"Yeah, they're dead. They're all messed up."
November 7, 2013 1:36 PM Subscribe
BBC Radio 4's 'The Film Programme' talks to George A Romero. 'Forty five years after the release of genre-defining Night of the Living Dead, Francine Stock talks to the director George A Romero about inventing the undead zombie and where he might unearth horror in contemporary society. Plus why he doesn't rate Stanley Kubrick as a horror director.' [SL BBC Radio 4 episode]
Other segments in this episode: Scottish sci-fi films, writer/director James Toback, and the Ealing Studios.
Other segments in this episode: Scottish sci-fi films, writer/director James Toback, and the Ealing Studios.
"Inventing the undead zombie?" I don't think so.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:28 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:28 PM on November 7, 2013
"Inventing the undead zombie?" I don't think so.
That is mentioned in the episode.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:01 PM on November 7, 2013
That is mentioned in the episode.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:01 PM on November 7, 2013
And as noted in the linked Wikipedia article, I Am Legend's monsters were a form of vampires, twisting the gothic romance of Bram Stoker's Dracula and looking ahead to a time when the once-alluring vampires have no one else to feed on and are turned into haggard figures. The article also notes that Romero himself credits the novel amongst his inspirations for his living dead (which weren't called zombies in Night of the Living Dead, and Romero referred to them as ghouls in his draft for the film).
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
(As noted in the linked article from Kirth Gerson)
posted by filthy light thief at 3:08 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by filthy light thief at 3:08 PM on November 7, 2013
Also! This can be downloaded as a podcast.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:21 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 3:21 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I just wish more people would talk to Romero about his non-zombie movies. I love the Dead movies and all, but MARTIN, THE CRAZIES, and the flawed-but-interesting JACK'S WIFE (a.k.a. SEASON OF THE WITCH) deserve a lot more attention. As does CREEPSHOW, which is, in retrospect, a nifty pastiche.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
ThatFuzzyBastard, have you seen the pile o' crap that is There's Always Vanilla?
posted by infinitewindow at 3:35 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by infinitewindow at 3:35 PM on November 7, 2013
Dawn of the Dead is one of my favorite films of all time. I could watch it any time, any day, every day.
I'll never get tired of it, to the point that I find a strange comfort in it in spite of all the horrific action onscreen.
But sometimes—if you catch me on the right night and in the right mood—my favorite Romero flick is Knightriders, which in my opinion feels like its his most personal film. It works far better than it seems like it should have the right to, terrifically anchored by Ed Harris' very natural performance. He makes what should have been semi-laughable genre dialogue seem absolutely grounded in character. In fact, the film as a whole manages to pull off the tricky tightrope act of delivering on its B-movie genre-flick promise and managing to be about quite a bit more.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:36 PM on November 7, 2013
I'll never get tired of it, to the point that I find a strange comfort in it in spite of all the horrific action onscreen.
But sometimes—if you catch me on the right night and in the right mood—my favorite Romero flick is Knightriders, which in my opinion feels like its his most personal film. It works far better than it seems like it should have the right to, terrifically anchored by Ed Harris' very natural performance. He makes what should have been semi-laughable genre dialogue seem absolutely grounded in character. In fact, the film as a whole manages to pull off the tricky tightrope act of delivering on its B-movie genre-flick promise and managing to be about quite a bit more.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:36 PM on November 7, 2013
Wait, is this only like 6 minutes long?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:39 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by Senor Cardgage at 3:39 PM on November 7, 2013
Dawn of the Dead is one of my favorite films of all time. I could watch it any time, any day, every day.
Yeah, it is superb.
I must say that I still remember where and when I watched Night of the Living Dead. I remember the colour of the wallpaper in the room of all things.
posted by KokuRyu at 3:57 PM on November 7, 2013
Yeah, it is superb.
I must say that I still remember where and when I watched Night of the Living Dead. I remember the colour of the wallpaper in the room of all things.
posted by KokuRyu at 3:57 PM on November 7, 2013
I was most pleasantly surprised when Romero appeared and spoke at length on the DVD extras of Tales of Hoffmann...
posted by ovvl at 4:51 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by ovvl at 4:51 PM on November 7, 2013
So they're opening a new multiplex movie theater in the Monroeville Mall this week and to celebrate, they're showing Dawn of the Dead as a midnight movie this weekend.
posted by octothorpe at 4:58 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 4:58 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Bless you for titling this with my favorite line from the film.
posted by Occula at 10:08 PM on November 8, 2013
posted by Occula at 10:08 PM on November 8, 2013
infinitewindow: I haven't, though I'm sure I'll get around to it some day. It's an interesting question why Romero's countercultural, sardonic sensibility works best when filtered through horror conventions.
But seriously everybody, check out MARTIN & THE CRAZIES!
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 1:30 PM on November 9, 2013
But seriously everybody, check out MARTIN & THE CRAZIES!
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 1:30 PM on November 9, 2013
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posted by Going To Maine at 1:50 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]