Author: Joe Kane
Publisher: Aurum Press
RRP: $39.99
ISBN: 9781845136352
Release Date: January 2011
Description:
The behind-the- scenes story of the ultimate zombie movie’s creation and five-decade legacy.
Review:
Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Horror Movie Ever Made is not just a book for the zombie fan. Contained in this book are the story of George Romero and the rest of the crowd associated with this legendary movie, as well as details of other projects by them up until 2010.
There is a wealth of information that helps you understand how this movie gained its status, especially when it is quite tame compared to today’s standards. I for one did not fully appreciate the movie, having only seen it last year for the first time. It is hard to believe that there were so many elements of this movie that dealt with taboo subjects forty years ago when the movie first hit the big screen. Really goes to show how far society has declined when you see how a movie like this gained an R rating in 1968 and shocked movie goers.
Other interesting components of this book include the history of how the story was made of a shoe-string budget at night and on weekends so the actors and staff could maintain a paying job during the day. It was also interesting to read of how the lack of a copyright symbol meant that virtually no profits were ever seen by the producers and other staff. You just take copyright for granted today, but back in the 60’s the laws were such that the failure to include this symbol meant your work was free game. This movie was actually one of the key cases to change copyright laws.
Apart from the mammoth amount of interesting reading and history about NOTLD, there is also the original screenplay at the back of the book.
This was one of the best books about a movie and the industry I’ve ever read.
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