Night of the Flesh Eaters

[DubiousComforts]

Anyone know anything about a pre-Continental title sequence still existing? I've never seen this anywhere except on the G4 Icons "George Romero" episode which aired in 2005.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7899/nightoftheflesheatersfu5.jpg

If this screenshot is a fake, it's a damn good fake and Russo should have hired the G4 guys for the 30th anniversary. Then perhaps the new footage would have actually matched. :D

[clanglee]

Well, that was the original title I believe. They had to change due to copyright infringement or some such nonsence.:rolleyes:

[bassman]

Man....I don't recall how fast Johnny's car moves through that scene, but in that picture it looks like he's hauling ass around that curve....

[capncnut]

That's an interesting photo you got there, certainly looks genuine.

[DubiousComforts]

Well, that was the original title I believe. They had to change due to copyright infringement or some such nonsence.:rolleyes:
You are correct regarding the original title and conflict with the 1964 movie The Flesh Eaters. That's the "official" story, anyhow, but it sounds like nonsense because titles do not fall under copy-protection. Continental simply wanted a different title prior to distributing the film, and the distributor always gets their way.

After seeing that clip shown in the Icons episode, I'm wondering if the NOLD opening credits with the original title still exist somewhere. In the 60s-70s, 16mm film rentals to military bases and schools were very common, and sometimes the film prints would have alternate titles, particularly on foreign and independent films. It would make for a cool extra on a DVD.

[C5NOTLD]

I'm certain that the G4 title was made for the special Romero episode (not original) as the font is close but not exact. Plus the title is on the wrong shot and the original flesh eaters title had the copyright notice on it (which was later left off the night of the living dead prints after the name change).

It's possible that a print still exists out there somewhere that has been forgotten but the Icons title isn't from the original print. Unlikely that any flesh eater prints made it out to film rentals as the title was changed early on before distribution. But someone may have a private print that worked at Continental at the time.


There are a handful of original banners that Romero's father made with the flesh eaters title and some of the early publicity photos are stamped on the back with the flesh eaters title and would have been included in the original press kit.

Apart from those I'm unaware of anything else with the Flesh Eaters title on it that is original.

[DubiousComforts]

I think it's possible that the same situation may exist for the "Night of the Flesh Eaters" title as does for the Godzilla movie, Monster Zero.

Monster Zero was a Japanese-American co-production released in Japan in 1965 with a Japanese title, while the international title was marketed as Invasion of the Astro Monster (UK videos still exist with this title). It was originally going to be released in the US as Invasion of the Astros, but it wasn't until 1970 that it was released as Monster Zero. But 16mm rental prints still exist with the former title (see below).
http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/2826/monsterzeroig9.jpg

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3087/invasionastrosuu7.jpg

In the mid 80s, before there were any pristine video, laserdisc or DVD copies avaliable, I saw a theatrical screening of NOLD in Boston. The print was beat to hell, but you could tell the original quality was beautiful 35mm black & white, it looked just like a Hitchcock film. It was obviously from a different source than all the fuzzy tv broadcasts and p.d. videos that I'd seen up until that time. I didn't notice or remember if there were any differences in this version--the first reel may have been so badly damaged that the title was missing.

I agree that the Icons title is probably not authentic, but the point is that we'll never know exactly what exists without asking or looking for it. I wouldn't assume that the original title was on the exact same shot as the theatrical release, or that a copyright notice was ever there. Sure, that's the story, but it's just a story without any proof.

[C5NOTLD]

I agree that the Icons title is probably not authentic, but the point is that we'll never know exactly what exists without asking or looking for it. I wouldn't assume that the original title was on the exact same shot as the theatrical release, or that a copyright notice was ever there. Sure, that's the story, but it's just a story without any proof.

The Icons Flesh Eaters title is definitely not authentic. You are right in that we'll never know for sure without looking for it.

You never know what may come up. I found several items for my collection (like polaroids taken on the set) that I never knew was out there or that they even used a polaroid camera unless I dug around for them.

The copyright notice was on the title card for the Night of the Flesh Eaters.

It most definitely would have been on the same shot or they would have had additional costs to replace two shots (the old flesh eater title shot would have to replaced with no credit, just the shot, and then putting in the NOTLD title on the new shot). Replacing one shot is much more cost effective and considering the budget extremely likely. Continental wouldn't have went to the extra trouble/cost of doing two shots due to the retitling of the film. They did things the cheap way - printing poor quality prints which is where the film got the reputation (incorrectly) that it was filmed on 16mm and producing poor quality foreign posters - see below explaination.

The Copyright problems came about when the distributor renamed it to Night of the Living Dead and left the copyright notice off the title card where it was on originally. Different cast/crew members have even talked about this from time to time. It was renamed prior to distribution and prior to film prints being struck for the theaters. So it definitely would not have made it to rental libraries as Night of the Flesh Eaters.


I disagree with the Monster Zero comparison. Not the same thing. Titles like Monster zero do get renamed for international distribution- that wasn't the case for NOTLD. NOTLD was renamed prior to distribution and before the films prints were struck for distribution.

So the Night of the Flesh Eaters prints (the 1st print or prints) was/were Latent's Image's print(s) that they would get struck to screen for the distributor's acquisition departments during their search for a distributor. How many they made would be only a guess. I don't recall anyone involved with the production ever saying how many screening prints Latent Image struck.

I could believe only one screening print was struck, but defintiely not many at the cost, considering the exceptional low budget nature of the film. If there is a print out there with the Flesh Eaters title that is forgotten and hidden away then it's a original print from Latent Image.

In fact, later on Continental had to increase the number of prints for international markets, because they weren't prepared for the success of the film in the U.S., they were caught off guard and ended up throwing together quickly some poor quality one sheets (like the pittsburgh review poster which was similar to the regular one sheet but with the review quote at the very top) that was used for printing for international markets. The only difference is that it was made in a dot matrix printing style (image is made up of tiny dots for the international markets as they made a quick duplicate of a single original poster). It was mainly distributed in Spanish speaking markets) and did not have the normal printing style which made a clear image on the poster - rather the dot matrix printing. Same title Night of the Living Dead which had none of the review poster in spanish - all english. Sometimes you can find these posters and on the back the title will be handwritten in Spanish.


It would definitely be great to hear of a Flesh Eaters title print being found one day though.

[DubiousComforts]

I agree that what you're saying makes sense. We've heard the distribution stories many times, how a flood subsequently destroyed many original elements, etc. But Continental was obviously running a fast and loose operation and since nobody involved even caught the copyright omission, you have to wonder what else slipped through the cracks. On the 30th anniversary commentary, they mention not having retained materials that were given to The Animators for the credit sequences. Heck, the Millennium DVD still doesn't have a proper copyright notice on the package, so stuff is still slipping through the cracks.

I wonder about that screening I saw in Boston; no way it could have been an original print, but it looked fantastic. It never occurred to me to ask any questions or do any research back then.

Btw, I remember those continuity Polaroids when they showed up on eBay. You won 'em? Nice! :thumbsup:

[C5NOTLD]

I agree that what you're saying makes sense. We've heard the distribution stories many times, how a flood subsequently destroyed many original elements, etc. But Continental was obviously running a fast and loose operation and since nobody involved even caught the copyright omission, you have to wonder what else slipped through the cracks. On the 30th anniversary commentary, they mention not having retained materials that were given to The Animators for the credit sequences. Heck, the Millennium DVD still doesn't have a proper copyright notice on the package, so stuff is still slipping through the cracks.

I wonder about that screening I saw in Boston; no way it could have been an original print, but it looked fantastic. It never occurred to me to ask any questions or do any research back then.

Btw, I remember those continuity Polaroids when they showed up on eBay. You won 'em? Nice! :thumbsup:


Definitely items slipped through the cracks. Finding them will be the challenging/fun part. I would have thought they would have kept a print with the negatives but.....

Yes the polaroids are great :) Even came with Judy O'Deas make up sheet that was handwritten by Karl Hardman.

[DubiousComforts]

Definitely items slipped through the cracks. Finding them will be the challenging/fun part. I would have thought they would have kept a print with the negatives but.....
I'll bet that nobody ever bothered to check those 35mm prints on file with the Library of Congress since 1968. :D


Yes the polaroids are great :) Even came with Judy O'Deas make up sheet that was handwritten by Karl Hardman.
That's cool. How many Polaroids did you get--Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman? I may have been responsible for bidding up the price of that auction, sorry. :o

[C5NOTLD]

That's cool. How many Polaroids did you get--Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman? I may have been responsible for bidding up the price of that auction, sorry. :o


Why you...!! :lol: That was a few years ago! There was one of Odea and one of Hardman plus her make up sheet.

Yeah I thought about the library of congress too. Undoubtedly they would have already checked there - I would hope......:confused: