

[norliss]

Not buying it after reading/seeing this:

DVD Times - Night of the Living Dead

I suppose BD is no different from DVD in as much as you can't expect definitive releases to come out at the first (or even second) time of asking. Although in the case of NOTLD the Elite THX edition did come out circa 1999 which would make it earlier in DVD's life-cycle than right now is for BD. Shame.

[kingkarl]

Oh well , think I will get the opti release after sitting waiting for this balls up

You chaps who have the opti release , is the cropping really that bad ?

[Jim Di Griz]

Just read that DVDTimes review and its totally put me off both versions, especially the Network one.

Ill carry on waiting, plenty of other films around to get.

[MarkusThatch]

Originally Posted by norliss

Not buying it after reading/seeing this:

DVD Times - Night of the Living Dead

I suppose BD is no different from DVD in as much as you can't expect definitive releases to come out at the first (or even second) time of asking. Although in the case of NOTLD the Elite THX edition did come out circa 1999 which would make it earlier in DVD's life-cycle than right now is for BD. Shame.

I've got the thx r1 dvd - the pq still looks good to me even in this hd era.

[richard_t]

Originally Posted by norliss

Although in the case of NOTLD the Elite THX edition did come out circa 1999 which would make it earlier in DVD's life-cycle than right now is for BD. Shame.

Wasn't that just a DVD release of same Laserdisc release that came out a couple of years earlier?

[mikegambit]

Originally Posted by richard_t

Wasn't that just a DVD release of same Laserdisc release that came out a couple of years earlier?

It was but the picture still looks superb today

[MarkusThatch]

Originally Posted by mikegambit

It was but the picture still looks superb today

It really does (assuming the one I've got is the same transfer?) - some black and white films on dvd just look fantastic and it's hard to imagine how they could look any better with a hd transfer

[Robert S]

The Optimum transfer is cropped, but it's also been approved by Romero (and the cropping doesn't really hurt the compositions, as the original framing features quite a bit of dead space). Don May Jr. did the restoration, I believe.

The transfer quality is beautiful, grainy and film like. It's far better than the Elite.

[Geoff_D]

Gawd blimey, look how hot the contrast is on the Network disc. As I think I said to mike/ace in another thread, they fact they've used original elements (apparently) doesn't mean dick if the elements themselves aren't in the best shape.

It looks like Network might have used an actual theatrical print, which is the last source you'd usually turn to because a) they're usually pretty beat up and b) they have a lighter level of opacity because they're supposed to have light blasted through them. So when it gets transferred to video the level of contrast needs to be carefully controlled. Or not, leading to the blown-out highlights and poor blacks of the Network transfer.

IIRC archival elements like negs and interpositives have a much heavier density because they're not intended for projection, and so things like contrast are usually kept in check when transferred to video.

The cropping of the Optimum/Weinstein transfer is inexplicably harsh, but I still love it because it looks so good otherwise. And I said this before: the PQ on the Elite DVD is awful. But that's just me, obviously.

[KRW]

The Optimum disc blew me away, and I was previously in the 'it can't look better than the Elite version', but the restoration that's been done is superb. It really does look like a movie and has far more depth to the image than I'd ever have thought possible for an older, cheaper movie.

It's weird, I paid £7 for the BD, and it was about the cheapest I've ever paid for NOTLD. I paid £25 for the Elite version *nuts*

[richard_t]

Originally Posted by KRW

I paid £25 for the Elite version *nuts*

I think I paid £75 for the LD version!