NOTLD 1990: The Unseen Version

[bassman]

In October 2019, Happy Cloud Media will be releasing Night of the Living Dead 1990: The Unseen Version in paperback. The book will feature never-released storyboards of Tom Savini’s original vision, behind the scenes photos, and annotations from the director.

Happy Cloud Media’s announcement:


In 1990, the eagerly-awaited remake of the seminal horror film, Night of the Living Dead, was released to theaters. Produced by the original team, the new film had a director in special effects maestro Tom Savini. His vision for the film was a gutsy, visual feast that would, he promised, “make death scary again.”

Disappointingly, for one reason or another, many of Savini’s most outrageous sequences were left unfilmed and unrealized. Now, for the first time, fans of the film can see for themselves the director’s unique vision for Night of the Living Dead 1990.

Happy Cloud Media, LLC is proud to announce the upcoming publication of Mr. Savini’s storyboards as realized by artist Brad Hunter, never before available in their entirety, and thoroughly annotated by the director himself.

Accompanied throughout by rare behind-the-scenes set photos, Night of the Living Dead 1990: The Original Vision will be a valued addition to any horror fan’s bookshelf. A rare glimpse into the work done prior to the cameras rolling, before the first actor is cast, there is the script, the director, and the ideas.

https://happycloudpictures.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/notld-44.jpg

https://happycloudpictures.net/notld90/

The book is currently up for preorder at $19.99.

[JDP]

Even though I liked it, I was a bit disappointed by this movie. Even saw it at the movie theater right when it came out. I won tickets to see it through a radio promotion the day it opened nation-wide; you had to be the first to call the station (Z-Rock, Texas' premiere hard rock & heavy metal station at the time, now gone; these guys obviously loved zombies, even their logo was a zombie head! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Original_zrock.png) whenever you heard creepy zombie moans in the background to win the tickets. So, I was "glued" to the radio, with the phone right by my side, and I friggin' nailed it and got the free tickets. I was indeed expecting it to be a splatter-fest, with Savini at the helm and all, but I found it quite "tame". It is actually less gory than the original.

[bassman]

I love Night90, but yeah I agree that it’s disappointing that Savini wasn’t given the opportunity to execute all of his ideas. It’s well documented that a lot was cut, Savini at one point even saying that he thinks the edits helped the film, so it should be interesting to see what he’d originally intended.

[ProfessorChaos]

i saw this yesterday and pre-ordered it right away. night 90 isn't a perfect movie, but it's a damn good remake that stands right alongside the original in my book.

[shootemindehead]

Disappointingly, for one reason or another, many of Savini’s most outrageous sequences were left unfilmed and unrealized.

There is no "other" reason. The only reason is that the production was wary that if they put any gore scenes into the film, the MPAA would ask them to cut them. The late 80's and into the 90's was the absolute worst time for horror movies. They were tame as fuck and when released on video, were generally cut even further.

So Savini and co just didn't bother because they knew it would have been pointless. It's a bit of a shame, because the one thing that the film could do with was a bit of gore.

[MinionZombie]

There is no "other" reason. The only reason is that the production was wary that if they put any gore scenes into the film, the MPAA would ask them to cut them. The late 80's and into the 90's was the absolute worst time for horror movies. They were tame as fuck and when released on video, were generally cut even further.

So Savini and co just didn't bother because they knew it would have been pointless. It's a bit of a shame, because the one thing that the film could do with was a bit of gore.

And the irony is, even after taming things down the MPAA still cut stuff out and now those snippets are just on scruffy VHS tapes with no original elements remaining, so they'll never be re-inserted into the movie. :(

[bassman]

I imagine the “one reason or another” was just the book’s production company avoiding calling out another organization, the MPAA, in their press release for their own product.



And the irony is, even after taming things down the MPAA still cut stuff out and now those snippets are just on scruffy VHS tapes with no original elements remaining, so they'll never be re-inserted into the movie. :(

It’s been a while since I’ve watched the Night90 documentary, but is it confirmed that the negatives for these deleted scenes were destroyed? If so, is there a reason given? I have a hard time seeing Columbia Pictures NOT keeping most of the edits in a vault somewhere. Especially by the late eighties/early nineties. Sure, the movie didn’t set the world on fire, but by then most film edits were being stored by the major film studios for potential future use.

[shootemindehead]

And the irony is, even after taming things down the MPAA still cut stuff out and now those snippets are just on scruffy VHS tapes with no original elements remaining, so they'll never be re-inserted into the movie. :(

Yeh. There was a pretty neat shotgun head scene that was in and got cut. Something that wouldn't even register today.

[Moon Knight]

When I saw all the gore that was left out I was stunned. I always imagined how much better this would have been; considering how good it already is. Shame.

[MinionZombie]

It’s been a while since I’ve watched the Night90 documentary, but is it confirmed that the negatives for these deleted scenes were destroyed? If so, is there a reason given? I have a hard time seeing Columbia Pictures NOT keeping most of the edits in a vault somewhere. Especially by the late eighties/early nineties. Sure, the movie didn’t set the world on fire, but by then most film edits were being stored by the major film studios for potential future use.

As I recall that's currently the case - the cut footage no longer exists, just those scruffy clips from a VHS copy of the uncut film.

That doesn't mean they might not be out there somewhere ... but then again, it's highly unlikely that an unedited copy of the original elements was released anywhere. The world basically gets the version that the MPAA have deemed okay for North America, unfortunately.

[Neil]

As I recall that's currently the case - the cut footage no longer exists, just those scruffy clips from a VHS copy of the uncut film.

That doesn't mean they might not be out there somewhere ... but then again, it's highly unlikely that an unedited copy of the original elements was released anywhere. The world basically gets the version that the MPAA have deemed okay for North America, unfortunately.

I have it on VHS... But I no longer have a VHS player :(

[EvilNed]

As I recall that's currently the case - the cut footage no longer exists, just those scruffy clips from a VHS copy of the uncut film.

That doesn't mean they might not be out there somewhere ... but then again, it's highly unlikely that an unedited copy of the original elements was released anywhere. The world basically gets the version that the MPAA have deemed okay for North America, unfortunately.

Since they first submitted an uncensored version to the MPAA there's a Master print out there with the head shot included (and whatever else was cut). Probably in some vault, I guess.

[Moon Knight]

Since they first submitted an uncensored version to the MPAA there's a Master print out there with the head shot included (and whatever else was cut). Probably in some vault, I guess.

That headshot, though.....

[bassman]

That headshot, though.....

Even with the very rough VHS footage, it indeed is quite a wonderful effect. Really it makes me wonder what other kind of inventive effects and deaths they originally had in mind. With the inventive deaths Savini came up with for Day, I imagine Vulich and company had some similar things in store for Night90.

[shootemindehead]

It must be terribly frustrating to go through all the rigmarole of creating the effects, setting them up, setting up the shot, shooting and then editing, only to have some ass, who had no input into the production of the film, say it has to be cut out.

I think a few instances of that nonsense and I'd be looking for anew line of work to be honest.

Although, it's a much situation these days.

[MinionZombie]

It must be terribly frustrating to go through all the rigmarole of creating the effects, setting them up, setting up the shot, shooting and then editing, only to have some ass, who had no input into the production of the film, say it has to be cut out.

I think a few instances of that nonsense and I'd be looking for anew line of work to be honest.

Although, it's a much situation these days.

Any interview with the director of Friday the 13th Part 7 shows just this kind of frustration. Behind the hyperbolic language he tends to use ("the MPAA raped my movie", he said in an interview from several years ago), you can see the absolute frustration. Further compounded by his battles with one of the producers on the movie sticking their oar in, believing they were some creative genius, but actually only coming up with shite ideas that had to be fixed at extra cost.

Not so much of an issue nowadays, as you say, although what we see a lot of now is 'cutting for category', whereby distributors/studios actually want to censor their movies in order to get a lower rating (e.g. drop an 18 to a 15, or a 15 to a 12) in order to get more bums on seats. I can understand the mentality behind it, and as long as the fully uncut version hits home media I don't mind so much (as sometimes happens), but I've seen plenty instances where the cut cinema version is what gets rolled out onto DVD/BR. :(

[electrohed]

You can check out the cut footage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6KDCGobDG4

[Neil]

You can check out the cut footage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6KDCGobDG4Hmmm... I don't see a lot different there!?

[MinionZombie]

Hmmm ... that's more alternative edits as its from the early "workprint version", so it won't all be about gore and such. The infamous 'head shot' isn't included in there, for instance.

[ProfessorChaos]

^

oh, but it is, amigo. about 4:50 in....at least, that's the one i think we're referring to....if not, i'd sure like to see the one that is more impressive than that!

bill moseley's lines in the opening are so deeply etched in my brain that it sounds odd even hearing the exact same words in a slightly different tone.

i have three different releases of this on blu ray, plus a dvd copy, but i'd shell out for it again if they ever found a way to properly include the stuff that didn't make the cut.

[Neil]

I've got a complete copy of the "work print version" on VHS. I just don't have a VHS player any more :duh:

[MinionZombie]

^

oh, but it is, amigo. about 4:50 in....at least, that's the one i think we're referring to....if not, i'd sure like to see the one that is more impressive than that!

:lol:

Oh aye, you're right. I must have skimmed past that moment!

Been a while since I watched my DVD of it.

[Moon Knight]

That headshot lol

Really wish this flick was never neutered. Still great, though.

[shootemindehead]

That headshot lol

Really wish this flick was never neutered. Still great, though.

Aye me too.

Bloody MPAA destroyed everything in the 90's.

[ProfessorChaos]

Did anyone else pre-order this book? If so, have you received it in the mail yet? I just saw that it is available on Amazon, and they say they release day was September 3rd, but I have not received my copy yet.

Edit: well I sent an email, got a quick response saying that the estimated shipping date is sometime early in October still, and Amazon has the wrong listing for the release date. Apparently an email went out last week to all who placed pre-orders, but I don't think I got it.

[ProfessorChaos]

received an email with a tracking number today, but it didn't specify which carrier will have it, but it looks to be on its way at least!

[Neil]

I love Night90, but yeah I agree that it’s disappointing that Savini wasn’t given the opportunity to execute all of his ideas. It’s well documented that a lot was cut, Savini at one point even saying that he thinks the edits helped the film, so it should be interesting to see what he’d originally intended.

I really like it too!

I've seen his spliced togethor rough cut with extra footage and it's hard to tell if it would have been much different TBH...

- - - Updated - - -


received an email with a tracking number today, but it didn't specify which carrier will have it, but it looks to be on its way at least!

Expect a review :)

[ProfessorChaos]

okay, well, it arrived yesterday, got around to looking at it this evening, and to be honest, it's a bit of a let-down. it's pretty much what is advertised, as the bulk of the book (about 110 of the 140 or so pages) are just storyboards. there are like 6 square images per page, and you have to turn the damn book sideways to look at them in their proper orientation. there are a few pages of an introduction by tom savini, and every page or so of the storyboards has a couple sentences about what was cut out, what never got filmed, etc. there's also a couple paragraphs transcripted from interviews with bill moseley and patricia tallman before the storyboard start and a gallery at the end with several photos i'd not seen before from behind the scenes and close-up shots of featured zombies.

as for the major differences that stood out to me, here they are, for those curious:

zombie POV shots (kinda silly, if you ask me)
tom catches on fire before the truck and causes the pumps to explode (would have been cool to see, the storyboard pics looked pretty cool)
helen tries to perform CPR on karen, who reanimates and bites her lip off...helen grabs a garden trowel to defend herself but can't bring herself to hurt her daughter
barbara shoots johnny as she is leaving the house when things are falling apart
the film ends with ben and harry's corpses laying on each other, pretty much face to face, as they burn with the other victims of the night's mayhem the next day

there are various other ideas mr. savini had for cinematic effects and whatnot, but most of them were just for visual artsy-fartsy purposes. seems as if his hands were pretty tied by time and budgetary constraints as well as micro-managing, backstabbing, and unnecessary meddling by the studio, and he comes off as rather bitter about some of it to this day. can't really blame the guy, however.

it's not a terrible book, and i have spent 20 bucks on dumber things, for sure, but it's sorta underwhelming. there are no color photos, and the cover art is rather blurry and splotchy-looking. not really cram-packed with information either. still a neat read for fans of the 1990 version, but i managed to get through the entire thing cover-to-cover in less than 2 hours.

our very own lee karr's book on the making of day of the dead blows this one out of the water in terms of content and quality. i've still not got around to finishing that, but it is chock-full of rare photos, sketches, and gobs and gobs of text. that book is a true labor of love, and this one seems like something thrown together on a whim. i guess i was expecting something along the lines of that when i ordered this, so all in all i am a bit disappointed. i'm not not recommending it, but it's probably something only real film buffs and die-hard fans of savini or this film would really appreciate.

5/10

[shootemindehead]

Ah...that's a pity. :(