DVD Corner

Land Of The Dead 4K UHD Review

Nobody does it better than Romero. 

Written and directed by the late Master of Horror George A. Romero, “Land Of The Dead” is the fourth zombie film that Romero helmed. In this entry, the story centers on a city that is fenced in, surrounded by water and protected by armed troops. Some survivors live in slums on the streets while the wealthy live in a tower known as Fiddler’s Green (which is controlled by Paul Kaufman). The central character of this story is Riley- the designer of an armored vehicle (Dead Reckoning) that travels into zombie territories for supply runs. Kaufman, of course, owns the vehicle, but has others do the work for him. Riley and his pal Charlie are looking to get a car and leave the area to be free, but their plan falls apart. Likewise, the selfish Cholo is wanting to move up in the world and get a place in Fiddler’s Green, but the money hungry Kaufman screws him over and doesn’t pay him what he’s owed. Wanting revenge, Cholo steals Dead Reckoning and threatens Kaufman’s life (and the tower itself). Kaufman hires Riley, Charlie, Slack (a former prostitute) among others to stop Cholo and get the Dead Reckoning back. While all of this is going on, evolved zombies are making their way to the city to wreak havoc on the survivors. 

Despite being released in 2005, “Land Of The Dead” still feels like a timely story about the class system, freedom, and the haves and have nots. George A. Romero (the undisputed master of zombie films) was always exploring societal issues within the framework of a zombie story and ‘Land’ is no exception. This time around, Romero actually had a decent budget to work with and he takes full advantage of that with the world building (and the badass Dead Reckoning vehicle) presented in this film. Of course, there’s plenty of top notch gore and special make-up effects courtesy of the legendary Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger. 

Cast wise, there’s several name actors here including Dennis Hopper (who is pitch perfect as Kaufman), Asia Argento (in one of her best roles), Simon Baker, John Leguizamo (who is fantastic as Cholo) and Eugene Clark (as the Big Daddy zombie). Fans of Romero’s work will also notice Tom Savini reprise his role as the biker from “Dawn Of The Dead” (although this time as a zombie!).

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 2160p. How does it look? This Scream Factory release contains a new 2024 4K restoration from the original camera negative for the 4K unrated version (the Blu-ray unrated and theatrical cuts also have the same restorations). This is how 4K transfers for catalogue titles should look. It’s a crisp and colorful print that is a step up from previous home video releases.

Audio Tracks: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD MA, and 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How do they sound? All 3 tracks are quality options. The Atmos isn’t quite up to Atmos standards, but it still delivers an immersive audio experience.

Extras (On The 2 Blu-ray Discs Aside From The Commentaries):
* Commentary by George A. Romero, producer Peter Grunwald and editor Michael Doherty and another commentary by zombie performers Matt Blazi, Glena Chao, Michael Felsher and Rob Mayr on the 4K and Unrated Blu-ray discs.
* “When Shaun Met George”- A behind-the-scenes look at Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s cameos.
* “Scream Tests”- CGI tests
* “Zombie Effects” showing the green screen and finished scenes.
* “Undead Again: The Making Of Land Of The Dead” featurette
* “Bringing The Dead To Life”- A featurette on the KNB EFfects special effects make-up work.
* “Scenes Of Carnage”- A gore montage.
* “Bringing The Storyboards To Life” A look at the storyboards and the final scenes.
* “A Day With The Living Dead”- John Leguizamo gives a set tour.
* Photo gallery and theatrical trailer/
* 4 sets of interviews: 1. John Leuizamo 2. Robert Joy 3. Pedro Miguel Arce 4. Eugene Clark, Boyd Banks, Jasmin Geljo and Jennifer Baxter.
* Nearly 3 minutes of deleted scenes.
* “Dream Of The Dead: The Director’s Cut” along with deleted footage from it and an optional commentary by Roy Frumkes. ‘Dream’ is a 25 minute documentary on George A. Romero’s zombie films (namely “Land Of The Dead”), Tom Savini, and it’s directed by Roy Frumkes (who was a zombie in ‘Dawn’).

October 14, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Dennis Hopper, George A. Romero, Greg Nicotero, horror, John Leguizamo, Land Of The Dead, Land Of The Dead 4K UHD Review, Scream Factory, Tom Savini, Zombie Films