junkie

There is so many out there and I already have the crappy Madacy version but I would like something better. Any ideas?

Filmmaker

EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
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EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite
EliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteEliteElite

All others are mondo crap, especially Anchor Bay's 30th Anniversary Edition...

junkie

umm...let me get this straight, you said the elite version

junkie

could you post the cover of the Elite version? Thanks.

bboisvert

Without the slightest doubt, you want to get the Elite version. It's the only acceptable DVD out there. Here's a review comparing all of the different DVDs:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...ivingdead.html

And here's the cover of the Elite DVD:

junkie

Thank you.

MrPink

but it has been colorized.

adamblast

Wait!!! Is this true??

First, you're all saying that there's only one acceptable version out there. Then, someone says it's colorized. If true, that means there's NO acceptable version, at least to me... Confirmation, anyone?

Johnny Zhivago

Um... Not to be rude... But what the hell are you talking about?

Adam - Relax... The Elite is the only version on the market that you should buy and it IS NOT colorized.

junkie

It has not been colorized. I just read the review and it is in black and white.

JaxComet

The beginning of the Elite version is great! It starts off with an old, grainy, scratched picture with crackling sound. Then after a few seconds the ELITE logo zooms by and
clears the screen and replaces it with the newly restored version...

G. Noel Gross

I reviewed the Elite version for DVD Talk ...
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?id=660

garmonbozia

The Elite version is excellent, and despite what other people might try to tell you, it is not OOP, it is just hard to find. I got my copy from http://www.bn.com
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...threadid=74600

ALQ

I agree that the Anchor Bay one no good....has anyone seen it? Can anyone tell me whats up with these new scenes and how bad they suck? What a disgrace.

MrBEAViS

Another vote for the Madac....err...Elite version.

Evolution

Elite... I've got it. It's wonderful. Nothing else will do.

'E

Preacher

By ALQ The horror..the horror. I bought the 30th Anniversary edition thinking the extra's would be great. The extent that I was wrong cast a shadow over my whole life and the recovery process was slow. Finally was able to sell it and even the memory of it starts that angry burn. In its simplest sense the movie has new music/extra scenes and no $%&*#ing reason to exist. All this was not known when it was bought and only when a friend saw it did I find out how wrong it was. He saved me the agony of watching it, but he still laughs when he sees it. What would possess anyone to do this is unknown to me.

Greg_S_H

You were scarred for life, and yet you sold it to some unsuspecting soul and forced them to suffer your previous fate? Evil! You should have had the good sense to burn it. Of course, doing so would have probably opened one of the seven gates of hell. Maybe you were right to sell.

highdef

Okay, "if it ain't broke don't fix it," right?
WRONG! I love this Romero classic and found
the Anchor Bay 30th Anniversary edition fantastic.
No, not the version with the additional footage...
that's God awful, the 1998 version on the same disc. The '98 version features an enigmatic new score by
Scott Vladmir Licina...in 5.1 surround! His score
replaces the tired old library sounding music from
the original 1968 print. The soundeffects are even
revamped on the '98 version, cleaning up the looping
inadequacies of the original source material. As for
the print used for this edition, it looks terrific.
I am sure that the film never looked this good during
its original theatrical run.

I previously owned the ELITE edition, and yes the picture
looked great (as does the Anchor Bay disc) but, the sound
was problematic. Not necessarly the fault of ELITE, it
was the original source material. The '98 edition that I have reviewed really adds new life (no pun intended)to
this Romero classic.

If I had to own one of the two versions described, I would go with the Anchor Bay edition. Everyone's got their own opinion and this is mine.

bboisvert

Well, different strokes for different folks I guess. I thought the new score was terrible.

Johnny Zhivago

JHosk

I just got the Elite version yestureday. I couldn't get over how great the picture quality was. Best I have seen. BTW, you can order it at http://www.bn.com. Mine shipped about 2 weeks after I ordered it, but that may have been due to the fact that I also had some older harder to find kung-fu flicks in my basket (which never shipped).

Add another vote for the Elite version. I have seen the Anchor Bay versions, and I give the Edge to Elite.

Filmmaker

highdef, this is how www.dvdfile.com compares the two:

Elite Version:

THX Picture and Sound. What can I say? Digital mastering of picture and sound at it's peak. It's really about time someone applied this to a movie such as this one. This movie is 30 years old, and it looks better now than when it was filmed. Better than the original negative. If you're an individual with an extra ten bills, go pick up a crap copy of this movie. You're going to find yourself spending close to 96 minutes looking through out film grain scratches, film artifacts and really distorted third-rate sound. Then say, "I just spent ten bucks on this piece of crap, when I could have a digitally mastered copy for 15, and on DVD no less." That's exactly right.

...and then the Anchor Bay 30th Anniversary F-up:

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The disc has two full frame transfers on the same side of an dual-layer disc (the original aspect ratio of the film was 1.37:1), of the new redone version and the original, untouched edition. This is cool, and I was pleased this film was not matted to widescreen. However, the previous Elite DVD and LD releases have much better picture quality than this new Anchor Bay release, in my opinion. There are a lot of "jump edits" that could have been avoided if this new thing was edited properly and mastered better.

And I'm telling you right now, this is not a DVD related error. Shooting new scenes, then adding them to a thirty-year old black and white movie does not help matters any. You can plainly tell if you aren't blind what's new and what isn't. This concept was dead (no pun intended) in the water from the beginning. The new scenes are of great quality in and of themselves. Of course, it is brand new.

The disc has tons of grain in some really dark scenes. I know this is common for black and white films, but the Elite disc again is way better. Some of the older scenes appear to be blurry, too, yet then some seem to be fine. It 's kind of confusing at times, made worse by the new scenes mixed in everywhere with older ones, which just makes it all the more apparent.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The sound doesn't get much better than that of the picture. In the beginning I was dumbfounded due to the fact, the audio doesn't match to the video. The actors look as if they're saying completely different lines. Even in the older scenes. It's just flat out ridiculous. The audio seems to be hollowed out and far away in some scenes.

The new musical score is the best source of audio on the disc. It is quite simple but often seems too loud, which affects the viewing experience. Speaking of the music, this new score is nice, but not really appropriate for Night of the Living Dead. I couldn't handle it. To make matters worse, they overdubbed new sound effects, and the differences are quite audible, so it 's just plain goofy. Try and remember the scene were Ben turns on the radio to get the news. Then when he sits down to smoke a cigarette, it kind of fades out and concentrates on the scene. Well in this version, a new radio commentary seems to be continuously playing in teh background, as well as other scenes, and it just is distracting and a superflulous addition.

I'm not saying you're wrong, highdef, I'm just...well, okay, yeah, I guess I am saying you're wrong...

highdef

First of all, I am referring to the Anchor Bay
'98 version WITHOUT the added footage, along with
the revised soundtrack.

When displayed over my TOSHIBA HD set, I really like
the look of the Anchor Bay '98 version over ELITE'S
disc.

This is my opinion, as displayed over my HD set.

I guess that we'll just have to agree to disagree.