Dawn of the Dead is a ferocious horror classic, and it remains one of the most important -- and most controversial -- horror films of all time. It still has deeply loyal fans all over the world, some who travel thousands of miles just to see the mall where it was filmed. When I saw Dawn of the Dead as a kid when it first came out, I thought it was “OK”. Upon seeing it again, I still feel the same way. But then again, zombies are pretty low on my horror totem pole. (Especially zombies who engage in cream pie-fights.)

The original Dawn of the Dead is kinda funny, scary, cheesy, and gross all at once. It picks the story up from where 1968’s Night of the Living Dead left off (only this time the gore is in color). The zombies have multiplied at an alarming rate and the few non-zoms left try to make their last stand behind police barricades as they go deep underground. As law and order goes out the window, a weather-beaten band of survivors takes refuge in a vacant shopping mall. But the cannibals are never far behind, and they are always hungry.

The zombie makeup -- basically blue faces and red-painty blood -- looks pretty dated. Romero takes little time with his human characters, lingering long on lumbering, semi-comatose zombies instead. There is some creativity in the creation of the creatures (a Hare Krishna zombie, for example), but the majority of them are just slack mouthed, blank  eyed members of a bumbling herd. Yawns for me personally, but if you're a fan of Dawn of the Dead, you will no doubt come alive when you get a gander at the brand new 4-disk boxed set, complete with a limited edition comic book inside. It’s very well-presented, and a lot of thought has gone into giving the aficionados everything they could possibly dream of.

Debuting on September 7th, the set boasts 13+ Hours of special features complete with brand-new, never before seen interviews, 3 commentaries and 3 versions of the film including the hard to find European version. That is the version I watched for this review (in addition to Disk 4, loaded with interesting, in-depth documentaries), and I also listened to the commentary from the actors – their comments are quite fun, spirited, and informative.

Disc One: U.S. Theatrical Version

Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Make-Up Effects Creator Tom Savini and Assistant Director Chris Romero. Moderated by Perry Martin.

Theatrical trailers

TV spots

Radio spots

Poster and advertising gallery

George A. Romero bio

Comic book preview

Features 5.1 DTS Surround Sound, 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, 2.0 Dolby Surround,  Original Mono and Closed Captioned

Disc Two: Extended Version

Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Audio Commentary with Producer Richard P. Rubinstein.

Monroeville Mall commercial

Behind-the-scenes photo gallery

Memorabilia gallery

Production stills

Original mono and Closed Captioned

Disc Three: European Version

Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Audio Commentary with Actors David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Gaylen  Ross

International Theatrical trailers

U.K. TV spots

International Lobby Card Gallery

International Poster and Advertising Gallery

International Pressbook Gallery

U.S. and International home video and soundtrack artwork

Dario Argento bio

Features 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, 2.0 Dolby Surround, Original Mono and

Closed Captioned

Disc Four: Documentaries

Roy Frumkes' ;Document of the Dead; -- The original documentary filmed during the making of Dawn Of The Dead by Filmmaker Roy Frumkes; The Dead Will Walk; -- An all-new documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew members Claudio Argento, Dario Argento, Pat Buba, Tony Buba, Zilla Clinton, David Crawford, David Early, David Emge, Ken Foree, Michaelo Gornick, John Harrison, Clayton Hill, Sharon Ceccatti-Hill, Jim Krut, Leonard Lies, Scott H. Reiniger, Chris Romero, George A. Romero, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini and Claudio Simonetti.

On-set home movies with audio commentary from Zombie Extra Robert Langer

Monroeville Mall tour with Writer/Director George A. Romero

(by Staci Layne Wilson)