"we got this thing by the ass!"

Here's the review of the Dawn of the Dead DVD I said I'd put up. It's fairly straight forward and there isn't much humour. I guess I wanted to put across the reverence I have for the film. It's for Beat, and I think I was trying to establish that I do know a bit about films before I do an onslaught of silliness.
Now, I don't want to panic you, but there's a chance, just a chance, that I can review Return of the Living Dead.
Are such things possible? Have I found a niche that allows me to talk about two of my favourite films ever within a fortnight? Was Belinda Carlisle correct when she sung "ooh, heaven is a place on Earth?"
In other film related happenings, I saw the Beat Takeshi film Zatoichi today, again courtesy of Beat. It's not as good as Battle Royale, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. It's like Lone Wolf & Cub meets Dancer in the Dark. A fucking amazing film, and I got free Asahi beer and gorged myself on Pocky (like a straight, saltless pretzel stick dipped in chocolate). To top it off, a friend bought me Oportos for dinner.
Fuck, it's great when life is too good.

Dawn of the Dead [1979]
(Umbrella)
The hoards of flesh-hungry dead in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) changed the landscape of Horror and created a new subgenre. However it was the second flick in his trilogy, Dawn of the Dead, which become his most imitated film.
After the events of Night, society continues to fall apart as the dead inexplicably attack the living. A couple of SWAT cops, a helicopter pilot and a reporter escape the deteriorating city and find refuge in an abandoned shopping mall. The walking dead are dispensed of in all sorts of inventive ways, but even when the mall is cleared the living are still surrounded by zombies.
The characters lull themselves into a stupor until they are interrupted by the arrival of an army of looters who want what they have.
Heads are blown off with shotguns, a Hare Krishna zombie chases a pregnant woman, a corpse has his skull sliced by helicopter blades and a motorcycle gang has a pie fight with the undead. High farce and cartoon violence are intersped with moments of chilling realisations and social meltdown.
The level of politics usually surprises first-time viewers of Dawn. In the brilliant 75-minute doco found in the extras, The Dead Will Walk, Romero readily admits the movie is as much satire as it is horror.
Tom Savini, the other seminal figure involved in Dawn, wears many hats in this production, primarily special effects but also stuntman and actor. His contribution to the audio commentary will please fans of the film.
The transfer to DVD makes a huge difference for those of us used to washed out VHS colours. While some may be disappointed that this is the original US theatrical edit and not the director’s cut or Dario Argento’s Italian edit, this edit is pretty much definitive and maintains the now legendary score by Italian band Goblin.
While I have to concede that the remake of Dawn was pretty good, the original still shits all over the imitators.