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Night of the Living Dead Overview:

Night of the Living Dead (1968) was a Horror - Mystery Film directed by George A. Romero and produced by Karl Hardman and Russell Streiner.

SYNOPSIS

In this grisly benchmark of American horror film, the dead return and terrorize the living. A group of strangers seek refuge in an abandoned house by locking themselves inside. The living dead slowly penetrate the fortress, killing friends and relatives in search of a good meal. Followed by a sequel (so hilariously graphic it briefly earned an X-rating) entitled Dawn of the Dead (1978) and remade in 1990.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Night of the Living Dead was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999.

Night of the Living Dead BlogHub Articles:

Night of the Living Dead: Special Rifftrax Review

on Oct 25, 2013 From Journeys in Classic Film

If you’re looking for a straightforward review of Night of the Living Dead you can read it here.  This special review looks at last night’s Rifftrax Live! event reviewing the movie.  I have republished my article originally published at Cinema Sentries. George Romero’s Night of the... Read full article

31 Days of Halloween – 023: Night Of The Living Dead – In 30 Seconds! With Bunnies!

By Michael on Oct 23, 2013 From Durnmoose Movie Musings

October marches on, and so does our countdown to All Hallows Eve. This year, rather than trying to do a full 31 film reviews or something truly time-consuming like that, most of what I’m going to be posting are favorite trailers, short films, some full-length movies, and other items just to ki... Read full article

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

on Mar 22, 2013 From Journeys in Classic Film

I’ve seen Night of the Living Dead several times in my life, and yet watching it with an audience during my American Horror class, I noticed flaws that I couldn’t ignore.  Despite director George Romero‘s insistent comments that he didn’t intend any racial themes to emerge, ... Read full article

Night of the Living Dead

By Alyson on Oct 11, 2012 From The Best Picture Project

The first time I watched Night of the Living Dead was Halloween night when I was thirteen years old.  I had spent the evening trick-or-treating with my friends and had quite the candy haul.  After a little trading with my siblings, it was my main source of energy as I stayed up waiting for the mov... Read full article

Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero)

on Jan 19, 2011 From The Stop Button

What a lame ending. If it weren’t for the sufficiently uncanny end credits, I’d finish Night of the Living Dead thinking it was supposed to be a comedy. Actually, if it weren’t for that lame ending, I’d be starting this response much differently. Night of the Living Dead has one of the most ... Read full article

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Night of the Living Dead Quotes:

Ben: I'm telling you they can't get IN here!
Harry Cooper: And I'm telling you they turned over our car! We were damn lucky to get away at all! Now you're telling me these things can't get through a lousy pile of wood?
Johnny: There's nothing wrong with the radio. Must've been the station.
Washington scientist: [on the news] Everything is being done that can be done.
Harry Cooper: [referring to everybody else, who are all upstairs] Let them stay upstairs. Let them. Too many ways those monsters can get in here. We'll see who's right. We'll see, when they come begging me to let them in down here.
Helen Cooper: That's important, isn't it?
Harry Cooper: What?
Helen Cooper: To be right, everybody else to be wrong.
Harry Cooper: What do you mean by that?
[Tom has just brought Judy up from the basement]
Harry Cooper: You gonna let them get her too, huh?
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Night of the Living Dead Facts
At the time of the film's release, any work that did not include a copyright notice was assumed to be public domain. Since the film makers forgot to include this notice, the film slipped into the public domain. In was not until 1 March 1989 that a copyright notice was no longer required.
The character of Ben was originally written as an angry person. When Duane Jones was given the role, he expressed concern that the character be rewritten to remove some of the anger - such as the scene where Ben hits Barbara - afraid of how it would be widely perceived in the United States at the time to see a black man acting in this way. The nation was still plagued with high racial tensions during the late sixties; the film was released to theaters shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Nonetheless, George A. Romero and most of the rest of the predominantly white crew decided against it, thinking they were being "hip" by not changing it. Years later, Romero lamented that he had not taken Jones' concerns more into consideration, and thought that he was probably correct. He's expressed that he wishes he could speak with the late Jones again, asking him how he felt about the film's legendary status, and believes Jones would just say "Who knew?" and laugh.
As George A. Romero explains it on "The Directors: The Films of George A. Romero", the day the final editing and voice-over dubbing was complete (4/4/1968), he and John A. Russo literally "threw" the film into the trunk of their car and drove to New York to see if anyone wanted to show it. While driving through New York on the night of April 4th, 1968, Romero and Russo heard news on the radio that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.
One of the first films to graphically depict violent murders on screen.
The character of Ben was originally supposed to be a crude but resourceful truck driver, with no specification to race. After Duane Jones, in real-life a self-serious, erudite academic, auditioned for the part, director and co-writer George A. Romero re-wrote the part to fit his performance.
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