Zombie Flesh Eaters

[ryansson]

Hey all,
Am wanting to buy a copy of this on dvd but I would like a copy as close to the original uncut release as is possible; anyone know the best edition to get?

[capncnut]

A. Any version that was put out after 2005, as that's when it was finally released uncut. B. Make sure that it is 91 minutes approximately. I saw one in HMV the other day for £5.99.

[SymphonicX]

erm...it's a gash movie anyway...hehehe

[ryansson]

It's one of the first zed films I ever saw so it's about nostalgia for me rather than a great movie, dont remember it being that bad though ... found a copy on amazon but it's 90 mins long so I guess that'll be cut then? Thanks for info capncnut

btw capncnut, did the one in HMV have a black cover?

[dracenstein]

My copy is 90 minutes long and seems uncut.

This is the DVD video extreme version.

It doesn't say it's uncut, and on the back cover it says 'more gore than allowed before!!'

So what is missing from this edition?

[EvilNed]

dracenstein, if anything is cut on your DVD, it's the eye-splinter scene for sure. I'm sure that scene lies around the internet somewhere. Try to find it and compare it to your DVD. If you see the splinter go INTO her eye and a fair bit into it, and there are no sudden "musical cuts", then it's uncut.

[dracenstein]

That eye scene is intact.

So I guess I got the uncut version. I thought I had.

[ryansson]

dracenstein what's the front cover like on your copy?

[MoonSylver]

erm...it's a GREAT movie anyway...hehehe

There, I fixed that for ya.;)

There was a "Zombi 25th anniversary edition" released here in the states by Anchor Bay. Don't know if it was released in other regions & all that, but if I ws looking for a new copy that's the one I'd get.

[ryansson]

Nope dont think that one was released here. This is the only recent-ish copy I can find at amazon:

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i206/titanicvoyager/zombi.jpg

[dracenstein]

Ryansson, this one;

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3231750400/tt0080057

[Cody]

one of my fav zombie movies.

[MinionZombie]

I got this version on Region 1 DVD:

http://www.shockingimages.com/fulci/graphics/zombi2_DVD.jpeg

25th Anniversary edition, double disc it was if memory serves. Uncut of course.

I originally saw the flick on Channel 4 years and years ago when they did an "extreme" season and showed it - but obviously it was the cut version at the time, so the eye splinter thing cut away just as the splinter touched the eye, and there were various trims here and there, especially to that bit where you see the woman surrounded by zeds feasting on her and there's gore everywhere.

I liked it, then hated it, then I liked it again, hehe.

A blatant cash-in on GAR's Dawn, and it's not exactly deep, but it's ideal when I fancy a slice of exploitation horror-'zombi'-grot cinema.

[MoonSylver]

I got this version on Region 1 DVD:

http://www.shockingimages.com/fulci/graphics/zombi2_DVD.jpeg

25th Anniversary edition, double disc it was if memory serves. Uncut of course.

I originally saw the flick on Channel 4 years and years ago when they did an "extreme" season and showed it - but obviously it was the cut version at the time, so the eye splinter thing cut away just as the splinter touched the eye, and there were various trims here and there, especially to that bit where you see the woman surrounded by zeds feasting on her and there's gore everywhere.

I liked it, then hated it, then I liked it again, hehe.

A blatant cash-in on GAR's Dawn, and it's not exactly deep, but it's ideal when I fancy a slice of exploitation horror-'zombi'-grot cinema.

Yep that's the one MZ...I was at work & didn't have time to google up the image, etc. As for the cash in part...I've HEARD that the script had already been written (& production commenced?) shortly before the release of Dawn. Now as for the release...yeah...definitely riding Dawn's coattails. But a worth flick on it's own IMO.

[fulci fan]

Dawn of the Dead and Zombi 2 are two different films altogether. Zombi 2 was already being made by the time Dawn came to Italy. Just because it is a zombie film does not mean they copied off of Romero. Hell of the Living Dead is as close as it gets and that film only copied the swat team and music.

Zombi 2 is better than Dawn I think.

[Yojimbo]

Hell of the Living Dead is as close as it gets and that film only copied the swat team and music.

Zombi 2 is better than Dawn I think.
Dude, I can dig that you are a fan of fulci - I think Fulci rocks too - and you can have the opinion that Zombie2 is better thand Dawn, but you are very wrong about Hell of the Living Dead copying only the swat team and music.

[EvilNed]

Hell of the Living Dead copied more from other italo-flicks than from Dawn, once you get past the obvious that is (Swat team and music!).

[MinionZombie]

Yep that's the one MZ...I was at work & didn't have time to google up the image, etc. As for the cash in part...I've HEARD that the script had already been written (& production commenced?) shortly before the release of Dawn. Now as for the release...yeah...definitely riding Dawn's coattails. But a worth flick on it's own IMO.
Well I was really meaning more of a "cash-in" in terms of the title - scenes as Dawn of the Dead was known as "Zombi" in Italy, here we have Fulci's flick coming out titled "Zombi 2", which couldn't be further from the truth...that's what I was meaning by cash-in.

[major jay]

Hell of the Living Dead copied more from other italo-flicks than from Dawn, once you get past the obvious that is (Swat team and music!).

Zombi 3 (co-directed by Fulci and Mattei) may hold the title for copying other zombie flicks. It steals from The Crazies, Dawn, Day and even Fulci's own Zombi 2....But that's the reason I love it!

[EvilNed]

Zombi 3 (co-directed by Fulci and Mattei) may hold the title for copying other zombie flicks. It steals from The Crazies, Dawn, Day and even Fulci's own Zombi 2....But that's the reason I love it!

You forget the most obvious, Return of the Living Dead...

What does it steal from Dawn?

[ryansson]

I actually enjoyed ROTLD for the comic film it was meant to be and also the zed effects where great

[krakenslayer]

Just discovered this is playing at an art house theatre in my city on Monday, with an introduction by Ian McCulloch, no less (the star of Zombie Flesh Eaters, Contamination, Survivors and Zombie Holocaust). Needless to say I've booked my tickets:

http://www.gft.org.uk/content/default.asp?page=s4_1&filmid=37749&filmview=&weekid=0&date=5/4/2009

[MinionZombie]

Just discovered this is playing at an art house theatre in my city on Monday, with an introduction by Ian McCulloch, no less (the star of Zombie Flesh Eaters, Contamination, Survivors and Zombie Holocaust). Needless to say I've booked my tickets:

http://www.gft.org.uk/content/default.asp?page=s4_1&filmid=37749&filmview=&weekid=0&date=5/4/2009
Lucky bastard. :)

If I lived there, I too would so be on that - hope you have a kick arse time ... no doubt you'll be taking along your DVD for signing? :)

[krakenslayer]

Lucky bastard. :)

If I lived there, I too would so be on that - hope you have a kick arse time ... no doubt you'll be taking along your DVD for signing? :)

Hmm... the only Zombie Flesh Eaters DVD I own is part of the Anchor Bay Box of the Banned set. I supposed I could get the box set signed. Oh, and I have Box of the Banned 2, which contains Contamination, so I could take that along too. :thumbsup:

[Yojimbo]

Lucky Kraken. Have a kick ass time, brother.

[AcesandEights]

Damnshazam, Kraken...you are a lucky devil! Enjoy it, man.

[krakenslayer]

Lucky Kraken. Have a kick ass time, brother.

Thanks man, I'm actually really excited.

Ian McCulloch is a total legend of Italian horror and was a pretty big player in the British TV world in the early 80s. Apparently, though, he is now a bit reclusive and lives and works on a rabbit farm in England somewhere and very rarely agrees to talk about the horror movies he did (I think the only other time he did so was a commentary for an American laserdisc release of this movie, years back), so getting him was a major coup on behalf of the Glasgow Film Theatre. They probably tempted him with the prospect of a free weekend in sunny Glasgow or something. :D

[blind2d]

there are some great effects, to be sure. the two seem like very separate entities to me, though. love them both.

[MagicMoonMonkey]

Kraken,
The link you posted doesn't appear to work.

What time is this presentation on Monday at? Is there still tickets available?

Clue me up my young friend.

[triste realtà]

Apparently, though, he is now a bit reclusive and very rarely agrees to talk about the horror movies he did

Except when he's on the Italian Invasion panel at Chiller:::

iDWJ3sTfIjM

(see the related section for parts 234)

[krakenslayer]

Kraken,
The link you posted doesn't appear to work.

What time is this presentation on Monday at? Is there still tickets available?

Clue me up my young friend.

Looks like they moved the page. Try this one:

http://www.gft.org.uk/content/default.asp?page=s4_1&filmid=34366&filmview=&weekid=0&date=5/4/2009

I think there're still tickets left, but I'd advise you to book it online or over the phone as I have a feeling it might sell out before Monday.

[MagicMoonMonkey]

I will ask the wife if I can go in the morning. If I get the nod, I will email you and meet you there.

[capncnut]

Apparently, though, he is now a bit reclusive and lives and very rarely agrees to talk about the horror movies he did
Except when he's on the Italian Invasion panel at Chiller
And when he came to London...

[krakenslayer]

I will ask the wife if I can go in the morning. If I get the nod, I will email you and meet you there.

Cool beans, man!

[krakenslayer]

I will ask the wife if I can go in the morning. If I get the nod, I will email you and meet you there.

Didnae see you there matey! Did you not get the thumbs up? You missed youself, it was great!

Just got back. Had a fantastic time. McCulloch was a complete pleasure to listen to - very eloquent and funny with many interesting anecdotes and more than willing to put up with the most inane comments from certain sections of the audience (including one guy who wouldn't shut up about how much he hated Contamination). He was even so gracious to sign my ticket.

And he gave me his pen (it ran out after he signed my ticket).

It's a "Bic Cristal Clic". :D

[MoonSylver]

Contamination[/I]). He was even so gracious to sign my ticket.

And he gave me his pen (it ran out after he signed my ticket).

It's a "Bic Cristal Clic". :D

Very cool KS. "Zombie" is one of my favorite non-Romero zed films, & McCulloch was awesome in it. I wish he'd made more horror flicks. There was something about his cool charm & dry wit that made him different than the typical horror leading man.

[MinionZombie]

Sounds like a cool time, kraken.

Any highlights from his answers?

[krakenslayer]

Sounds like a cool time, kraken.

Any highlights from his answers?

He was pretty funny:

Q: "So working in all these European horror films, how did that affect your career from then on?"
A: "I never worked in feature films again."

He also read out some hilariously scathing reviews of his acting in Zombie Flesh Eaters that he found on an internet forum (not this one :) ).

He spoke about how, after shooting Survivors, he was acting in rep in Plymouth for such a small sum of money that he was effectively subsidising the theatre when he was offered the role in a film that would pay $12,000, take him to New York, Rome and the Dominican Republic, and allow him to bring his girlfriend along. The film was Zombie and that was how he got into movies.

He talked about his suspicions that Contamination was actually co-funded by the Italian mafia and a Columbian drugs cartel.

He also complained that in all the Italian films he did, with with so many naked and scantily-clad women running around, he never actually got anywhere with them on-screen, except when he had to rescue a topless Auretta Gay.

[MinionZombie]

He was pretty funny:

Q: "So working in all these European horror films, how did that affect your career from then on?"
A: "I never worked in feature films again."

He also read out some hilariously scathing reviews of his acting in Zombie Flesh Eaters that he found on an internet forum (not this one :) ).

He spoke about how, after shooting Survivors, he was acting in rep in Plymouth for such a small sum of money that he was effectively subsidising the theatre when he was offered the role in a film that would pay $12,000, take him to New York, Rome and the Dominican Republic, and allow him to bring his girlfriend along. The film was Zombie and that was how he got into movies.

He talked about his suspicions that Contamination was actually co-funded by the Italian mafia and a Columbian drugs cartel.

He also complained that in all the Italian films he did, with with so many naked and scantily-clad women running around, he never actually got anywhere with them on-screen, except when he had to rescue a topless Auretta Gay.
Cool info, it must have been an entertaining day. :)

[ryansson]

Well finally got round to ordering the 25th anniversary edition of this, getting pretty scarce now in the UK and have seen it online for £50+ but managed to grab a copy for £16. Just read a review of this edition though and it gets slated as it's been cleaned up too well making the SE's look dreadful. Anyone care to comment who has this ?

[MinionZombie]

Well finally got round to ordering the 25th anniversary edition of this, getting pretty scarce now in the UK and have seen it online for £50+ but managed to grab a copy for £16. Just read a review of this edition though and it gets slated as it's been cleaned up too well making the SE's look dreadful. Anyone care to comment who has this ?
Really? I thought the 25th Anniversary print was rather spiffing (I've got the R1 disc).

[ryansson]

I guess some people might prefer the grainy effect of the original, looking forward to seeing it all cleaned up myself. Not seen the other two films, any good?

[MinionZombie]

ZFE2 aka Zombi 3 is kinda funky. It's really daft and all over the shop, but it's still kinda good. ZFE3 aka Zombi 4 I've only seen once - okay in general.

ZFE1 aka Zombi 2 is the one you really want to spend your time on though. Fulci seemed to put some actual effort into Zombi 2, but he then did Zombi 3 and he just seemed like he couldn't be arsed most of the time with that flick, I have to say.

[krakenslayer]

In terms of plot, themes and atmosphere, Dawn and Zombie are quite different.

On the business side of things, Zombie nonetheless received a boost in popularity by riding Dawn's coat-tails, and there is some debate as to exactly how far the producers went to grab those coat-tails. Apparently the movie was already in pre-production around the same time Dawn was being prepped for release, but that doesn't mean the producers didn't hear that Dario and Claudio Argento were working with George Romero on a zombie movie and, and since at that time everything Argento touched became Italian box office gold, decided that they too would have a slice of that potentially lucrative pie. It's also unknown how much the script changed between the initial story concept (which was, I believe, a far more old-school I Walked with a Zombie-style voodoo-oriented horror film) and the final shooting script. Specifically, were the extended scenes in the US always part of the story, and did the story always end with what is easily construed as a lead-in to the opening of Dawn of the Dead (effectively turning the film into a prequel to Romero's series)?

[krakenslayer]

I guess some people might prefer the grainy effect of the original, looking forward to seeing it all cleaned up myself. Not seen the other two films, any good?

Good is not the word, but entertaining in their own way. Claudio Fragasso (the director of Troll 2, which has been called "the best worst movie ever made") was involved in both of the "sequels", so that should give you a fair idea of what to expect.

I use the term "sequel" very loosely since both Zombi 3 and Zombie 4: After Death (called Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 and 3 over here) have even less to connect them than Dawn and Zombi 2 (aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 1).

---------- Post added at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 PM ----------



Talking of prequel-y Dawn things, the Japanese theatrical Dawn supposedly had a scrolling text intro (I think it might've been approved by Romero, not sure) that explained the zombie uprising as the result of a meteorite hitting the Earth. This was confirmed by Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, who was in attendance at an early 80's screening.


I had heard that before. I always wondered why they didn't stick with Night's suggested explanation of a returning space probe bringing back something nasty from Venus, if they felt they really must have a sequel.

[krakenslayer]

I meant that to say "explanation" not "sequel" lol

[ryansson]

Ah feck just got notified of a refund as Zombi 2 25th anniversary aint in stock so have settled for ZFE the extreme version:shifty:

[krakenslayer]

Ah feck just got notified of a refund as Zombi 2 25th anniversary aint in stock so have settled for ZFE the extreme version:shifty:

Watch out: if it's the Vipco or Stonevision Video "Extreme Edition" ("MORE GORE THAN ALLOWED BEFORE!!"), it is actually still cut by about ten or twenty seconds. It misses a few seconds of the splinter sliding into the eye socket (the splinter breaking off is left intact) and several seconds are missing from the Mrs Menard corpse munching scene (there is a noticeable jump in the soundtrack at this point).

As for why it's called the "Extreme Edition": in the late 80s and early 90s the video was very heavily cut, in the mid-90s Vipco released a version with some of the gore re-instated, but still heavily cut overall, and released it as a "strong uncut version" (not to be confused with the early 80s, pre-cert "strong uncut version" which really was uncut) to hustle customers who owned the cut version into double dipping for the video.

A few years later, they reinstated yet more gore scenes, still retaining a couple of BBFC-ordered trims, and called it the "Extreme Edition" to differentiate it from the previous "strong uncut" release.

[MinionZombie]

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1#overall

I routinely use DVDCompare to find out which version is the best and which one I should get - not all of them are listed sometimes, but it's still the best guide out there.

[ryansson]

this is the one I ordered not too sure if it's cut:

http://www.play.com//ProductOutline.aspx?title=4180&r=R2

[krakenslayer]

this is the one I ordered not too sure if it's cut:

http://www.play.com//ProductOutline.aspx?title=4180&r=R2

Yes, it's cut by 23 seconds:
http://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/84E6F01AA28ECA50802567C4002681BB?OpenDocument

This is the version you want:
http://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/FBE4127078EBB6DF802570A7001B8C55?OpenDocument

This uncut version is included in Anchor Bay's "Box of the Banned Vol. 1" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Box-Of-The-Banned-DVD/dp/B000ALVT36), in a Zombie Flesh Eaters DVD boxset along with ZFE2 and ZFE3 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zombie-Flesh-Eaters-Boxset-DVD/dp/B002LXLKMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1276102743&sr=1-1) and on its own (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zombie-Flesh-Eaters-Tisa-Farrow/dp/B00004CZ0A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1276102743&sr=1-2).

[krakenslayer]

HMV £4.99 (http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;0;-1;-1;-1&sku=323158).

Yeah, looks like it's a fiver pretty much everywhere. In fact, it's £4.49 at Zavvi (http://www.zavvi.com/dvd/zombie-flesh-eaters/51963.html) (yes, their website still exists). Looking at Play.com (http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/4180/Zombie-Flesh-Eaters/Product.html) and it seems they're charging £17.99 for the cut version ryansson shelled out for. Looks like the poor guy got shafted there. :(

[krakenslayer]

Still, its got a nice cover. :D

Yeah, but that's pretty expensive for an A4 poster :D

[ryansson]

Ah not to worry, only paid about £4 for it and free postage:rolleyes:

So am I right in saying the only fully uncut version in UK is the one in the Box of the Banned set with the runtime of 91-minutes and 27-seconds?

[krakenslayer]

Ah not to worry, only paid about £4 for it and free postage:rolleyes:

So am I right in saying the only fully uncut version in UK is the one in the Box of the Banned set with the runtime of 91-minutes and 27-seconds?

As I said before, the Box of the Banned version, the Zombie Flesheaters 1, 2 & 3 boxset version, and the "Dead of Night" budget release are all fully uncut. Check the links I posted above.

The version you bought is still a gorefest - all the exploding heads and the uber-slow-motion death by throat ripping (for my money, even more horrific than the splinter scene) are still intact, but those two scenes are defining moments and really should be experienced.

[ryansson]

Just checked out the eye scene and to me it looks intact, zombie grips hair pulls towards splinter, splinter goes in, splinter breaks and woman pulls to side with splinter still in eye. If this is a cut version I have then I wonder what might be cut?

[ryansson]

Ah ok, still nice to see the film again after a while. May order the version Krakenslayer recommended

[ryansson]

ordered the box set capn, aint seen the other 4 films any way so good bargain I'd say :)

[krakenslayer]

Just checked out the eye scene and to me it looks intact, zombie grips hair pulls towards splinter, splinter goes in, splinter breaks and woman pulls to side with splinter still in eye. If this is a cut version I have then I wonder what might be cut?

It's a really subtle cut, only a few seconds, excising the moment the splinter actually first penetrates the eye. It was only done for legal reasons, because the BBFC had become more lenient but there were still prosecutions from within the proceeding ten years, from back when it was still banned, so recent that that meant the BBFC were legally obliged to cut SOMETHING from the scene, even though they could have passed it uncut if it had no prosecutions.



.

[fulci fan]

I only wish the actual film was as violent as the script. The splinter scene in the script was much more disgusting.

[krakenslayer]

I only wish the actual film was as violent as the script. The splinter scene in the script was much more disgusting.

I read about that in Eaten Alive: Italian Zombie and Cannibal Films. The splinters went all through her face, or so it said. I've not seen the script, though. Is it available anywhere? Is it even in English?

[fulci fan]

I read about that in Eaten Alive: Italian Zombie and Cannibal Films. The splinters went all through her face, or so it said. I've not seen the script, though. Is it available anywhere? Is it even in English?

Yeah, Eaten Alive is an awesome book. It would be awesome if it was available. Too bad vendors at horror cons really don't give a damn about Italian horror films. You might catch a few neat things, for example, I saw this rare poster once

http://movieposters.wonderfulworldofmovies.com/2010/Doomed_To_Die.jpg

For the most part, horror cons cater toward people that think Freddy and Jason are the cat's ass. :moon: :rolleyes: