8mm Forum: Zombie (Dawn of the Dead) - UFA

This is topic Zombie (Dawn of the Dead) - UFA - 3 x 400ft in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on December 19, 2005, 02:04 AM:

ZOMBIE
3 x 120 m (3 x 400 ft) – 45 minutes - UFA – Germany

This is a fast-paced digest of the European cut of George A. Romero’s « Dawn of the Dead ». Originally produced by Italian schlock-meister Dario Argento (« Suspiria », « Inferno », « Profondo Rosso »), this version of the film is shorter, faster and honestly better than the US cut, and that’s really odd, considering that the original film is quite good. It also features a new fantastic soundtrack by Argento’s old partners in crime, The Goblins.

The film is extremely well condensed. It keeps the whole storyline intact (opening and closing shots of the cut-down are the opening and closing shots of the film), as well as most of the action scenes and most of the gore.

Reel 1 content
TV station chaos / SWAT team storms the appartment building / Peter and Roger meet / Helicopter escape / Flying over the Midwest / Arrival at the mall / Exploration

Reel 2 content
Boiler room attack / Securing the doors / The group decides to stay / Truck scene & blocking the gates / Roger gets bitten / Getting rid of all the zombies inside

Reel 3 content
Disposing of the bodies / Roger dies / Fran learns how to fly the chopper / Attack of the biker gang / Stephen is being chased and dies / Zombies get into the mall / Peter and Fran barely escape

My print (purchased from Andreas) is very slightly faded but this is not distracting as the photography of the film was purposedly raw.
Sound is in German, of course, but can be reconstructed with the Region 2 DVD. This super 8 cut-down is apparently still very much looked for by collectors, particularly in Germany.

[ December 19, 2005, 05:36 AM: Message edited by: Jean-Marc Toussaint ]

Posted by Scott G. Bruce (Member # 384) on December 19, 2005, 08:09 AM:

I just got hungry. Did anyone else get hungry reading this?

Thanks for the review, Jean-Marc! I'm a big fan of early atmospheric zombie movies, like WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) with Bela Lugosi. You've convinced me that I should start exploring more recent interpretations of the genre, gore and all. I've gone so far as to watch (and love!) the recent parody of modern zombie films, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which I highly recommend. Have you seen it? I chuckle just thinking about it.

Thanks again for the review. SGB

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on December 19, 2005, 12:38 PM:

Jean-Marc,

Thanks for that review! I remember when I first learned of its availability on super 8 in the early 80's. I wanted it so bad, but had no way to order it from Germany (no internet yet [Roll Eyes]

).

They sure do pack alot of scenes into those 3 x 400 foot reels!

Scott- Yes, Shawn of the Dead is great! My wife and I watch the DVD all the time. Its one of the most well-made spoof type movies I have ever seen. You actually care about the cast, which is more than can be said of the "Scary Movie" series or other horror movie spoofs.

Nick.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on December 19, 2005, 02:49 PM:

Shaun of the Dead is indeed a lot of fun.
Did you see "Land of the Dead"? It's great. Romero's back (after a few minor flicks, it seems that he's almost back from the dead!) No one does living dead films like him.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on December 19, 2005, 05:54 PM:

Land of the Dead was indeed a worthy addition to George's "Dead" series. All four movies are very good. I saw "Land" at the cinema when it opened last summer, and bought the DVD upon its release.

The biggest difference with "Land" would be the presence of popular actors, where as the first three used virtual unknowns. Its still better than the numerous cheap immitations that have been made through the years.

Nick.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on December 29, 2005, 07:49 PM:

hey Nick, I agree with you completely....

[ December 24, 2013, 08:21 AM: Message edited by: Joe Taffis ]

Posted by Marc Marti (Member # 404) on January 07, 2006, 06:58 AM:

I had mixed feelings while watching "Land..." on the cinema. I will buy it on DVD these days to give a second chance to the film (and to complete my romero's dvd collection. I'm a very big fan of him!!). Have you seen "Martin"? It's one of my faves.

Posted by Gian Luca Mario Loncrini (Member # 1417) on September 13, 2009, 06:42 PM:

I actually have the full DAWN OF THE DEAD feature (Dario Argento's cut) and it's not a bad print at all (on KODAK SP). Color is still very good. And it's very rare to find it. It took so long to have a good copy (even if it is used, being an ex one for rental).

But it's always a success, when I screen all those zombies walking inside that huge Monroeville Mall (see here: http://www.mallofthedead.net/ ).

Great great great. Even if I don't know how the 3*400 German edition is.

Posted by Kurt Gardner (Member # 440) on September 13, 2009, 09:06 PM:

I also thought that "Land" went too far toward commercialism and spelt out Romero's obsessions (rejection of authority, terror of big government, race relations) in obvious, enormous strokes. Even the inclusion of the "Shaun of the Dead" cast, meant as an affectionate in-joke, was too much.

However, his latest, "Diary of the Dead," made on an extremely slim budget, shows that our George can still keep up with the kids and make a "Blair Witch"-style real-time movie about a zombie takeover. It's done in videotaped-by-the-participants style and is a hell of a lot more exciting than the overblown "Land."

That said, I'd love to have an English-language print of the 3-parter of "Dawn."

Posted by Marshall Crist (Member # 1312) on September 13, 2009, 10:04 PM:

I remember Larry Arpin reviewing the German 3x400' in his newsletter back in the day. It was very tempting, despite the language barrier.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 15, 2009, 03:35 AM:

Gian: it's Zombie that you have, not Dawn of the Dead. [Wink]

The UFA three parter is the next best thing.

I sold a print featuring my reconstruction of the english stereo track a few months ago. Redubbing can be performed for 45 euros plus s&h.

Posted by Gian Luca Mario Loncrini (Member # 1417) on September 15, 2009, 04:39 AM:

Hi Jean-Marc, how are you?
What I actually have in my collection is a 6*600 ft (Italian edition and print) of 'Dawn of the Dead'. 'Zombi' is the Italian title, but we are talking about the same movie. [Big Grin]

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on September 16, 2009, 03:55 PM:

"What I actually have in my collection is a 6*600 ft (Italian edition and print) of 'Dawn of the Dead'."

My goodness - what an example of the amazing titles 'out there' that most collectors would never hear about. I've heard that lots of full length Super 8 titles, never released for sale, could be hired from shops in Spain (one or two were on eBay recently) but were there similar hire shops in Italy too?

Posted by Adam Deierling (Member # 2307) on February 10, 2014, 12:30 PM:

I just got a copy from Germany. I did a quick telecine of it using my Panasonic AG-AC130 Camcorder. Not bad results considering I have a two blade shutter in my GS1200. After I captured the film I re-edited the sound in the computer using the Euro cut of the film as it best matched the super 8 digest. Here are the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DTP6ii8tWU&feature=youtu.be

I haven't re-recorded the print yet. I am having some difficulty with my recording circuit. I am hoping after I replace my capacitor it will fix things all up.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 10, 2014, 12:53 PM:

Wow! that looked really good for a telecine of the super 8 print! I don't think that you could have done much better going frame by frame "telecine"! Good job!

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on February 10, 2014, 07:14 PM:

I like Argento's cut of this film. Does anyone know why he left out the zombie getting the top of his head sliced off by the helicopter blades? One of my favorite scenes in the American version [Frown]

[ February 10, 2014, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: Joe Taffis ]

Posted by Oemer Yalinkilic (Member # 86) on February 11, 2014, 07:13 AM:

Unfortunately the youtube clip is blocked for germany [Frown]

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on February 13, 2014, 09:20 PM:

Oemer it is easy...just use https://proxtube.com/, download it and it will unblock [Wink]

...there is nothing impossible in the internet world . [Big Grin]

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on February 14, 2014, 10:26 AM:

Adam thanks so much for uploading that complete digest to Youtube. I tried for many years to obtain a copy of this when I was collecting horror films, with no luck.

I saw the American theatrical version at the movies dozens of times when it came out, and I still know the movie like the back of my hand. The editing was very good on this, and I see now that it would have been very difficult for me to do the English dub, because of the little extras in this Argento version.

Nice colors and high marks for the great re-dub.

James.

Posted by Oemer Yalinkilic (Member # 86) on February 14, 2014, 03:49 PM:

Hey Winbert, thats cool, it works. [Wink]

Posted by Flavio Stabile (Member # 357) on March 27, 2014, 03:17 PM:

Great! Never heard of proxtube so far...

Thanks WInbert! [Big Grin]

Flavio

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