Dawn(04) Collector's Edition Blu Ray

[bassman]

Later this year, Shout Factory will be releasing a Collector's Edition of Zack Snyder's Dawn remake. No word yet on what the new special features or possible transfer upgrades will be. http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=293913

[Neil]

Will this one feature even more magic legless zombies dropping from ceilings like ninjas?

[bassman]

Will this one feature even more magic legless zombies dropping from ceilings like ninjas? I managed to make the original post without adding in any opinion or criticism of the film itself because I knew others would come along and cover it for me. Also, love or hate the film, Shout and Snyder himself have a history of releasing Blu rays that are packed with special features, so I'll be picking this up for that reason alone....

[Neil]

I managed to make the original post without adding in any opinion or criticism of the film itself because I knew others would come along and cover it for me. Also, love or hate the film, Shout and Snyder himself have a history of releasing Blu rays that are packed with special features, so I'll be picking this up for that reason alone.... So we expect a whole documentary on magic legless zombie ninjas? Cool!

[bassman]

I don't know how I missed it, but they also have a Collector's Edition of Land being released! With both of these being released at the same time, it looks like the infamous Dawn vs Land thread might get some new entries...

[Neil]

I don't know how I missed it, but they also have a Collector's Edition of Land being released! With both of these being released at the same time, it looks like the infamous Dawn vs Land thread might get some new entries... I'm actually ashamed to suggest I'm just not that interested in Land The first X minutes showed some promise, but then it all turned a bit average...

[bassman]

Of course it can't touch the original trilogy, but I still enjoy it for what it is. Warts and all. It's definitely the best of Romero's recent films, however. Hopefully this new release will have extensive features that cover not only the production of the film, but Romero's 20 year struggle to get it made, as well as the various different drafts. A documentary similar to the DVD/Blu Ray releases for Dawn and Day would make this an enthusiastic purchase for me!

[MinionZombie]

Of course it can't touch the original trilogy, but I still enjoy it for what it is. Warts and all. It's definitely the best of Romero's recent films, however. Hopefully this new release will have extensive features that cover not only the production of the film, but Romero's 20 year struggle to get it made, as well as the various different drafts. A documentary similar to the DVD/Blu Ray releases for Dawn and Day would make this an enthusiastic purchase for me! Yeah, some hefty features for Land would get me to do a double dip - and preferably special features that aren't edited like nu-metal-infused YouTube gaming clips edited by an ADHD-addled thirteen year old boy. While it can't compete with the original trilogy, part of that is that for so many of us those films were always there (or some of us were quite young when they were originally released) - whereas Land of the Dead came to us when we were already very familiar with the original trilogy after having obsessed over them for years. So it wasn't the most fair landscape to step into ... I wonder how new Romero obsessives coming up today, in a world where Night through Land has always been there, react to Land in comparison to the original trilogy.

[JDP]

Yeah, some hefty features for Land would get me to do a double dip - and preferably special features that aren't edited like nu-metal-infused YouTube gaming clips edited by an ADHD-addled thirteen year old boy. While it can't compete with the original trilogy, part of that is that for so many of us those films were always there (or some of us were quite young when they were originally released) - whereas Land of the Dead came to us when we were already very familiar with the original trilogy after having obsessed over them for years. So it wasn't the most fair landscape to step into ... I wonder how new Romero obsessives coming up today, in a world where Night through Land has always been there, react to Land in comparison to the original trilogy. I think it goes beyond just "nostalgia" or "familiarity". Land was just not as dark, gloomy, gritty and gory as Romero's previous zombie flicks. Even if it had come out just a few years after Day, like say in 1988 or so, it would still be very easily perceived as weaker than its predecessors. Future generations will easily perceive this too. It is not necessary to have "grown up" with the original trilogy to see that it is a tamer film than the previous three. - - - Updated - - - I managed to make the original post without adding in any opinion or criticism of the film itself because I knew others would come along and cover it for me. Also, love or hate the film, Shout and Snyder himself have a history of releasing Blu rays that are packed with special features, so I'll be picking this up for that reason alone.... Despite its many drawbacks, I must confess that I found the Dawn remake to be better than I expected. I expected something truly horrible and a total waste of time, like the pseudo-remake of Day of the Dead.

[Neil]

Can't believe I went through Land, looking for all the differences between the theatrical and Unrated DVD cuts - http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/landdiffs.html

[MinionZombie]

dark, gloomy, gritty Did you see "Dawn of the Dead", JDP? Seriously, though, it has its dark moments - more the sense of the hopeless crumbling of society ... and loads of people didn't like Day of the Dead when it initially came out because it wasn't another Dawn. The general opinion of Day of the Dead has risen steadily in the last 30 years - so my point is that Land of the Dead will likely gain better reactions in general with a little distance from its release. Certain flaws still remain, but all the films have their own flaws in certain ways (e.g. Dawn of the Dead has aged considerably, but I still utterly adore it). It's not inconceivable that a young Romero fan coming up could binge watch Night/Dawn/Day/Land and have a different, more accepting, view of Land in that context. Meanwhile a lot of us - whether we liked Land of the Dead or not (I'm a 'Land liker', personally) - will always see it as "the original trilogy and then twenty years later came Land". I feel Land of the Dead is already bedding-in with the passage of time. Those of us who saw it when it originally came out can still bitch and moan about things that could have been different, or we can continue to dig the movie regardless of a few rough edges - but I think future fans of Romero's work will see Land in a different light.

[facestabber]

At the end of the day Snyders Dawn was the springboard for the genre to reignite. Unless mistaken, the popularity of this film helped Romero get his budget and green light for Land. And quite honestly I don't believe The Walking Dead would have come to fruition. Zombies/Walkers were dead(pun intended). Dawn 04 may have had some major flaws but I didn't leave the theater embarrassed as I was a year later watching Land. And people were ripe for a ZA story. In comes Rick fucking Grimes.

[bassman]

The new release received a favorable review from blu-ray.com and sports quite a few new features: DISC ONE: Theatrical Version (1:40:02, 1080p) NEW Take a Chance on Me – An Interview with Actor Ty Burrell (15:28, 1080p) NEW Gunn for Hire – An Interview with Writer James Gunn (9:26, 1080p) NEW Punk, Rock, & Zombie – An Interview with Actor Jake Weber (23:10, 1080p) NEW Killing Time at the Mall: The Special Effects of Dawn of the Dead (25:36, 1080p) Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Zach Snyder and Producer Eric Newman (11:30, 480i) Theatrical Trailer (2:34, 1080p) Still Gallery (8:12, 1080p) DISC TWO: Unrated Version (1:49:11, 1080p) Audio Commentary with Director Zach Snyder and Producer Eric Newman Introduction to the Director's Cut by Zack Snyder (1:18, 480i) Splitting Headaches: Anatomy of Exploding Heads (5:36, 480i) Attack of the Living Dead (7:24, 480i) Raising the Dead (7:54, 480i) Andy's Lost Tape (16:22, 480i) Special Report: Zombie Invasion (21:05, 480i) Undead and Loving It: A Mockumentary (5:09, 480i) Drawing the Dead (2:48, 480i) Storyboard Comparisons (5:51, 480i)

[beat_truck]

I don't even know why they are bothering to include the crappy theatrical version. Having seeing the normal, unrated version many times since it came out, I picked up the theatrical version on VHS just out of curiosity. It really wasn't even worth seeing. They made some odd decisions on what to cut, IMO.

[bassman]

Just found out today that our own Monrozombie recorded a new audio commentary track for the new Land release.