DAWN OF THE DEAD DVDS & LASERDISCS

The Japanese were first to release a Dawn of the Dead laserdisc in 1985. Pioneer (SF098-0076) pressed the two disc set as they did with Night of the Living Dead previously. The cover featured a silhouetted gas mask, the back a mosaic of color stills. The inside opened into a gatefold with black and white pictures of various international posters and soundtrack LP covers. An insert booklet was also included summarizing the film and its 118 chapters (!). The picture quality is fair, although richer than the American print from Thorn EMI Video. Extras included the European trailer and a TV spot for Night of the Living Dead. The same year in Japan, the Victor Company released the film as a double VHD (the Asian version of the CED Videodisc, VHP39013 and VHP39014).


Four years later, Thorn EMI Video’s print was released by Image Entertainment (ID6683HB) as another two disc set, with chapter stops. Notable is the final half hour, pressed in CAV format for slow motion capability or still framing. However, all pressings seem to be faulty – the shaky frames are anything but still. Image also included a three page interview with George Romero with the disc entitled ‘I Am Legend’.

Utilizing a very similar cover scheme, Republic (LV25831) released yet another 126 minute print, transferred by Lumiere Pictures, in the U.S. on Sept. 23, 1993. Unfortunately it was not chapter indexed, and the cover was pressed with an incorrect running time of 131 minutes. And like the recalled VHS, it too was labeled "director’s cut’.

Three years later, Japan’s Zombie love affair continued with an impressive box set called Zombie Perfect Collection, licensed by Gaga Communications to Emotion (BELL-745). This marked the debut of the Argento edit (119 minutes) and Cannes cuts (138 minutes) on laserdisc both subtitled in Japanese. The gas mask image made another appearance on the silver mylar box cover. A well-illustrated program book came complete with collectibles in full color at the end as well as an amusing chapter on the film’s mistakes with screen captures. After Romero's Cannes cut there is a video interview with the director conducted from inside his home at the time by the laserdisc’s producers.

Following the enormous reception of the Night of the Living Dead restoration, Elite Entertainment’s Don May Jr. and Vini Bancalari pursued MKR Group for the rights to Dawn of the Dead to bring the 138 minute Cannes cut to laserdisc for the first time in America, in widescreen. As with Night and many of their titles, two editions were pressed. The first (EE3296) shipped October 30, 1996 after months of excellent pre-orders, was a basic CLV disc with only one trailer as a supplement. The infamous bald zombie head peering over the horizon graced the cover with a colorful pink sky behind it. The transfer was astounding, crisp and sharp, making the film look better than it ever had before. The second version actually looked better since it was the CAV "collector’s edition" (EE6255) shipped December 24, 1996. The film was given 67 chapters, a thorough supplementary section comprised of original theatrical trailers, four TV spots, radio spot, scenes from Zombie (the Argento cut), a readable original shooting script, a hundred or so still photos, posters and collectibles and fan testimonials, including an amusing appearance by a Japanese monk named Yoshi after the producer credits. The back cover synopsis reports that there is an additional 15 mins. of footage (whereas the VHS reports 11 mins.); they are the same print, and the actual amount is accurate on the VHS.

The Japanese licensed the Elite discs and their supplements (including commentary) for yet another box set from Beam Entertainment called The Conclusion box set (BILF-9003) released on October 25, 1998. They even included the CD soundtrack.

  
In Europe meanwhile, PAL format laserdiscs surfaced with Germany’s Astro licensing the 117 min. Argento print (NF 20303-LD) in limited editions of 1,000 pressings. 1.66:1 widescreen. Laser Paradise issued the VPS Video print (1964/117) in 1998 with a strangely familiar cover art. The Republic laserdisc’s border was used but instead of the Thorn EMI Video cover photo, they used the German theatrical artwork from Day of the Dead of the bald zombie on a green horizon.

Following their moderate success with the VHS, Anchor Bay Entertainment offered the first American Dawn DVD on November 4, 1997 (DV10325). It was identical in design to the VHS counterpart and the same print with even less extras – one trailer in fact. An "anniversary edition" (DV10731) was released April 27, 1999 in conjunction with the VHS of the strange 128 minute print. Both were 1.66:1 widescreen with a few more extras this time - trailer, some bootleg quality scenes from "Zombi" and a Monroeville Mall spot. All unremarkable in light of the laserdisc from Elite Ent. a few years before. But the supplementary section itself was not licensed to Anchor Bay at that time and purely the property of Elite, which was now run by Vini Bancalari. 

It was another five years before Anchor Bay would issue the old theatrical version in widescreen (DV12163) without the strange extra scenes. This edition followed their amazing Day of the Dead Divimax release, but with far less extras: an all-new commentary by Romeros and Savini, the usual 2 trailers, 3 tv spots, numerous radio spots, poster and ad gallery (mainly South Florida newspaper microfilm printouts). There are no shots of the soundtrack, or board game, and no color stills, just black and white press shots and the advance one-sheet. For some reason, an image of a Japanese postcard subs for the actual one-sheet image. As it appears, many people believe that Anchor Bay rushed this edition out March 9, 2004 to coincide with the remake's release (3/19/04). The insert is two pages of liner notes that surprisingly doesn't overstate the film's importance.

Region 2 DVDs were quickly licensed to Europe, firstly to the BMG label (VFB11214) in the U.K. Interestingly, the company sought their own commentary once again by Tom Savini with friend and Dawn fan Chris Stavrakis (the brother of Taso Stavrakis). A still gallery also was provided. This disc, utilizing the same artwork as the BMG PAL cassette, was released October 25, 1999. 

German company Laser Paradise (1997-100) released their "Red Edition" boxed set a month later in a limited edition of 1,000. This set included the Cannes and Argento cuts. Another cash cow scheme emerged in 2002 as a 6-disc Zombie Survivor Set (1997-307) which included Romero/Argento Zombi cuts and Zombie (Lucio Fulci), and two of its sequels.


The two previously released Japan laserdiscs edits were released on DVD by Beam Entertainment. The first (BIBF-1125) released Oct. 25, 1999 is the standard Japanese version, an Argento edit at 119 minutes. Cover borrows the Italian three-sheet scheme. The second (BIBF-1187) arrived exactly two months later, and was the Cannes cut, with a photo of the zombies on the skating rink for the cover.

The Netherlands (DVD0925) rushed out a double DVD set for 2000 with the same cover as the UK BMG release. Disc One is the Cannes cut with Disc Two including Argento's cut (at 117 min.) and the infamous documentary Document of the Dead. There are even more extra features: Biographies, Filmographies, Theatrical Trailer, Monroeville Mall Commercial Spot, Trailers for Night and Day, and a Photo Gallery. And Astro, ever-fixated on how many times they can reissue the same picture, assembled a special multi-tape or multi-disc set called Trilogy of the Dead (66666-VI) in Dec. 2000 with 537minutes of both Dawns, Night, Day and a documentary. If that was enough a t-shirt, baseball cap and booklet were also provided.



Germany (X Rated   ) 2002
Cover says "Zombie 1" with art taken from the posterbook foldout, Romero interview, trailer.

Italy ( CVC  DSC01S411)  01
114m. in 5.1 Dolby!! Removable subtitles.