Night of the Living Dead
Original 1968 theatrical poster, Yo
Directed by	George A. Romero
Produced by	Karl Hardman Russell Streiner
Written by	George A. Romero John A. Russo
Starring	Duane Jones Judith O'Dea Karl Hardman Marilyn Eastman Keith Wayne Judith Ridley
Music by	Stock music
Cinematography	George A. Romero
Editing by	George A. Romero John A. Russo
Distributed by	The Walter Reade Organization
Release date(s)	October 1, 1968
Running time	96 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$114,000 (estimated)
Followed by	Dawn of the Dead
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Night of the Living Dead is a seminal 1968 black-and-white independent horror film directed by George A. Romero. Early drafts of the script were titled Monster Flick, but it was known as Night of Anubis and Night of the Flesh Eaters during production. The film stars Duane Jones as Ben and Judith O'Dea as Barbra. The plot revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and the efforts of Ben, Barbra and five others to survive the night while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... Night of the Living Dead may also refer to: Night of the Living Dead, a 1968 horror film directed by George A. Romero. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (600x839, 137 KB) this image & the film its from are in the public domain. ... George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper (right) in Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Russell Streiner (born June 5, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American film producer and actor. ... John A. Russo (sometimes credited as Jack Russo or John Russo) is an American screenwriter and film director most commonly associated with the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. ... Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. ... Judith ODea, as seen in the colorized version of Night of the Living Dead. ... Marilyn Eastman (born in 1927) is an American actress best known for her role as Helen Cooper in the film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Keith Wayne (born Keith Stewart in 1942 in Washington, Pennsylvania) was an American actor best known for his role as Tom in the George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Judith Ridley (born in 1948) is an American actress best known for her role in the George A. Romero films Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Theres Always Vanilla (1971). ... Walter Reade created the Walter Reade Organization, which owned and operated theatres in Manhattan. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 1968 in film involved some significant events. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For the song by Schoolyard Heroes, see The Funeral Sciences Dawn of the Dead (also known as Zombi internationally) is a 1978 American independent zombie horror film. ... The year 1968 in film involved some significant events. ... Black-and-white or black and white) can refer to a general term used in photography, film, and other media (see black-and-white). ... “Horror Movie” redirects here. ... George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... For other uses, see Anubis (disambiguation). ... Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. ... Judith ODea, as seen in the colorized version of Night of the Living Dead. ... Corporeal reanimation is the theoretical concept of reanimating a dead organism, restoring its living functions and enabling it to move and to freely interact with the world of the living as it did when it was alive. ... Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China An artists rendering of an aerial view of the Maryland countryside: Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank, 1918-1986), Aerial Series: Ploughed Fields, Maryland, 1974, acrylic and mixed materials on apertured double canvas, 52... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ...

Romero produced the film on the small budget of $114,000, but after a decade of theatrical re-releases it had grossed an estimated $12 million in the United States and $30 million internationally.^[1][2] Night of the Living Dead was strongly criticized at the time of its release for its graphic content, but three decades later the Library of Congress entered it into the United States National Film Registry with other films deemed "historically, culturally or aesthetically important."^[3] Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

The culture of Vietnam-era America had a tremendous impact on the film. It is so thoroughly laden with critiques of late-1960s American society that one historian described the film as "subversive on many levels."^[4] While not the first zombie film made, Night of the Living Dead influenced countless films and is perhaps the defining influence on the modern pop-culture zombie archetype.^[5] The film is the first of five Dead films (completed or pending) directed by Romero. It has been remade twice, in 1990 and in 2006. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... This article is about the computer software framework. ... The Zombie Survival Guide ... A group of actors portraying zombies in a film Zombies are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. ... Living Dead is a blanket term for various films and series that all originated with the seminal 1968 zombie movie Night of the Living Dead created by George A. Romero and John A. Russo. ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Night of the Living Dead is the 1990 remake of George A. Romeros 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead, and was directed by Tom Savini. ... Night of the Living Dead 3-D is a 2006 horror film made in 3-D. It is a remake of the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. ...

Plot

Bickering siblings Johnny (Russell Streiner) and Barbra drive to a rural Pennsylvania cemetery to place a wreath on their father's grave. Johnny teases his sister, who is afraid of cemeteries, taunting, "They're coming to get you, Barbra!" A pale-faced man (S. William Hinzman) lumbers toward the pair. The man suddenly grabs Barbra as Johnny rushes to save her. While fighting the man, Johnny falls and smashes his head on a gravestone. Barbra flees in Johnny's car, driving it into a tree. She abandons the car and runs into a nearby farmhouse to hide and soon discovers that others like the man are outside. While exploring the empty house, she discovers a hideously mutilated corpse at the top of the stairs. Russell Streiner (born June 5, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American film producer and actor. ... Castle Ashby Graveyard Northamptonshire A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... S. William Bill Hinzman (born October 24, 1936, in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and film director. ... With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior. ...

Barbra (Judith O'Dea) flees from a mysterious attacker in the cemetery.

In a panic and attempting to flee the house, Barbra is intercepted by Ben, who arrives in a pickup truck and attacks the mysterious figures with a tire iron. Ben boards up the doors and windows from the inside with dismantled furniture and scraps of wood as Barbra becomes hysterical. Ben finds a rifle and a radio as Barbra lies incapacitated on a couch in the living room. The two are unaware that Harry and Helen Cooper (Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman), their daughter Karen (Kyra Schon), and teenage couple Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley) have been hiding in the cellar. One of the attackers bit Karen earlier and she has fallen ill. Harry wants the group to barricade themselves in the cellar, but Ben argues that they would, effectively, be trapping themselves down there. Ben carries the argument, and the group cooperates (begrudgingly, in Harry's case) to reinforce the main part of the house. Image File history File links Judith_O'Dea_clutching_grave_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Image File history File links Judith_O'Dea_clutching_grave_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Judith ODea, as seen in the colorized version of Night of the Living Dead. ... The best selling North American pickup truck, the Ford F-Series. ... A tire iron (tyre iron in British English) is a specialized metal tool used in working with tires that have inner tubes. ... For the album, see Hysteria (album) Professor Jean-Martin Charcot was well-known for showing, during his lessons at the Salpêtrière hospital, hysterical woman patients – here, his favorite patient, Blanche (Marie) Wittman, supported by Joseph Babinsky. ... Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper (right) in Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Marilyn Eastman (born in 1927) is an American actress best known for her role as Helen Cooper in the film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Keith Wayne (born Keith Stewart in 1942 in Washington, Pennsylvania) was an American actor best known for his role as Tom in the George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Judith Ridley (born in 1948) is an American actress best known for her role in the George A. Romero films Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Theres Always Vanilla (1971). ... A cellar is a storage room built below ground level (usually under a house), primarily for the storage of food and drink (especially wine) for use throughout the year. ...

Radio reports explain that an epidemic of mass murder is sweeping across the eastern seaboard of the United States. Later, Ben discovers a television upstairs and the emergency broadcaster reveals that the murderers are consuming their victims' flesh. A subsequent broadcast reports that the murders are being perpetrated by the recently deceased who have returned to life. Experts — scientists and military generals — are not sure of the cause of the reanimation, but one scientist is certain that it is the result of radiation emanating from a Venus space probe that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere. A final report instructs that a gunshot or heavy blow to the head will stop the "ghouls" and that posses of armed men are patrolling the countryside to restore order. Mass murder (massacre) is the act of murdering a large number of people, typically at the same time, or over a relatively short period of time. ... Categories: US geography stubs ... A slide used by television stations during Emergency Broadcast System announcements and tests. ... The radiation warning symbol (trefoil). ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ... Technicians work on the Ulysses space probe. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... For other uses, see Atmosphere (disambiguation). ... A ghoul is a monster from ancient Arabian folklore that dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. ... In common law, posse comitatus (Latin, county force, meaning a sort of local militia) referred to the authority wielded by the county sheriff to conscript any able-bodied male over the age of fifteen to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon; compare hue...

The Living Dead.

Ben devises a plan to escape using his truck, but it needs refueling. He exits the house armed with the rifle and a torch. Tom and Judy offer assistance, but when they arrive at a fuel pump near the house Ben accidentally sets the gasoline ablaze with his torch. The truck explodes with Tom and Judy inside. Ben runs back to the house to find that Harry locked him out. He kicks the door open and punches Harry repeatedly. Some of the living dead begin eating Tom and Judy's charred remains, while others try to break through the doors and windows of the house. Ben manages to hold them back, but drops his rifle. Harry seizes the fallen rifle and turns it on Ben, who wrests it away from Harry and then shoots him. Harry stumbles into the cellar and dies. Image File history File links Zombies_NightoftheLivingDead. ... Image File history File links Zombies_NightoftheLivingDead. ...

Shortly after, Helen discovers that her daughter has been transformed into one of the living dead and is consuming her father's corpse. Karen stabs her mother with a cement trowel, killing her, before going upstairs. Meanwhile, the undead finally break into the house and Barbra sees her brother Johnny among them. The resultant shock causes her to lower her defenses and she is carried away into the zombie horde. Ben retreats into the cellar, locking the door behind him (which, ironically, was Harry's plan all along). He shoots the reanimated Harry and Helen Cooper. In the morning, a posse approaches the house and proceeds to kill the remaining zombies. Hearing the commotion, Ben ambles up the cellar stairs into the living room and is shot in the head by a posse member who mistakes him for a zombie. His body is carried from the house and burned with the zombie corpses. A gardening trowel Trowel used by the Hon. ...

Production

While attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, George A. Romero embarked upon his career in the film industry. In the 1960s, he directed and produced television commercials and industrial films for The Latent Image, a company he co-founded with friends John Russo and Russell Streiner. During this period, the trio grew bored making commercials and wanted to film a horror movie. According to Romero, they wanted to capitalize on the film industry's "thirst for the bizarre."^[6] He and Streiner contacted Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman, president and vice president respectively of a Pittsburgh-based industrial film firm called Hardman Associates, Inc., and pitched their idea for a then-untitled horror film.^[6] Convinced by Romero, a production company called Image Ten was formed which included Romero, Russo, Streiner, Hardman and Eastman. Image Ten raised approximately $114,000 for the budget.^[7][6] Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ... “Pittsburgh” redirects here. ... Cinema admissions in 1995 The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i. ... Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time. ... John A. Russo playing a zombie in Night of the Living Dead. ... Russell Streiner (born June 5, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American film producer and actor. ... Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper (right) in Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Marilyn Eastman (born in 1927) is an American actress best known for her role as Helen Cooper in the film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ...

Marilyn Eastman applying Bosco Chocolate Syrup to Karl Hardman for a bloody special effect.

The small budget dictated much of the production process. According to Hardman, "We knew that we could not raise enough money to shoot a film on a par with the classic horror films with which we had all grown up. The best that we could do was to place our cast in a remote spot and then bring the horror to be visited on them in that spot."^[6] Scenes were filmed near Evans City, Pennsylvania, 30 miles north of Pittsburgh in rural Butler County; the opening sequence was shot at the Evans City Cemetery on Franklin Road, south of the city. The indoor scenes (upstairs) were filmed in a downtown Evans City home that later became the offices of a prominent local physician and family doctor (Allsop). This home is still standing on South Washington St. (locally called Mars-Evans City Road), between the intersecting streets of South Jackson and Van Buren. The outdoor and basement scenes were filmed at a location northeast of Evans City, near a park (that house has since been razed). Image File history File links Boscosyrup. ... Image File history File links Boscosyrup. ... Marilyn Eastman (born in 1927) is an American actress best known for her role as Helen Cooper in the film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Bosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup first produced in 1928. ... Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper (right) in Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Evans City is a borough located in Butler County, Pennsylvania. ... Butler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

^[8][9]

Special effects were fairly simple and limited by the budget. The blood, for example, was Bosco Chocolate Syrup drizzled over cast members' bodies.^[10] Costumes consisted of second-hand clothing, and mortician's wax served as zombie makeup. Marilyn Eastman supervised the special effects, wardrobe and makeup.^[6] Special effects (also called SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to realize scenes that cannot be achieved by live action or normal means. ... Bosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup first produced in 1928. ...

Filming took place between June and December of 1967 under the working title Night of Anubis and later Night of the Flesh Eaters.^[11][2] The small budget led Romero to shoot on 35 mm black-and-white film. The completed film ultimately benefited from the decision, as film historian Joseph Maddrey describes the black-and-white filming as "guerrilla-style," resembling "the unflinching authority of a wartime newsreel." Maddrey adds, it "seem[s] as much like a documentary on the loss of social stability as an exploitation film." ^[12] Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks _ The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ... Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by low budgets, skeleton crews, and simple props using whatever is available. ... A newsreel is a documentary film that is regularly released in a public presentation place containing filmed news stories. ... Exploitation film is a type of film that eschews the expense of quality productions in favor of making films on-the-cheap, attracting the public by exciting their more prurient interests. ...

Members of Image Ten were involved in filming and post-production, participating in loading camera magazines, gaffing, constructing props, recording sounds and editing.^[7] Production stills were shot and printed by Karl Hardman, who stated in an interview that a "number of cast members formed a production line in the darkroom for developing, washing and drying of the prints as I made the exposures. As I recall, I shot over 1,250 pictures during the production."^[6] Film editing is the connecting of one or more shots to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an entire movie. ... A camera magazine is a light-tight chamber or pair of chambers designed to hold and move motion picture film stock before and after it has been exposed in the camera. ... A gaffer in the motion picture industry is the head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution (and sometimes the design) of the lighting plan for a production. ...

Upon completion of post-production, Image Ten found it difficult to secure a distributor willing to show the film with the gruesome scenes intact. Columbia and American International Pictures declined after requests to soften it and re-shoot the final scene were rejected by producers.^[13] Romero admitted that "none of us wanted to do that. We couldn't imagine a happy ending. . . . Everyone want[ed] a Hollywood ending, but we stuck to our guns."^[14] The Manhattan-based Walter Reade Organization agreed to show the film uncensored, but changed the title from Night of the Flesh Eaters to Night of the Living Dead because a film had already been produced under a title similar to the former.^[11] The early AIP logo. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... Walter Reade created the Walter Reade Organization, which owned and operated theatres in Manhattan. ... The Flesh Eaters is a horror/science fiction thriller released in 1964, that contains moments of violence much more graphic and extreme than other movies of its time, making it one of the first ever gore films. ...

Writing

Co-written as a horror comedy by John Russo and George A. Romero under the title Monster Flick, an early screenplay draft concerned the exploits of teenage aliens who visit Earth and befriend human teenagers. A second version of the script featured a young man who runs away from home and discovers rotting human corpses that aliens use for food scattered across a meadow. The final draft, written mainly by Romero during three days in 1967, focused on reanimated human corpses — Romero refers to them as ghouls — that feast on the flesh of the living.^[15] In a 1997 interview with the BBC's Forbidden Weekend, Romero explained that the script developed into a three-part short story. Part one became Night of the Living Dead. Sequels Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985) were adapted from the two remaining parts.^[16] This is a list of comedy horror films: // 1920s 1926 1930s 1932 The Old Dark House 1940s 1944 Zombies on Broadway 1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1950s 1953 1955 Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy 1959 A Bucket of Blood 1960s 1960 Little Shop of Horrors 1961 Creature from... This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ... Ghouls are a variety of monster that come from Arab folklore. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Day of the Dead (1985) is a horror film by director George A. Romero, and the third of four movies. ...

Romero drew inspiration from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (1954), a horror / science fiction novel about a plague that ravages a futuristic Los Angeles in the 1970s. The deceased in I Am Legend return to life and prey on the uninfected.^[7][17][18] Film adaptations of Matheson's novel appeared in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth and in 1971 as The Omega Man. Matheson was not impressed by Romero's interpretation, telling an interviewer, "It was ... kind of cornball."^[19] Richard Burton Matheson (born February 20, 1926) is an American author and screenwriter, typically of fantasy, horror or science fiction. ... Cover for the first edition of I Am Legend. ... “Horror story” redirects here. ... In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. ... The Last Man on Earth (originally titled LUltimo uomo della Terra) is a 1964 film based upon the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend. ... The Omega Man is a 1971 science fiction thriller starring Charlton Heston. ...

Russo and Romero revised the screenplay while filming. Karl Hardman attributed the edits to lead actor Duane Jones: "The script had been written with the character Ben as a rather simple truck driver. His dialogue was that of a lower class / uneducated person. Duane Jones was a very well educated man ... [and he] simply refused to do the role as it was written. As I recall, I believe that Duane himself upgraded his own dialogue to reflect how he felt the character should present himself." The cellar scenes featuring dialogue between Helen and Harry Cooper were also modified by Marilyn Eastman.^[6]

According to lead actress Judith O'Dea, much of the dialogue was improvised. She told an interviewer, "I don't know if there was an actual working script! We would go over what basically had to be done, then just did it the way we each felt it should be done."^[20] One example offered by O'Dea concerns a scene where Barbra tells Ben about Johnny's death: This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The sequence where Ben is breaking up the table to block the entrance and I'm on the couch and start telling him the story of what happened [to Johnny] ... it's all ad-libbed. This is what we want to get across ... tell the story about me and Johnny in the car and me being attacked. That was it ... all improv. We filmed it once. There was a concern we didn't get the sound right, but fortunately they were able to use it.^[20] Ad libitum is Latin for at ones pleasure, often shortened to Ad lib. ...

Casting

The limited budget curtailed the ability of Image Ten to hire well-known actors. The cast consisted of Pittsburgh stage actors, members of the Image Ten production crew, and acquaintances of Romero. Involvement in the film propelled many cast members into the motion picture industry.

Duane Jones as Ben.

The lead role of Ben went to unknown African American stage actor Duane Jones. His performance depicted Ben as a "comparatively calm and resourceful Negro," according to one reviewer at the time.^[21] Casting Jones was potentially controversial. In the mid-20th century it was unusual for a black man to play the hero in a film that starred white actors, and commentators saw Romero's choice of Jones as significant. Romero, on the other hand, said that Jones "simply gave the best audition."^[22] After Night of the Living Dead, he co-starred in Ganja and Hess (1973), Vampires (1986), Negatives (1988) and To Die For (1989) before his death in 1988.^[23] Despite his other film roles, Jones worried that people only recognized him as Ben.^[24] Image File history File links Duane_Jones_as_Ben_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Image File history File links Duane_Jones_as_Ben_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. ... For an island of the Philippines, see Negros. ... Ganja and Hess is a 1973 horror film directed by Bill Gunn and Fima Noveck and stars Marlene Clark and Duane Jones. ... Vampires (also known as Abandon) is a 1986 horror film directed by Len Anthony. ... Negatives is a 1988 independent horror film directed by Tony Smith and starring Duane Jones and Debbie Rochon. ... To Die For (also known as Dracula: The Love Story) is a 1989 horror romance film directed by Deran Sarafian. ...

Image Ten cast 23-year-old commercial and stage actor Judith O'Dea as the waifish Barbra. Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman contacted O'Dea, who had once worked for them in Pittsburgh, to audition for the part. O'Dea was in Hollywood searching for a break-out role in motion pictures. She remarked in an interview that starring in the film was a positive experience for her, although she admitted that horror movies terrified her, particularly Vincent Price's House of Wax (1953). Besides acting, O'Dea performed her own stunts, which she jokingly says amounted to "lots of running." Assessing Night of the Living Dead, she states "I honestly had no idea it would have such a lasting impact on our culture." She was just as surprised by the renown the film brought her: "People treat you differently. [I'm] ho-hum Judy O'Dea until they realize [I'm] Barbara [sic] from Night of the Living Dead. All of a sudden [I'm] not so ho-hum anymore!"^[20] Following Night of the Living Dead, O'Dea appeared in the television film The Pirate (1978) and feature films Claustrophobia (2003), October Moon (2005) and The Ocean (2006).^[25] Judith ODea, as seen in the colorized version of Night of the Living Dead. ... ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... House of Wax is a 1953 American horror film starring Vincent Price. ... Claustrophobia (also known as Serial Slayer in Australia and New Zealand) is a 2003 horror film written and directed by Mark Tapio Kines. ... October Moon is a 2005 independent horror film directed by Jason Paul Collum about a male homosexual relationship that turns sour. ... THE OCEAN is a 2007 horror film directed by Dante Tomaselli and stars Margot Kidder, Vincent Pastore, Judith ODea. ...

The supporting cast had no experience in the film industry prior to Night of the Living Dead. The role of Tom remained Keith Wayne's only film role (he committed suicide in 1995),^[26] but Judith Ridley co-starred in Romero's There's Always Vanilla (1971).^[27] The cemetery zombie who kills Johnny in the first scene was played by S. William Hinzman, a role that launched his horror film career. Hinzman was later involved in the films Season of the Witch (1973), Flesheater (1988), Legion of the Night (1995), Santa Claws (1996), and Evil Ambitions (1996).^[28] Keith Wayne (born Keith Stewart in 1942 in Washington, Pennsylvania) was an American actor best known for his role as Tom in the George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... Judith Ridley (born in 1948) is an American actress best known for her role in the George A. Romero films Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Theres Always Vanilla (1971). ... Theres Always Vanilla (1971) was George A. Romeros second motion picture and, as of 2005, his only romantic comedy. ... S. William Bill Hinzman (born October 24, 1936, in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and film director. ... Not to be confused by The Halloween series called Halloween 3 Season of the Witch, also known as Hungry Wives, and Jacks Wife, is George A. Romeros third film. ... Flesheater is a 1988 independent horror film directed by S. William Hinzman. ... Legion of the Night is a 1995 horror film directed by Matt Jaissle and stars Tim Lovelace, Jeff Rector, Ron Asheton, Heather Fine, and S. William Hinzman. ... Sanctacaris is a Middle Cambrian arthropod from the Burgess shale of British Columbia. ... Evil Ambitions (also known as Satanic Yuppies) is a 1996 horror film directed by Mark Burchett. ...

Image Ten members Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman and Russell Streiner performed prominent acting roles. Hardman and Eastman co-starred as Harry and Helen Cooper (Eastman also played the female zombie who plucks an insect off a tree and eats it) while Streiner played Johnny, Barbra's brother. Hardman's 11-year-old daughter, Kyra Schon, played Karen Cooper. Image Ten's production manager, George Kosana, played Sheriff McClelland.^[29] Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper (right) in Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Marilyn Eastman (born in 1927) is an American actress best known for her role as Helen Cooper in the film Night of the Living Dead (1968). ... Russell Streiner (born June 5, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American film producer and actor. ... Kyra Schon (born October 4, 1957) is best known for her role in the George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead (1968) as Karen Cooper, the trowel-wielding zombie girl. ... Theatrical production management is a sub-division of stagecraft. ...

Romero's friends and acquaintances were recruited as zombie extras. Romero stated, "We had a film company doing commercials and industrial films so there were a lot of people from the advertising game who all wanted to come out and be zombies, and a lot of them did." He adds amusingly, "Some people from around Evans City who just thought it was a goof came out to get caked in makeup and lumber around."^[30] In drama, an extra is a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). ...

Directing

Night of the Living Dead was the first feature-length film directed by George A. Romero. His initial work involved filming shorts for Pittsburgh public broadcaster WQED's children's series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.^[14][31] Romero's decision to direct Night of the Living Dead essentially launched his career as a horror director. He took the helm of the sequels as well as Season of the Witch, The Crazies (1973), Martin (1977), Creepshow (1982) and The Dark Half (1993).^[32] George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director, writer, editor and actor. ... Early American actor William Garwood starred in numerous short films, many of which were only 20 minutes in length Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American film industry in the early period of cinema. ... WQED (channel 13, digital channel 38) is a PBS television station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ... Mister Rogers Neighborhood or Mister Rogers is an American childrens television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ... Martin is a 1977 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. ... Creepshow is a classic 1982 anthology horror movie directed by George A. Romero (of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead fame), and written by Stephen King (The Shining, Misery, The Stand). ... The Dark Half is a 1993 horror film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. ...

Critics saw the influence of the horror and science-fiction films of the 1950s in Romero's directorial style. Stephen Paul Miller, for instance, witnessed "a revival of fifties schlock shock... and the army general's television discussion of military operations in the film echoes the often inevitable calling-in of the army in fifties horror films." Miller admits, however, that "Night of the Living Dead takes greater relish in mocking these military operations through the general's pompous demeanor" and the government's inability to source the zombie epidemic or protect the citizenry.^[33]

Romero describes the mood he wished to establish: "The film opens with a situation that has already disintegrated to a point of little hope, and it moves progressively toward absolute despair and ultimate tragedy."^[34] According to film historian Carl Royer, Romero "employs chiaroscuro, noir-style lighting to emphasize humanity's nightmare alienation from itself."^[35] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Tenebrism. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ...

While some critics dismissed Romero's film because of the graphic scenes, writer R. H. W. Dillard claimed that the "open-eyed detailing" of taboo heightened the film's success. He asks, "What girl has not, at one time or another, wished to kill her mother? And Karen, in the film, offers a particularly vivid opportunity to commit the forbidden deed vicariously."^[36] R. H. W. Dillard (born 1937) is an American poet, author, critic, and translator. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ...

Romero featured human taboos as key themes, particularly cannibalism. Although zombie cannibals were inspired by Matheson's I Am Legend, film historian Robin Wood sees the flesh-eating scenes of Night of the Living Dead as a late-1960s critique of American capitalism. Wood asserts that the zombies represent capitalists, and "cannibalism represents the ultimate in possessiveness, hence the logical end of human relations under capitalism." He argues that the zombies' victims symbolized the repression of "the Other" in bourgeois American society, namely civil rights activists, feminists, homosexuals and counterculturalists in general.^[37] “Cannibal” redirects here. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately[1][2] owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a free market. ... The Other or constitutive other (also referred to as othering) is a key concept in continental philosophy, opposed to the Same. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... Prominent figures of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. ... Second-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the late 1980s. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ...

Music and sound effects

The eerie and disturbing music score of Night of the Living Dead was not composed for the film. Karl Hardman told an interviewer that the music came from the extensive film music library of Hardman Associates. Much of what was used in the film was purchased from the library of Capitol Records, and an album of the soundtrack was released at one point. Stock music selections included works by Ib Glindemann, Philip Green, Geordie Hormel, William Loose, Jack Meakin and Spencer Moore.^[38] Some of the music was earlier used as the soundtrack for the science-fiction B-movie Teenagers from Outer Space (1959) The eerie musical piece during the tense scene in the film where "Ben" finds the rifle in the closet inside the farmhouse as the radio reports of mayhem play ominously in the background can be heard in longer and more complete form during the opening credits and the beginning of The Devil's Messenger (1961) starring Lon Chaney Jr. Another piece was taken from the final episode of television's The Fugitive, which had aired one year earlier.^[39] According to Hardman, "I chose a selection of music for each of the various scenes and then George made the final selections. I then took those selections and augmented them electronically."^[6] Hardman's choices worked well, as Film historian Sumiko Higashi believes that the music "signif[ies] the nature of events that await."^[40] A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ... George Geordie Hormel (17 July 1928 - 12 February 2006) was the son of Jay Catherwood Hormel and grandson of George A. Hormel. ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... Teenagers from Outer Space is a 1959 science-fiction B-movie about an extraterrestrial ship landing on Earth to use it as a farm for its food supply. ... The Fugitive is an American television series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963-1967. ...

Sound effects were created by Hardman and Marilyn Eastman: "Marilyn and I recorded all of the live sound effects used in the film (two 10 inch reels of edited tape)." Hardman recalled, "Of all the sound effects that we created, the one that still gives me goose bumps when I hear it, is Marilyn's screaming as [Helen Cooper] is killed by her daughter. Judy O'Dea's screaming is a close second. Both were looped in and out of echo over and over again."^[6]

Reception

Night of the Living Dead premiered on October 1, 1968 at the Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh.^[41] Nationally, it was shown as a Saturday afternoon matinée — as was typical for horror films of the 1950s and 1960s — and attracted an audience consisting of pre-teens and adolescents.^[42][43] The MPAA film rating system was not in place until November 1968, so theater managers did not prohibit even young children from purchasing tickets. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times chided theater owners and parents who allowed children access to the film. "I don't think the younger kids really knew what hit them," complained Ebert. "They were used to going to movies, sure, and they'd seen some horror movies before, sure, but this was something else." According to Ebert, the film affected the audience immediately: is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Preteen is a term used to describe children who are in middle childhood — generally from the ages of 10 to 13. ... The Adolescents were a punk band in the 1980s. ... The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ...

The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying.^[43]

Spanish language poster advertising Night of the Living Dead in Spain.

One commentator asserts that the film garnered little attention from critics, "except to provoke argument about censoring its grisly scenes."^[44] Despite the controversy, five years after the premiere Paul McCullough of Take One hailed Night of the Living Dead as the "most profitable horror film ever ... produced outside the walls of a major studio."^[45] The film had earned between $12 and $15 million at the American box office after a decade. It was translated into more than 25 languages and released across Europe, Canada and Australia.^[44] Night of the Living Dead grossed $30 million internationally, and the Wall Street Journal reported that it was the top grossing film in Europe in 1969.^[46][1] Image File history File links NightoftheLivingDeadPosterSpanish. ... Image File history File links NightoftheLivingDeadPosterSpanish. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... For other uses, see Censor. ... Take One is a popular Canadian Film Magazine which ran for approximately 12 years (1993-2005); it is frequently cited as the countrys most important and influencial Film magazine, offering criticism and, most notably, contributions to the discourse of Canada as a filmmaking body. ... The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ...

Night of the Living Dead was awarded two distinguished honors thirty years after the debut. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1999 with other films deemed "historically, culturally or aesthetically important in any way."^[47][3] In 2001, the American Film Institute named the film to a list of one hundred important horror and thriller films, 100 Years...100 Thrills.^[48] This film was #9 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... The 100 most heart-pounding American films as described by the AFI on the evening of June 12, 2001. ... This article is about the U.S. cable network. ...

Criticism

Reviewers disliked the film's gory special effects. Variety labeled Night of the Living Dead an "unrelieved orgy of sadism" and questioned the "integrity and social responsibility of its Pittsburgh-based makers."^[49] New York Times critic Vincent Canby referred to the film as a "junk movie" as well as "spare, uncluttered, but really silly."^[50] Variety is a daily newspaper for the entertainment industry. ... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – September 15, 2000) was an American film critic. ...

Nevertheless, some reviewers recognized the film as groundbreaking. Pauline Kael called the film "one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made — and when you leave the theatre you may wish you could forget the whole horrible experience. . . . The film's grainy, banal seriousness works for it — gives it a crude realism."^[51] A Film Daily critic commented, "This is a pearl of a horror picture which exhibits all the earmarks of a sleeper."^[52] While Roger Ebert criticized the matinée screening, he admitted that he "admires the movie itself."^[43] Critic Rex Reed wrote, "If you want to see what turns a B movie into a classic ... don't miss Night of the Living Dead. It is unthinkable for anyone seriously interested in horror movies not to see it."^[53] Pauline Kael (June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine. ... Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American movie critic and was co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. ... The King of the Bs, Roger Corman, produced and directed The Raven (1963) for American International Pictures. ...

Since the release, critics and film historians have seen Night of the Living Dead as a subversive film that critiques 1960s American society, international Cold War politics, and domestic racism. Elliot Stein of The Village Voice saw the film as an ardent critique of American involvement in Vietnam, arguing that it "was not set in Transylvania, but Pennsylvania — this was Middle America at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging in Vietnam."^[54] Film historian Sumiko Higashi concurs, arguing that Night of the Living Dead was a horror film about the horrors of the Vietnam era. While she asserts that "there are no Vietnamese in Night of the Living Dead, ... they constitute an absent presence whose significance can be understood if narrative is construed." She points to aspects of the Vietnam War paralleled in the film: grainy black-and-white newsreels, search-and-destroy operations, helicopters, and graphic carnage.^[55] For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Racism is the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. ... This article is about a New York newspaper. ... Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or ; Hungarian: ; German: ; Bulgarian: ; Serbian: / or / ) is a historical region in central and western Romania. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Search and Destroy, or Seek and Destroy, or simply S&D, refers to a military strategy that became a notorious element of the Vietnam War. ...

A scene that portrays Barbra as helpless. Ben puts slippers on her feet as she is catatonic.

While George Romero denies he hired Duane Jones simply because he was black, reviewer Mark Deming notes that "the grim fate of Duane Jones, the sole heroic figure and only African-American, had added resonance with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X fresh in the minds of most Americans."^[56][57] Stein adds, "In this first-ever subversive horror movie, the resourceful black hero survives the zombies only to be killed by a redneck posse."^[54] The deaths of Ben, Barbra and the supporting cast offered audiences an uncomfortable, nihilistic glimpse unusual for the genre.^[58] Image File history File links Ben_giving_Barbra_slippers_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Image File history File links Ben_giving_Barbra_slippers_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw. ... Catatonia is a severe psychiatric and medical condition, characterized by, in catatonic stupor, a general absence of motor activity, and, in catatonic excitement, violent, hyperactive behavior directed at oneself or others but with no visible purpose. ... “MLK” redirects here. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ... This article is about a stereotypical description. ... This article is about the philosophical position. ...

The treatment of female characters attracted criticism from feminist scholars and critics. Women are portrayed as helpless and often excluded from the decision-making process by the male characters. Barbra suffers a psychological breakdown so severe after the loss of her brother that she is reduced to a semi-catatonic state for much of the film. Judy is portrayed in an extreme state of denial, leading to her own death and that of her boyfriend. Helen Cooper, while initially strong-willed, becomes immobilized and dies as a result.^[59] Feminists redirects here. ... Catatonia is a severe psychiatric and medical condition, characterized by, in catatonic stupor, a general absence of motor activity, and, in catatonic excitement, violent, hyperactive behavior directed at oneself or others but with no visible purpose. ...

Other prevalent themes included "disillusionment with government and patriarchal nuclear family"^[54] and "the flaws inherent in the media, local and federal government agencies, and the entire mechanism of civil defense."^[60] Film historian Linda Badley explains that the film was so horrifying because the monsters were not creatures from Outer Space or some exotic environment, "They're us."^[61] Romero confessed that the film was designed to reflect the tensions of the time: "It was 1968, man. Everybody had a 'message'. The anger and attitude and all that's there is just because it was the Sixties. We lived at the farmhouse, so we were always into raps about the implication and the meaning, so some of that crept in."^[57] A patriarch (from Greek: patria means father; arché means rule, beginning, origin) is a male head of an extended family exercising autocratic authority, or, by extension, a member of the ruling class or government of a society controlled by senior men. ... The term nuclear family developed in the western world to distinguish the family group consisting of parents (usually a father and mother) and their children, from what is known as an extended family. ... The old United States civil defense logo. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Influence

See also: Zombies in popular culture

George Romero revolutionized the horror film industry with Night of the Living Dead. According to Almar Haflidason of the BBC, the film represented "a new dawn in horror film-making."^[62] Early films that featured zombies such as Victor Halperin's White Zombie (1932), Jacques Tourneur's I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and John Gilling's The Plague of the Zombies (1966) involved living human zombies enslaved by a Voodoo witch doctor; many were set in the Caribbean. A group of actors portraying zombies in a film Zombies are regularly encountered in horror- and fantasy-themed fiction and entertainment. ... For other uses see Zombie (disambiguation) A zombie is a kind of undead, or figuratively, a very apathetic person. ... Victor Hugo Halperin (born August 24, 1895, in Chicago, Illinois, and died May 17, 1983, in Benton, Arizona) was an American film director, producer, and writer. ... White Zombie is an American horror film, first released on August 4, 1932. ... Jacques Tourneur, born November 12, 1904 – died December 19, 1977, was a French film director. ... I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. ... John Gilling (May 29, 1912-1985) was a British film director. ... The Plague of the Zombies is a 1966 Hammer Horror film directed by John Gilling. ... Voodoo (Vodou, Vodoun, Vudu, or Vudun in Benin, Togo, southeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal; also Vodou in Haiti) is a name attributed to a traditionally uten West African spiritual system of faith and ritual practices. ... A witch doctor (in southern Africa known as a Sangoma) often refers to exotic healers that believe that maladies are caused by magic and are therefore best cured by it, as opposed to science or developed medicine. ... “West Indian” redirects here. ...

The film and its successors spawned countless imitators that borrowed elements instituted by Romero: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971), Zombie (1979), Hell of the Living Dead (1980), Night of the Comet (1984), Return of the Living Dead (1985), Night of the Creeps (1986), Children of the Living Dead (2001), and the video game series Resident Evil (later adapted as films in 2002, 2004, and 2007), Dead Rising, and The House of the Dead. Night of the Living Dead is parodied in films such as Night of the Living Bread (1990) and Shaun of the Dead, and in episodes of The Simpsons ("Treehouse of Horror III", 1992) and South Park ("Pink Eye", 1997; "Night of the Living Homeless", 2007 ).^[63][64][65] The word zombie is never used, but Romero's film introduced the theme of zombies as reanimated, flesh-eating cannibals.^[66][41] Tombs of the Blind Dead (La Noche del terror ciego) (1971) is a Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hell Of The Living Dead is a 1980 horror film directed by Bruno Mattei. ... Night of the Comet is a 1984 science fiction film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran and Kelli Maroney. ... Return of the Living Dead is a series of films that was produced between 1985-2005. ... Night of the Creeps is a 1986 horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker (who also made The Monster Squad). ... Children of the Living Dead is a 2001 film, a sequel to Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition, which was a special edition of Night of the Living Dead with added scenes and a new score. ... This article is about the video game series. ... Resident Evil is a 2002 science fiction horror film based on the Resident Evil series of survival horror games developed by Capcom, and the first in a series of film adaptations. ... Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the sequel to the 2002 film Resident Evil from Screen Gems, written by Paul W. S. Anderson and directed by Alexander Witt. ... Dead Rising is an action adventure video game exclusively for the Xbox 360 and was produced by Keiji Inafune and developed by Capcom. ... For the video game series, see The House of the Dead (video game). ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Night of the Living Bread (1990) is a short film parody of Night of the Living Dead, directed by Kevin S. OBrien. ... Shaun of the Dead is a zombie-themed romantic comedy (or rom zom com as it dubs itself) or zombie comedy released in 2004. ... TV Show Reference Episode is the word usually used to refer to a part of a serial television or radio program. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Treehouse of Horror III (on-screen title: The Simpsons Halloween Special III) is the fifth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and the third Simpsons Halloween episode. ... This article is about the TV series. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Night of the Living Homeless is episode 1107 (#160) of Comedy Centrals South Park. ...

Night of the Living Dead ushered in the slasher and splatter film sub-genres. As one film historian points out, horror prior to Romero's film had mostly involved rubber masks and costumes, cardboard sets, or mysterious figures lurking in the shadows. They were set in locations far removed from rural and suburban America.^[67] Romero revealed the power behind exploitation and setting horror in ordinary, unexceptional locations and offered a template for making an "effective and lucrative" film on a "minuscule budget."^[4] Slasher films of the 1980s such as John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980), and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), for example, "owe much to the original Night of the Living Dead."^[68] The original 1974 Black Christmas is considered the first authentic slasher. ... Poster art for Blood Feast (1963) A splatter film or gore film is a type of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. ... Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... Exploitation film is a type of film that eschews the expense of quality productions in favor of making films on-the-cheap, attracting the public by exciting their more prurient interests. ... John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... Halloween (sometimes referred to as John Carpenters Halloween) is a 1978 American independent horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween. ... Sean S. Cunningham is a writer, producer and director of films born on December 31st 1941. ... Friday the 13th is a 1980 independent slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. ... Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the redoubtable Freddy Krueger character. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film directed by Wes Craven about several teenagers being terrorized in their nightmares by a mysterious man named Freddy Krueger in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ...

Revisions

The film was colorized in 1986

 

Then again in 2004.

The first revisions of Night of the Living Dead involved colorization by home video distributors. Hal Roach Studios released a colorized version in 1986 that featured green zombies. Another colorized version appeared in 1997 from Anchor Bay Entertainment with flesh-colored zombies.^[69] In 2004, Legend Films produced a colorized version for distribution by 20th Century Fox.^[70][71] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A colorized image of Laurel and Hardy, from March of the Wooden Soldiers (formally Babes in Toyland). ... Harold Eugene Roach, Sr. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ...

Co-writer John Russo released a modified version in 1999 titled Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition.^[72] He filmed additional scenes and recorded a revised soundtrack composed by Scott Vladimir Licina. In an interview with Fangoria magazine, Russo explained that he wanted to "give the movie a more modern pace."^[73] Russo took liberties with the original script, introducing odd didactic qualities that the original lacked. The additions are neither clearly identified nor even listed. However, Entertainment Weekly reported "no bad blood" between Russo and Romero. The magazine, however, quoted Romero as saying, "I didn't want to touch Night of the Living Dead."^[74] Critics panned the revised film, notably Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News. Knowles promised to permanently ban anyone from his publication who offered positive criticism of the film.^[75] John A. Russo playing a zombie in Night of the Living Dead. ... Fangoria is a nationally-distributed US film fan magazine specializing in the genres of horror, psycho and exploitation films, in regular publication since 1979. ... Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ... Harry Knowles with Cole and Bobby of atthemovies. ... Screenshot of Aint It Cool News. ...

The film has been remade twice. The first, debuting in 1990, was directed by special effects artist Tom Savini. The remake was based on the original screenplay, but included more gore and a revised plot that portrayed Barbara^[76] (Patricia Tallman) as a heroine. Tony Todd played the role of Ben. Film historian Barry Grant saw the new Barbara as a corrective on the part of Romero. He suggests that the character was made stronger to rectify the depiction of female characters in the original film.^[59] The second remake was filmed in 3-D format and scheduled for release in September 2006 under the title Night of the Living Dead 3-D. Directed by Jeff Broadstreet, the characters and plot are similar to the 1968 original. Unlike Savini's 1990 film, Broadstreet's project was not affiliated with Romero.^[77][78] In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American actor, stunt man, director and award-winning special effects and makeup artist. ... Night of the Living Dead is the 1990 remake of George A. Romeros 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead, and was directed by Tom Savini. ... Patricia Tallman (as Lyta Alexander) with Jerry Doyle (as Michael Garibaldi) in Babylon 5 Patricia Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an actress and stunt performer, sometimes credited as Pat Tallman. ... Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954 in Washington, D.C.) is an American actor and producer, known for his cult status amongst horror and sci-fi fans. ... In film, the term 3-D (or 3D) is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images of the third dimension, the illusion of depth as seen by the viewer. ... Night of the Living Dead 3-D is a 2006 horror film made in 3-D. It is a remake of the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. ... Jeff Broadstreet (born November 7, 1960, in Greencastle, Indiana) is an American film director. ...

Copyright status in the U.S.

Night of the Living Dead lapsed into the public domain because the original theatrical distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, neglected to place a copyright notice on the prints. In 1968, United States copyright law required a proper notice for a work to maintain a copyright. Image Ten displayed such a notice on the title frames of the film beneath the original title, Night of the Flesh Eaters. The distributor removed the statement when it changed the title.^[79] According to George Romero, Walter Reade "ripped us off."^[80] The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... United States copyright law governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works in the United States. ...

Because of the public domain status, the film is sold on home video by several distributors. As of 2006, the Internet Movie Database lists 23 copies of Night of the Living Dead retailing on DVD and nineteen on VHS.^[81] The original film is available for download at no cost on Internet sites such as Google Video and Internet Archive.^[82][83] As of January 3, 2007, it was the Internet Archive's most downloaded film.^[84] Elite Entertainment released a director-approved and fully-restored version of the film. The first Elite release was a laserdisc in which Romero participated in the supplements. The first Elite DVD was released as a single-layer DVD and some of the extras from the laserdisc were dropped due to space limitations but they were included in Elite's current Millennium Edition. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... This article is about the computer terms. ... Google Video logo Google Video is a free video sharing and video search engine service from Google that allows anyone to upload video clips to Googles web servers as well as make their own media available free of charge; some videos are also offered for sale through the Google... The logo of Internet Archive The Internet Archive (IA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line library and archive of Web and multimedia resources. ...

Sequels

Main articles: Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead (film series)

Night of the Living Dead constitutes the first of five Living Dead films directed by George Romero. Following the 1968 film, Romero released Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985) and Land of the Dead (2005). Diary of the Dead is expected to be released in 2007. Each film traces the evolution of the zombie epidemic in the United States and humanity's desperate attempts to cope with it. As in Night of the Living Dead, Romero peppered the other films in the series with critiques specific to the periods in which they were released. Living Dead is a blanket term for various films and series that all originated with the seminal 1968 zombie movie Night of the Living Dead created by George A. Romero and John A. Russo. ... Return of the Living Dead is a series of films that was produced between 1985-2005. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Day of the Dead (1985) is a horror film by director George A. Romero, and the third of four movies. ... Land of the Dead (also known as George A. Romeros Land of the Dead) is the fourth in George A. Romeros Dead Series started by Night of the Living Dead, which continued with the sequels Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. ... This article is about the George Romero film. ...

The same year Day of the Dead premiered, Night of the Living Dead co-writer John Russo released a film titled Return of the Living Dead. Russo's film offers an alternate continuity to the original film than Dawn of the Dead, but acted more as a satire than a sequel. Russo's film spawned four sequels. The last — Return of the Living Dead: Rave from the Grave — was released in 2005 as a television movie. Return of the Living Dead is a series of films that was produced between 1985-2005. ... In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Return of the Living Dead is a series of films that was produced between 1985-2005. ... “Telefilm” redirects here. ...

Return of the Living Dead sparked a legal battle with Romero, who believed Russo marketed his film in direct competition with Day of the Dead as a sequel to the original film. In the case Dawn Associates v. Links (1978), Romero accused Russo of "appropriat[ing] part of the title of the prior work," plagiarizing Dawn of the Dead's advertising slogan ("When there is no room in hell ... the dead will walk the earth"), and copying stills from the original 1968 film. Romero was ultimately granted a restraining order that forced Russo to cease his advertising campaign. Russo, however, was allowed to retain his title.^[85] For other uses, see Plagiarism (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hell (disambiguation). ...

References

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Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 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Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Night of the Living Dead

• Night of the Living Dead at the Internet Movie Database
• Night of the Living Dead at All Movie Guide
• Night of the Living Dead at FilmSpot
• Night of the Living Dead full film at Google Video
• Night of the Living Dead full film at Internet Archive
• Night of the Living Dead Retrospective