Document of the Dead (1989) @ EOFFTV

Document of the Dead (1989)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1989
Running Times: 84 mins
Format: colour 35mm
Ratio:
Sound: mono

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Roy Frumkes Productions
Executive Producer: Len Anthony
Producer: Roy Frumkes
Associate Producer: Sukey Raphael

SCRIPT
Script: Roy Frumkes

DIRECTION
Director: Roy Frumkes

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Reeves Lehman
2nd Camera: James Callanan
Stills: K.S. Kolbert, Tom Savini

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editors: Gary Cooper, Dennis Werner
Assistant Editor: Michael Schweitzer

MUSIC
Music: Rick Ulfik

SOUND
Sound: Howard Hirsch, Sal Yannotti

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Animator: Henry Jones

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Calligraphy: Kathleen Hoffmann
One-Sheet Poster Designer: Al Kilgore

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistant: Ted Bonnitt

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special Thanks: Dario Argento; Claudio Argento

WITH
Nicole Potter, Susan Tyrrell (narrators)
John Amplas
Carl Augenstein
David Emge
Ken Foree
Christine Forrest
Roy Frumkes
Michael Gornick
Scott H. Reiniger
George A. Romero
Richard P. Rubinstein
Tom Savini
Gahan Wilson

PLOT SUMMARY

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978), with lots of interviews with the people who made it. Also included are early TV adverts made by Romero and co, as well as looks at some of his earlier films, notably Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Martin (1977). The Special Edition DVD also includes behind-the-scenes footage from Due occhi diabolici (1990).

CAPSULE REVIEW

Fans of Dawn of the Dead would probably be grateful for any behind-the-scenes crumbs that are thrown their way, but Document of the Dead is a disappointing and often badly made film, a missed opportunity in so many ways. The title is misleading as most of the film actually looks at Romero's other work and Romero seems ill-at-ease in his interviews. The fact that some of the footage was either lost or deemed unusable accounts for the 'padding', but there are no excuses for the dull and often pretentious narration.

AVAILABILITY

USA
Video Distributor: Tee Dee Gee
Laserdisc Distributor: Synapse Films (SFL 0001 - includes: a commentary by Roy Frumkes and others; 6 minutes of footage deleted from the original cut; interviews from the set of Due occhi diabolici (1990))
DVD Distributor: Synapse Films (SFD 0001 - includes: a commentary by Roy Frumkes and others; 6 minutes of footage deleted from the original cut; interviews from the set of Due occhi diabolici (1990))

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: M

UK
Rating: 18

TIMELINE

1998
June
8: USA - Laserdisc release (Synapse Films (SFL 0001))

October
13: USA - DVD release (Synapse Films (SFD 0001))

LINKS

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Due occhi diabolici (1990) - Special Edition only
Martin (1977)
Monkey Shines (1988)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.20 no.5 (May 1990) p.44 (USA)
review

Films in Review vol.41 no.10 (October 1990) pp.470-476 (USA)
illustrated article (Document of the Dead by Roy Frumkes)

KEYWORDS

documentaries, film-makers, film-making


			SYNOPSIS \| REVIEW \| PRODUCTION NOTES \| TRIVIA \| PRESS \| QUOTES \| KIM NEWMAN ARCHIVE \| MEDIA

	Document of the Dead (1989) Country of Origin: USA Year of Production: 1989 Running Times: 84 mins Format: colour 35mm Ratio: Sound: mono CREDITS PRODUCTION Production Company: Roy Frumkes Productions Executive Producer: Len Anthony Producer: Roy Frumkes Associate Producer: Sukey Raphael SCRIPT Script: Roy Frumkes DIRECTION Director: Roy Frumkes PHOTOGRAPHY Director of Photography: Reeves Lehman 2nd Camera: James Callanan Stills: K.S. Kolbert, Tom Savini EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION Editors: Gary Cooper, Dennis Werner Assistant Editor: Michael Schweitzer MUSIC Music: Rick Ulfik SOUND Sound: Howard Hirsch, Sal Yannotti SPECIAL EFFECTS Animator: Henry Jones DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION Calligraphy: Kathleen Hoffmann One-Sheet Poster Designer: Al Kilgore MISCELLANEOUS Production Assistant: Ted Bonnitt ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special Thanks: Dario Argento; Claudio Argento WITH Nicole Potter, Susan Tyrrell (narrators) John Amplas Carl Augenstein David Emge Ken Foree Christine Forrest Roy Frumkes Michael Gornick Scott H. Reiniger George A. Romero Richard P. Rubinstein Tom Savini Gahan Wilson PLOT SUMMARY A behind-the-scenes look at the making of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978), with lots of interviews with the people who made it. Also included are early TV adverts made by Romero and co, as well as looks at some of his earlier films, notably Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Martin (1977). The Special Edition DVD also includes behind-the-scenes footage from Due occhi diabolici (1990). CAPSULE REVIEW Fans of Dawn of the Dead would probably be grateful for any behind-the-scenes crumbs that are thrown their way, but Document of the Dead is a disappointing and often badly made film, a missed opportunity in so many ways. The title is misleading as most of the film actually looks at Romero's other work and Romero seems ill-at-ease in his interviews. The fact that some of the footage was either lost or deemed unusable accounts for the 'padding', but there are no excuses for the dull and often pretentious narration. AVAILABILITY USA Video Distributor: Tee Dee Gee Laserdisc Distributor: Synapse Films (SFL 0001 - includes: a commentary by Roy Frumkes and others; 6 minutes of footage deleted from the original cut; interviews from the set of Due occhi diabolici (1990)) DVD Distributor: Synapse Films (SFD 0001 - includes: a commentary by Roy Frumkes and others; 6 minutes of footage deleted from the original cut; interviews from the set of Due occhi diabolici (1990)) CENSORSHIP HISTORY Australia Rating: M UK Rating: 18 TIMELINE 1998 June 8: USA - Laserdisc release (Synapse Films (SFL 0001)) October 13: USA - DVD release (Synapse Films (SFD 0001)) LINKS INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM Dawn of the Dead (1978) Due occhi diabolici (1990) - Special Edition only Martin (1977) Monkey Shines (1988) Night of the Living Dead (1968) REFERENCES MAGAZINES Cinefantastique vol.20 no.5 (May 1990) p.44 (USA) review Films in Review vol.41 no.10 (October 1990) pp.470-476 (USA) illustrated article (Document of the Dead by Roy Frumkes) KEYWORDS documentaries, film-makers, film-making