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From Amazon.co.uk
Bolstered by the success of 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, the Resident Evil movies and the hit remake of his own Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero returns to the horror subgenre he invented with Land of the Dead. The fourth installment in Romero's zombie cycle (and the first since 1985's Day of the Dead) presents a logical progression of events since 1968's horror classic Night of the Living Dead: Zombies (also known as "stenches" for their rotting odor) are the dominant population, and they've begun to show signs of undead intelligence and gathering power. The wealthiest survivors live comfortably in a luxury high-rise within a barricaded safe zone, ignoring the horrors of the outside world while armed scavengers stage raids in the zombie-zone to gather much-needed food and supplies. Simon Baker and John Leguizamo play mercenaries-for-hire; Dennis Hopper is their nefarious boss; and horror favorite Asia Argento (daughter of Suspiria director Dario Argento) plays a former hooker recruited into Baker's scavenger squad. While none of this seems particularly fresh or inspired, Land of the Dead benefits from hints of the social satire that made Romero's earlier zombie films so memorable. Not so much funny as gruesomely peculiar, Romero's plot isn't as inventive as it could've been, but as a big-scale B-movie, Land of the Dead delivers a handful of shocks and horror-celebrity cameos (including gore-masters Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero) that should keep horror buffs happy until the next zombie opus comes along. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Product Description
Fourth instalment in director George A. Romero's zombie sequence. With the living dead having now taken over much of the world, the few survivors left have retreated to a fortified city, where the rich live in penthouse apartments while the poor suffer on the streets below. Governed by the corrupt Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), the city comes under threat when the impoverished population begin to demand a change in leadership and it becomes obvious that the army of zombies outside the city walls is beginning to adapt to its surroundings.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Peter
Format:DVD
Land of the Dead is far from perfect, but - if we're to be honest - neither were Romero's other zombie movies.
Before anyone takes umbrage with the fact that I can pick faults in Classics of the Dead, please let me point out that I'm a massive fan of Romero's work, and the attraction of his films lies in their energy, invention, character development and general 'feel' rather than airtight plot or production values.
On the subject of production values, Romero has proven long ago that he can make an epic from nothing, and that's stood him in good stead with Land of the Dead. The success of 28 Days Later and the Dawn remake might have secured the movie deal and given him a larger-than-average budget for this kind of film, but the technology for creating new worlds and special effects has taken quantum leaps since Day of the Dead was released in the mid Eighties. The result is that Romero can finally produce a movie on the kind of scale we all wanted while still working within a modest budget.
I haven't read many comments from Romero following the release of Land of the Dead, but I get the impression that too many corporate fingers were in the production pie, given the way he ran off to go guerilla-indie with Diary of the Dead. If there was corporate interference on this project, it honestly hasn't detracted from the fun of the film. It's a thoroughly entertaining piece of work.
Yes, the learning zombies are a tad cheesy, and yes, some of the less sympathetic characters are left quite one-dimensional, but the overall effect is a great piece of escapism. You can take all sorts of social or political allegories from it if you want, but in the end, it's a bloody good rollercoaster ride.
Before anyone takes umbrage with the fact that I can pick faults in Classics of the Dead, please let me point out that I'm a massive fan of Romero's work, and the attraction of his films lies in their energy, invention, character development and general 'feel' rather than airtight plot or production values.
On the subject of production values, Romero has proven long ago that he can make an epic from nothing, and that's stood him in good stead with Land of the Dead. The success of 28 Days Later and the Dawn remake might have secured the movie deal and given him a larger-than-average budget for this kind of film, but the technology for creating new worlds and special effects has taken quantum leaps since Day of the Dead was released in the mid Eighties. The result is that Romero can finally produce a movie on the kind of scale we all wanted while still working within a modest budget.
I haven't read many comments from Romero following the release of Land of the Dead, but I get the impression that too many corporate fingers were in the production pie, given the way he ran off to go guerilla-indie with Diary of the Dead. If there was corporate interference on this project, it honestly hasn't detracted from the fun of the film. It's a thoroughly entertaining piece of work.
Yes, the learning zombies are a tad cheesy, and yes, some of the less sympathetic characters are left quite one-dimensional, but the overall effect is a great piece of escapism. You can take all sorts of social or political allegories from it if you want, but in the end, it's a bloody good rollercoaster ride.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I don't think I'd have watched this film if a friend of mine hadn't made me. It seemed that it would be a bunch of slow-walking lame actors saying things like "brains" and catching credulous bimbos who do not have the good sense to run.
Not only is this film more than that, it is actually a very watchable film. Having not encountered a George Romero film before (except via many inaccurate parodies), I wasn't aware that there is proper direction and a decent plot at its heart.
Although occasionally you may shout at the screen as the charactors end up splitting up or abandoning safety for stupid reasons, it is still compelling viewing and there is enough suspense, gore and horror to make a highly entertaining film.
It's also worth mentioning that there is almost a Greek fable quality to the film, with stupid selfish humans ending up being horribly mauled while the more enlightened humans escape the zombies' clutches.
Lastly there is the acting, with the guy who plays The Mentalist doing a sterling job as the lead, and Dennis Hopper doing his usual best as the villain of the film. Furthermore, none of the acting comes across as hammy, and I didn't see any scenes which were stilted or not believable.
To sum up, although slow-walking Zombie films may seem ten-a-penny, really the work of an original master is beyond the sordid cliches of his imitators.
Like watching an original Wes Craven movie (as opposed to a franchised sequel), the watered-down version often marrs the original.
But if you're fearing this film is a lemon, then don't worry - it's not.
Not only is this film more than that, it is actually a very watchable film. Having not encountered a George Romero film before (except via many inaccurate parodies), I wasn't aware that there is proper direction and a decent plot at its heart.
Although occasionally you may shout at the screen as the charactors end up splitting up or abandoning safety for stupid reasons, it is still compelling viewing and there is enough suspense, gore and horror to make a highly entertaining film.
It's also worth mentioning that there is almost a Greek fable quality to the film, with stupid selfish humans ending up being horribly mauled while the more enlightened humans escape the zombies' clutches.
Lastly there is the acting, with the guy who plays The Mentalist doing a sterling job as the lead, and Dennis Hopper doing his usual best as the villain of the film. Furthermore, none of the acting comes across as hammy, and I didn't see any scenes which were stilted or not believable.
To sum up, although slow-walking Zombie films may seem ten-a-penny, really the work of an original master is beyond the sordid cliches of his imitators.
Like watching an original Wes Craven movie (as opposed to a franchised sequel), the watered-down version often marrs the original.
But if you're fearing this film is a lemon, then don't worry - it's not.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Even if it's not a masterpiece, Romero's return is a tight, not very scary but nicely satirical B-movie, filled with sharp comments about today's America (it's pretty funny to see Dennis Hopper's character say "we don't negotiate with terrorists!") and very efficient in terms of action and dialogue. Sometimes it looks and sounds more like a John Carpenter than a George Romero's film. It's a kind of "Escape From New York" meets "Prince of Darkness" meets "Vampire$" done by the man who created the zombie movie - and so, the only filmmaker who's really authorized to take some risky liberties (like the zombies starting to learn, evolve and become... human, for better or worst). Some people passionately hate this movie (even Romero fans!), but I think it deserves a second chance. Yes, Zack Snyder did a much more scary and exhilarating film with his "Dawn of the Dead" remake, but Romero's much more intelligent in terms of social satire. And the truth is, that's one of the reasons we loved his zombie movies in the first place...
PS - Being a fan of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, it was a delight to see the "Shaun of the Dead" pair playing two very frustrated zombies in a quite funny set-up!
PS - Being a fan of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, it was a delight to see the "Shaun of the Dead" pair playing two very frustrated zombies in a quite funny set-up!
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3.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grows on you...
This is one of those films that grows on you but I don't think it will ever match it's predecessors. Or Savini's remake of Night of the Living Dead for that matter. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dave
4.0 out of 5 stars
Land of the Dead - Unrated Version
When i first saw this film advertised in the cinema i was really looking forward to it because it was George Romero's new zombie film! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Toecutter
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting, yet slightly flawed mix
First of all, let me say that I'm a big zombie movie fan. And, as a big zombie movie fan, I'm naturally a fan of the `grandfather of modern zombie movies' George A Romero. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Albatross
5.0 out of 5 stars
rating is for quality of product not content
the film isnt to everybodys taste nor is it particularly good,but once again hd dvd quality over bluray shines ,and when it costs less than the dvd its a no brainer
Published 4 months ago by violentj
1.0 out of 5 stars
Land Of The Dud........
Meh...... where do you start...???
I was SO looking forward to the release of this on DVD but was SO disappointed once I started watching. Read more
I was SO looking forward to the release of this on DVD but was SO disappointed once I started watching. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Longshot
5.0 out of 5 stars
g romero classic.....
this lives upto dawn o t dead. and day o t dead classics. by george romero. great zombie film this one. a must.
Published 10 months ago by tango
4.0 out of 5 stars
Back From the Dead
George Romero re-activates his career with another thought provoking social commentary. There's a lot going on in this film with in my opinion too many social messages going on. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Geckofabulous
1.0 out of 5 stars
I couldn't believe this was a Romero film...
As a huge fan of Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead I anticipated for years for Romero to make another zombie movie. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Colonel Decker
3.0 out of 5 stars
Another 'of the dead'
Land of the Dead is George A Romero's 4th zombie film and the first in his second (not so good) trilogy. Read more
Published 19 months ago by rohall
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shocking... ly bad!
First time I've written a review, but I watched this on TV this week, and it was the worst film I've seen in years. Read more
Published 20 months ago by SheFellOver
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