Land of the Dead (2005) |
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Land of the Dead (2005) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Horror |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Making Of-Undead Again Featurette-Behind The Scenes-A Day With The Living Dead Featurette-Bringing the Dead To Life Featurette-The Remaining Bits Audio Commentary-Filmmakers Featurette-When Shaun Met George Featurette-Scenes Of Carnage Featurette-Zombie Effects: From Green Screen To Finished Scene Storyboard Comparisons-Bringing The Storyboards To Life Featurette-Scream Tests: Zombie Casting Call Trailer-King Kong, The Skeleton Key |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2005 | ||
| Running Time | 92:53 (Case: 96) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | George A. Romero |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Universal Pictures Home Video |
Starring |
Simon Baker John Leguizamo Dennis Hopper Asia Argento Robert Joy Eugene Clark Joanne Boland Tony Nappo Jennifer Baxter Boyd Banks Jasmin Geljo Max McCabe Tony Munch |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $39.95 | Music |
Reinhold Heil Johnny Klimek M.E. Law |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired Hungarian Danish Finnish Hebrew Icelandic Norwegian Swedish English Audio Commentary Hungarian Audio Commentary Danish Audio Commentary Finnish Audio Commentary Hebrew Audio Commentary Icelandic Audio Commentary Norwegian Audio Commentary Swedish Audio Commentary |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Land of the Dead is the latest offering from zombie legend George A. Romero. The movie is set in a post apocalyptic world where zombies roam, ever in search of human flesh, and the remaining survivors have taken refuge in fortified cities, only coming out in search of supplies.
Against this backdrop we find society’s elite going about their everyday lives as if nothing is wrong, housed in the luxury high rise apartments of Fiddler’s Green. Meanwhile there is a growing resentment of the rich, as the poor are forced to eke out a living in the fortified slums that surround Fiddler’s Green. Beyond the barriers and electrified barbed wire lies a world in ruins, overrun by the zombies, the “walkers” or "stenches" as they are otherwise known.
Armed patrols are forced to leave the city at night and move into the abandoned townships to scrounge for food and supplies. Riley (Simon Baker) and Cholo (John Leguizamo) head the raiding parties with Dead Reckoning, a large heavily armoured vehicle, at the lead. They are, however, two very different people - Riley is a team player who is prepared to follow the rules, while Cholo is willing to place lives at risk in order to improve his lot in life.
Fiddler’s Green and its surrounding stronghold are controlled by Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), an unscrupulous man who is driven by greed and his passion for power. Kaufman is prepared to eliminate anyone who questions his authority and Cholo is the perfect man to carry out his dirty work.
Unlike many of the zombie movies I have seen over the years, Land of the Dead is well crafted and contains a number of subplots. What makes this movie even more interesting is the fact that the zombies have “evolved” to a point where they are capable of showing some basic powers of reasoning. We’re not talking about complex puzzle solving here, just the instinct to survive.
Land of the Dead contains enough blood, gore, decapitation and cannibalism to sate the appetite of any zombie movie fan.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.
Image sharpness and shadow detail are superb. There is no low level noise.
With the majority of the story taking place at night, or within the confines of the city, there are few opportunities to splash out on vivid colours, but there are, of course, ample opportunities to depict bright red blood. Skin tones appear natural.
Apart from some minor grain during a few of the many darker scenes, this is a very clean transfer. The only MPEG artefact was some posterization in the river’s surface at 57:16. Film-to-video artefacts and film artefacts are non-existent.
English, Hungarian, Danish, Finish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles are available, along with Audio Commentary subtitles for each of the above languages. I sampled the English and English Commentary subtitles. They are easy to read and accurately reflect the spoken word.
This is an RSDL disc, with the layer change occurring at 66:22. I did not notice the layer change on my equipment.| Sharpness |   |
| Shadow Detail | |
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The audio transfer is excellent, though I had to turn my amplifier up a touch to really feel the full impact of the audio track.
The available audio tracks include English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) and Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), as well as an English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Audio Commentary track. I listened to the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 and the English Dolby Digital 2.0 Audio Commentary tracks.
The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. I did not notice any audio sync issues with this DVD.
The musical score supports the onscreen action seamlessly, producing an atmosphere of suspense.
The surround channels are actively used throughout the movie. Most of the action takes place at night so the directional cues play an essential role in placing the viewer in the midst of creeping zombies.
The subwoofer gets an extensive work-out, supplying plenty of low-end bass to the numerous explosions and rumbling trucks. The LFE channel is well mixed and not used excessively.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
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| Overall | |
The DVD contains a broad selection of extras, though for the most part their worth is questionable.
The main menu follows the compulsory anti-piracy ads and is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced. The menu contains a series of animated sequences and is accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track, this is little more than a glorified promo that introduces the actors and the plot. It also plays homage to George A. Romero.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track. John Leguizamo takes us on a behind the scenes look at the Land of the Dead set. It includes impromptu interviews with a number of the cast and crew.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track. Special Effects Makeup Designer Greg Nicotero talks about the makeup and prosthetics used to animate the dead.
A brief look at some of the cut scenes.
The Audio Commentary is presented by Director George A. Romero, Producer Peter Grunwald, and Editor Michael Doherty. In my opinion this is the pick of the extras and includes zombie lore and the laws that govern their existence.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 1.0 audio track. This is a short documentary that follows Simon Pegg, star and co-writer of Shaun of the Dead, and Edgar Wright, Director and co-writer of Shaun of the Dead, as they visit the set of Land of the Dead. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright meet their idol, George A. Romero, and get to make cameo appearances - as zombies.
A collage of gore scenes, taken from the movie and set to classical music.
A demonstration of movie magic. The raw footage is displayed first, followed by the final product after the special effects have been added.
A series of story boards followed by the completed scenes.
A short clip depicting CGI animated dancing zombies. The graphics are poorly rendered and I have to ask - Why?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 (Surround) audio track.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
dts 5.1 Audio Track
Spanish and French Subtitles.
Trailer for Band Camp.
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
Hungarian, Danish, Finish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Trailers for King Kong and The Skeleton Key.
I would favour the Region 1 version of this disc as it includes a dts 5.1 audio track.
The video quality is excellent.
The audio quality is excellent.
Despite the many extras available, much of the content is of little interest and will probably leave fans of the zombie genre hungry for something to sink their teeth into.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-533K, using Component output |
| Display | InFocus Screenplay 7200 with ScreenTechnics 100" (16x9) screen. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to Amplifier. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVC -A11SR |
| Speakers | Jamo D6PEX wall mounted Speakers and Powered Sub (7.1) |