does anybody have a copy of....

[zombie theo]

The The Scream Factory 25th Anniversary NOTLD Tribute magazine?

or if your a big night of the living dead fan could you help answer a few questions I might have about the film.

[ProfessorChaos]

i do have a copy of that magazine. and there are quite a few people on here who's love for NotLD is beyond belief...

so what's the question? i'm sure that you'll have it answered within 48 hrs of posting it.

[zombie theo]

I'm doing a paper on the cultural appropriation of the film. Because according to Ben Hervey's BFI classics book the film was intended to have very little cultural reactionary content. However the film was applauded and elevated by some most notably Andy Warholes magazine Interview (a review that ran synonymous with an interview, one that I would love to get copy of).
The film then hit the midnight screening runs replacing El Topo
The film then started having student run campus showings where notes were distributed to the attending students.
The question is, what political affiliations did these screening have? what notes were given out? do they they highlight race issues in the film or look at the anti 'nam feeling that the film arguably portrays. If these ideas didn't start at the universities where did they start? Has anyone got a copy of the handouts or some reading material of first hand accounts of attending the screenings?

[ProfessorChaos]

hmm. that's a bit out of my range of knowledge on this one. for my money, though the film was just made as a monster movie. there wasn't a whole lot of hidden messages and meaning to the film, people just interpret the thing that way. others may say otherwise, though. i'll have to drag that book out and see if there's any mention of any of those screenings.

[zombie theo]

The real question is where the interpretations of primarily war and race were incubated. because the film has become known as a counter cultural icon

[krakenslayer]

What Zombie Theo is asking is not so much regarding the film itself, but about how it was received, and what forces influenced the way it was received. It's beside the point whether or not Night was intended to have a political subtext, what he's studying is how it came to be perceived as having a political subtext. The history of people's reactions to the film, if you like.

If it was shown on campuses together with explanatory notes, for example, were those screenings arranged by student groups affiliated with (say) civil rights or anti-Vietnam campaigners, and has this influence filtered down to how the film is seen today?

My first instinct is that these questions are probably beyond the scope of HPotD, but I shouldn't be too hasty because like Prof said, there are folks on here who are absolute fountains of knowledge on the subject. There is more than one member on the forums who has written a book on the subject. Although they tend to be from the making-of style, interviews-with-the-crew angle, there might be some people on here who could help with this.

[zombie theo]

Thank you krakenslayer I really couldn't have said it any better myself.
Also if anyone doesn't know the answer feel free to push me to sources that would help.

[ProfessorChaos]

i've got that 25th anniversary magazine here in my hands and i'm looking at the table of contents. only one essay looks like it may have any answer to your question. why did you specify this magazine? is there a particular piece in here that you know of that would be of assistance to you?

[zombie theo]

Well yes and no, I assumed the magazine would contain a wide set of readings of the film. Many of them taking a more formalist approach to the analysis of the film. By reading the various interpretations of the film I would hope to further explore the cultural significance of the films post-structuralist analysis as texts rather then the film it's self.
For example the post-structuralist analysis that led many to believe that the Film El Topo had some secret underlying message for America, in turn led to it's multiple midnight screenings. When in actuality the film had no cogent message.

Also does anyone know if the film being in the public domain acted as a lubricant to getting the film into universities

[clanglee]

I could not show any proof but I have always held that the "deeper" meaning attributed to both Night and Dawn, came much much later. Especially in the case of Night. You are probably on the right track with looking into campus viewings. Maybe film appreciation classes as well. A lot of subtext is created in such locations.

You may want to ask Dubious Comforts. He is probably our foremost expert on the movie, and even if he doesn't have your specific answers, he may have some interesting ideas on the subject.

---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ----------

Oh and welcome, and thanks for starting one of the most interesting dead related topics in quite a while. You actually got me to respond. . .no easy feat nowadays. ;)

[zombie theo]

So after a bit of thinking. could some of the more formalist interpretations come out of the films midnight screenings.

The clientele of the screenings were pretty much the same as those for El Topo a film whose audience were notorious for watching the film whilst high and then discussing the symbolism of the film. for they were convinced that there was a hidden message for the American youth.
Is the tradition of reading NotLD as a cultural commentary just a continuation of a pass time inspired by El topo?

Before the midnight screenings and before the films screenings in the Moma NY Was the Andy Warhol review/interview. could that have inspired the formalist approach people brought to the film? does anybody have a copy of that?

preferably.
Interview vol.1 no.4 (1969) p.23 (USA)
review (by George Abagnalo)

[BillyRay]

I think a lot of the "hidden meaning" of the film comes from the circumstances of it's Premiere.

Stop me if you've heard this one (or if I get a couple of the details wrong), but on the night of the big NOTLD premiere in Pittsburgh, George Romero and John Russo are on their way to the theater, fresh prints of their never-seen-before film in the trunk, when the announcer comes on the radio to announce that Rev Martin Luther King has just been assassinated in Memphis. Considering the film ends with the shooting death of the cool-headed African-American hero, it put a "social-message spin on the entire film that wasn't intended. (Duane Jones was cast as Ben because he was the most talented actor that they knew, the role wasn't intentionally written as such.)

Although any themes of race or class are strictlly coincidental in this film, Romero would go on to more overt themes and messages in his subsequent films.

Welcome to the board. :)

[C5NOTLD]

I think a lot of the "hidden meaning" of the film comes from the circumstances of it's Premiere.

Stop me if you've heard this one (or if I get a couple of the details wrong), but on the night of the big NOTLD premiere in Pittsburgh, George Romero and John Russo are on their way to the theater, fresh prints of their never-seen-before film in the trunk, when the announcer comes on the radio to announce that Rev Martin Luther King has just been assassinated in Memphis.)

It was actually Russ Streiner and George Romero driving to NY to screen the film for a potential distributor. Not to the premiere. The killing of Martin Luther King undoubtedly would have created more impact on distributors who screened the picture at the time due to the ending.

Was there talk behind the scenes or late at night or during a slow day in the office - yes definitely. But I doubt there was a whole underlining subtext placed into the film on purpose. There was NO mention of any subtext in early Pittsburgh news articles/interviews around the time of the filming. You are dealing with 20/20 hindsight, which can change through the years, with press questions today which is different than what was happening at the time. They were simply trying to get a low budget horror film produced which would be distributed against extraordinaire odds and circumstances into a market opportunity they saw. And they would do whatever was necessary, working as a cohesive team, to accomplish that single minded goal. The talented teamwork ultimately is one of the key ingredients that led to the success of the film.
They were more worried about completing the production of the film and having enough money to do it rather than placing subtexts into the film.

As for the origins of the subtext - Most, but not all, early reviews didn't even dig into any politicial subtext such as:
The Villager (Greenwich Village) review by John Broeck 9/9/71 - closest he came was stating "man against his faceless society"

NY Post review by Barbara Trecker 10/28/72 - surmises that "word of mouth sustained the film "and made it popular on college campuses as it was panned by critics when it first opened in NY at the New Amsterdam Theater in December of 1968.

Catholic Film Newsletter review 2/29/72 - simply talks about how it's low budget nature adds to the reality of the nightmare.

Newsweek review by Paul D. Zimmerman 11/8/72 - doesn't refer to any subtext and mentions the film amassing $3 million in ticket sales and talks about the "perfect cliches" of characters. Duane Jones is referred to simply as "the capable hero." While the reason why fans love it even more is because there is "no redemption of a happy ending."

But it is in Newsday where some early subtext shows up in 1971 (which would have around the time of the Waverly Theater midnight screenings in NY):
Newsday review by Harry Pearson 10/20/71 This is around the first time a major reviewer mentions that the audience is talking about the picture after seeing it. It's "weaknesses become strengths." And it contains the most interesting opinion I found in any of the reviews or write ups on the film to date where he mentions "It is movement which provides the transitions, from first scene to last, and it is movement that is the foundation...That makes NOTLD so very cohesive." A nice tribute to Romero's editing and directing skill on the film. Also mentions "It is not I think coincidence that the last repository of individualism in the film is represented by a black."

The film's popularity certainly increased in the 1970's with distrbution to college campuses where New Line Cinema was the one of the distributors. The notes distributed to students for the screenings were from their professors (film class related as part their cirriculum) and/or the 5 page handout for general small audiences and theater booking managers which contained national reviews that had plot descriptions/plot breakdown from The Select Film Company (a distribution company out of Chicago Illinois).

[zombie theo]

That sounds great has anybody got a copy of the, Newsday review by Harry Pearson 10/20/71

[AcesandEights]

That sounds great has anybody got a copy of the, Newsday review by Harry Pearson 10/20/71

You could try newspaperarchive.com, perhaps.

[zombie theo]

woop! woop! I found it
It wasn't actually in the newspaper Newsday but it was in The Tuscaloosa News
:) goodness that took a while

[BillyRay]

Thanks, C5NOTLD, I knew some of my facts weren't completely straight.

Always good to have somebody who really knows what they're talking about, eh? :D

[C5NOTLD]

woop! woop! I found it
It wasn't actually in the newspaper Newsday but it was in The Tuscaloosa News
:) goodness that took a while


The original review was in Newsday but Harry Pearson's reviews were syndicated to other publications (before he became Newsday's environmental reporter).

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a152/USCJC/Hpears.jpg

[zombie theo]

dude you are awesome. thanks so much for all the help