Living Dead Trilogy
- Thread starter Foxbat
- Start date
Oh dear where does one start? 
The obvious inspiration of the Living Dead movies is Richard Matheson's modern day vampire novel I am Legend. But what Romero does in the course of the series is to expand and elaborate on the basic idea to give us a much more fleshed out narrative about human society in the face of anarchy...not so much in Night which for all its fame is little more than a well-executed B-movie but Dawn and Day of the Dead are both brilliantly realized hypothetical looks at what happens to what we call 'civilization' when all its perceptions of normal are just blown away. First the blind survival instinct kicks in, but after that...trying to come to actual grips with a situation and realizing that every day, hour, minute, second of life has to be lived against this mockingly chaotic background that dares you to remain sane, remain 'civilized', remain 'human' when everything around you is steadily going to pieces.
Apart from the zombies in the background and the occasional breakout into gore (but these are always part of the story and not the gratuitious flesh-mutilation fests of Fulci's films, I hate it when Romero's name is clubbed with Fulci and other gore specialists) the films can also be regarded as intimate and intense character dramas with very fleshed out individuals whose behavior and POV we can definitely understand even when we're not in agreement with. These films are depressing, in the way that some of Orwell's work is depressing, when you really care about the characters, and come to grips with that they are eventually going to be destroyed, that there is no real happy ending for them (**POSSIBLE SPOILER** Not necessarily in an explicit sense, and Day does pull out a last-minute left field tackle that could almost be regarded as a magic realism twist **END OF SPOILER)
Definitely lots more interesting stuff to share but that'll be when other people participate after seeing the movies.
The obvious inspiration of the Living Dead movies is Richard Matheson's modern day vampire novel I am Legend. But what Romero does in the course of the series is to expand and elaborate on the basic idea to give us a much more fleshed out narrative about human society in the face of anarchy...not so much in Night which for all its fame is little more than a well-executed B-movie but Dawn and Day of the Dead are both brilliantly realized hypothetical looks at what happens to what we call 'civilization' when all its perceptions of normal are just blown away. First the blind survival instinct kicks in, but after that...trying to come to actual grips with a situation and realizing that every day, hour, minute, second of life has to be lived against this mockingly chaotic background that dares you to remain sane, remain 'civilized', remain 'human' when everything around you is steadily going to pieces.
Apart from the zombies in the background and the occasional breakout into gore (but these are always part of the story and not the gratuitious flesh-mutilation fests of Fulci's films, I hate it when Romero's name is clubbed with Fulci and other gore specialists) the films can also be regarded as intimate and intense character dramas with very fleshed out individuals whose behavior and POV we can definitely understand even when we're not in agreement with. These films are depressing, in the way that some of Orwell's work is depressing, when you really care about the characters, and come to grips with that they are eventually going to be destroyed, that there is no real happy ending for them (**POSSIBLE SPOILER** Not necessarily in an explicit sense, and Day does pull out a last-minute left field tackle that could almost be regarded as a magic realism twist **END OF SPOILER)
Definitely lots more interesting stuff to share but that'll be when other people participate after seeing the movies.
I agree that Romero should not be bracketed with the likes of Fulci. He handles things in a very different (and much more thought provoking) way. One small moment that stands out for me is in Dawn Of The Dead where we see a bunch of rednecks out on what is little more than a laughter and drink filled Turkey Shoot. Beyond all the shambling gore that were the zombies is the fact that (at one time) these creatures were human beings and (at least, for me) this is a classic example of the callousness and uncaring attitudes that have seeped into many parts of our society.
Look beyond the blood and guts and you'll find a movie that dares us to question ourselves.
Look beyond the blood and guts and you'll find a movie that dares us to question ourselves.
One of the interesting aspects, although I do not know if this was intended, is how the nature of the respective female protagonists changes from Night to Dawn to Day.
Barbara (Judith O'Dea) in Night is mostly a hapless victim, rendered catatonic by her exposure to the zombie phenomenon and has to be pretty much taken care of throughout.
Francine (Gaylen Ross) from Dawn is again vulnerable, more so because of her pregnancy, but she has an inner strength that allows her to accept her situation with equanimity and adjust to it, making the best of what she has.
Sarah (Lori Cardille) from Day is a much more capable person. She has not only accepted the situation but is part of the effort to fight back. She is more tough than any of the other people around her and thanks to an intelligent script doesn't have to indicate her strengths by being butch a la her namesake in Terminator 2. She is definitely one of the strongest women characters I have seen onscreen and I love that the whole thing is done without any of those annoying feminism diatribes.
Barbara (Judith O'Dea) in Night is mostly a hapless victim, rendered catatonic by her exposure to the zombie phenomenon and has to be pretty much taken care of throughout.
Francine (Gaylen Ross) from Dawn is again vulnerable, more so because of her pregnancy, but she has an inner strength that allows her to accept her situation with equanimity and adjust to it, making the best of what she has.
Sarah (Lori Cardille) from Day is a much more capable person. She has not only accepted the situation but is part of the effort to fight back. She is more tough than any of the other people around her and thanks to an intelligent script doesn't have to indicate her strengths by being butch a la her namesake in Terminator 2. She is definitely one of the strongest women characters I have seen onscreen and I love that the whole thing is done without any of those annoying feminism diatribes.
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GrownUp
Well-Known Member
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There was a film I saw, I don't remember precisely what it was called, but it may be something like "Carnival of the Dead". It's old. Sixties I'd think. The protaganist is a woman (an organist for some reason, presumeably so that some spooky organ music can be worked in) who has mysteriously escaped a car crash and is trying to escape being drawn into Death.
The plot is very different from the Dead films but it has some zombie-like dead in it. Must have been an influence.
The plot is very different from the Dead films but it has some zombie-like dead in it. Must have been an influence.
Carnival of Souls directed by Herk Harvey (brilliant scary movie IMO)
She's not an organist just for spooky organ music...it's part of the shades to her character in that she plays church music but is herself a hardcore atheist.
And no, no influence on Romero's films. That way other previous films have had zombies in them (I walked with a Zombie) but Romero had his own concept of the zombies, mainly their 'fleshy' pleasures and the contagiousness of the condition.
She's not an organist just for spooky organ music...it's part of the shades to her character in that she plays church music but is herself a hardcore atheist.
And no, no influence on Romero's films. That way other previous films have had zombies in them (I walked with a Zombie) but Romero had his own concept of the zombies, mainly their 'fleshy' pleasures and the contagiousness of the condition.
Most LD viewers probably already know this but anyway, Romero was initially conceptualizing an end for Dawn where Peter actually commits suicide and Francine deliberately walks into the helicopter blades.
Even Day is kinda ambiguous in that sense...you could just as well have had an ending where nobody gets out alive.
Even Day is kinda ambiguous in that sense...you could just as well have had an ending where nobody gets out alive.
kyektulu
White Wolf
Living Dead Trilogy... this is a box set that will shortly be added to my extensive dvd collection
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