so over the weekend...

[Mike70]

i watched all of the movies in the pentology (is that what we are calling them all together now?)or will it be the tetralogy plus one but i watched them in a different order.

diary
dawn
night
land
day


what is interesting is that if you watch them in this order, day is a perfect way to sum up the movies before it. taken this way day is like an epilouge to the larger story.

anyway it was a post in one of the interminable timeline wars that start from time to time that got me to thinking about watching all 5 in this order. i can't remember who it was though...

[SRP76]

How does Night follow Dawn? If you saw Dawn, then Night isn't going to seem like anything other than a toned-down rehash of what you've already seen.

[capncnut]

How does Night follow Dawn? If you saw Dawn, then Night isn't going to seem like anything other than a toned-down rehash of what you've already seen.
I was gonna say...

Diary
Dawn
Night

WTF? :D

[MikePizzoff]

Hm, I don't think I'd ever watch them in that order. I'd stick to the chronology it's supposed to be...

Diary
Night
Dawn
Day
Land

[Bub666]

I think Day would be the perfect ending to Gar's dead movies.

[Yojimbo]

While I agree that the ending of DAY, with it's rather optimistic tone, would make nice endcap for the series, I think that it actually occurs before LAND, though the timeline for the films itself have been well debated (search out "timeline") without a definitive answer.

I am inclined to agree with Mike and say that I would watch these films in order of creation. So that would be:

NOTLD
DOTD
DAY
LAND
DIARY

Though, if you wanted to include the Savini remake, it would appear out of order, between DAY and LAND. Ditto for the DOTD remake, which I think does not belong on the same list, but would also go between DAY and LAND if added.

Digressing from the OP concept, I have heard it suggested that THE CRAZIES could also be put on this list, but based on the chronology it would have to then go before NOTLD (since this would be a precursor to to the dead reanimating), but it was actually made by Romero in the time frame between NOTLD and DOTD.

[Trin]

I think Land has a more optimistic ending than Day and one with more finality to it. At the end of Land the zombies and humans have come to a kind of truce. The zombies have evolved (for lack of an accurate term) and are content to leave the human food alone. The humans are no longer destroying the zombies. They're content to drive off into the sunset under a blanket of fireworks. All the badguys are dead, the oppressed are free, and everything is wonderful.

Day following Land doesn't make sense. In Day the zombies are all back to chowing on humans and Bub is taking only the first rudimentary steps toward evolving past the hunger. It's a huge step backwards from how Land ends.

What would've been great is if instead of having Big Daddy we just had Bub lead the zombies in Land. That would clear up timelines and also explain how one zombie could be so different than the rest.

[sandrock74]

I think Land has a more optimistic ending than Day and one with more finality to it. At the end of Land the zombies and humans have come to a kind of truce. The zombies have evolved (for lack of an accurate term) and are content to leave the human food alone. The humans are no longer destroying the zombies. They're content to drive off into the sunset under a blanket of fireworks. All the badguys are dead, the oppressed are free, and everything is wonderful.

Day following Land doesn't make sense. In Day the zombies are all back to chowing on humans and Bub is taking only the first rudimentary steps toward evolving past the hunger. It's a huge step backwards from how Land ends.

What would've been great is if instead of having Big Daddy we just had Bub lead the zombies in Land. That would clear up timelines and also explain how one zombie could be so different than the rest.

Thats only because the zombies had just got done eating! Once the zombies got hungry again, the survivors at the Green would be chow.

[Bub666]

Thats only because the zombies had just got done eating! Once the zombies got hungry again, the survivors at the Green would be chow.

I kind of agree,There was no truce between the zombie and the humans.

[AcesandEights]

Diary
Night
Dawn
Day
Land

Clearly.

/sigh

Another chronology argument.

[Trin]

Thats only because the zombies had just got done eating! Once the zombies got hungry again, the survivors at the Green would be chow.Lol - Romero was probably making a political statement that the zombies are better at portion control and watching their weight than the humans. Even at a buffet they know when to stop eating. That puts them far ahead of me. :p


I kind of agree,There was no truce between the zombie and the humans.The zombies all left the green ignoring the remaining humans. Riley purposefully let them go. What else would you call it?

I put the order as:
Night
Diary
Dawn
Day
Land

I put Night before Diary because they start at the same time but Diary goes longer into the outbreak than Night.

[Mike70]

my intention was to take them all as one big story. having said that, i then decided to watch them sort of in media res. this is a commonly used device in ancient epics, where you start in the middle of the story (or have a prolouge that then jumps to the middle).

it was just an experiment that i found mildly diverting. my intention was not start another timeline war (i am done with those) but to shake it up a bit and view them out of sequence (release wise) and see what that did to the story. as i said in the first post, viewed in this way, day makes a perfect way to end things.


it was simply that and nothing more...

[Bub666]

The zombies all left the green ignoring the remaining humans. Riley purposefully let them go. What else would you call it?

How do we know if they were ignoring the remaining humans.For all we know,they were chaseing some humans.As for Riley letting the zombies go,I call that not wasting ammo.

[Trin]

How do we know if they were ignoring the remaining humans.For all we know,they were chaseing some humans.As for Riley letting the zombies go,I call that not wasting ammo.
We know they were ignoring the humans for lots of reasons:

- If they were chasing some humans Riley would've shot them. He wasn't about to let them chase down humans.

- The zombies were walking slowly with no agitation. Compare that with any scene in the movie where they were pursuing humans.

- Big Daddy made eye contact with Riley and then turned away. He showed no interest in pursuing Riley as food.

If Riley were just not wasting ammo he would've said, "Don't shoot them we need the ammo." A very practical statement. Instead he said, "They're just looking for a place." That's a philosophical view on why shooting them is wrong. He didn't have any problem shooting off the fireworks as they drove away. Up to that point the fireworks was a vital piece of their strategy in dealing with the zombies and they were wasting it frivolously.

I maintain that the zombies had no further interest in humans and that Riley let them go on purpose.

[Dillinger]

Night --> Dawn --> Day, in that order.

I don't consider Land or Diary as being part of the timeline.

[Marie]

The zombies all left the green ignoring the remaining humans. <Snipage> What else would you call it?

Any good student of animal husbandry will tell you to leave a good sturdy breeding population so the animals don't become inbred and weak. Better breeding makes for better meat.:D

M_

[Dillinger]

Any good student of animal husbandry will tell you to leave a good sturdy breeding population so the animals don't become inbred and weak. Better breeding makes for better meat.:D

M_

Actually, I thought various breeds of horses and dogs (and European monarchs) were all inbred?

[Marie]

Actually, I thought various breeds of horses and dogs (and European monarchs) were all inbred?

Perhaps somewhat, to bring out desirable recessives, but there has to be balance or you end up with something like the Hapsburg jaw or God forbid the hemophillia that plagued the Russian Royals.

M_

[Millard Rausch]

I think Land has a more optimistic ending than Day and one with more finality to it

As compared to a zombie free island ah-soaking up sum sunshine and getting some babies?
Works for you ok,...

[Trin]

My point is that Day's ending was optimistic for 3 people and only 3 people.

Land's ending held hope for the entire human race.

[Millard Rausch]

How so?
I only counted like 4-7 people in dead reckoning and they had not found a place.
= future not too bright