The Making of George A. Romero's Day of the Dead

by Lee Karr, Greg Nicotero

Released in 1985,Day of the Deadwas the final film of George A. Romero's classic zombie trilogy, which forever changed the face of horror filmmaking. Set in an apocalyptic world where the living-dead epidemic has wiped out most of humanity, the movie quickly acquired cult status, and — with one remake released in 2008 and another planned for 2014 — its influence on popular culture can still be felt today. Now, for the first time, the full history of the making of the iconic original film is revealed. Drawing on a wealth of exclusive interviews with the cast and crew, author Lee Karr leaves no stone unturned in detailing the movie's preproduction, shoot, release, and legacy. Filled with behind-the-scenes gossip and previously unpublished stories from the set, as well as over 100 full-color photos, this book givesDay of the Deadthe resurrection it deserves.

Genres: Nonfiction

583 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 10, 2014

Reviews

[Mat Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember discovering this movie when I was around 12 or 13 years old and it bloody terrified me. Over the years I have come to appreciate it more and more. As an avid fan of the trilogy of the dead I used to frequent Homepageoftheded when I was a senior in high school. Maybe daily! I wanted to learn more about this movie, and like its official documentary, it rocks. I was very happy to learn that the writer is also the person who hosted homepage of the dead. Gotta give it five stars. It is DOTD AFTER ALL

Obviously this is an awesome read for people who love trilogy of the dead. This book does go into detail about the production, however, so be ready for that.

[Oli Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and in depth look at the making of cult classic Day of the Dead. The interviews cover the whole cast and crew, with the make up guys getting the main focus, and there is a balanced approach that is appreciated in these sort of stories. Only quibble is that the brilliant pictures included don’t line up with the content, but it’s a minor issue in an all round great read, especially for horror fans.

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

So exhaustive it's exhausting is the best way I can describe this book. For every interesting thing I learned about the film I learned 10 un-interesting things. This is the book for you if you ever watched Day Of The Dead and wondered about the hiring process for the carpenters or want to know the biography of every extra, PA, stand-in, etc. on set. The author is obsessed with the minutiae and what would probably be an interesting story about the making of this film kind of gets lost in a sea of uncompelling facts and names. Too many names to keep up with. I was having to Google people all the time because I was like "Who was this person again? Oh, one of the grips", or still photographer, PA or whatever. I can't think of any movie I want this much detail about and even though I've read books about films that are considered masterpieces of film (2001: A Space Odyssey, Psycho, The Godfather, Jaws) I can't think of one that actually did.

Still though, there is some interesting information sprinkled throughout and lots of good pictures. You can tell the author is REALLY enthusiastic about this movie and probably can't sleep some nights wondering whether the Dr. Tongue zombie was filmed on day 40 or day 41 of the production.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't fault author Lee Karr for his research, as "The Making of George A. Romero's Day of the Dead" is packed with information about the making of the film. The book is about as detailed an exploration of the day to day nature of filmmaking as anything I have read, giving voice to not only the "above the line" talent, but many of the below the line crew whose work is often forgotten about.

Karr's love letter to Romero's underrated classic does have some significant faults, however: too much time is spent with the special effects crew (as entertaining as their antics are), while other stories -- such as the rifts between George Romero and key associates which had been building up prior to the production of Day -- are frustratingly under explored. Still, fans looking for an exploration of the Day's production will not find a more exhaustive look at the making of the film anywhere else.

[Jamie Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making of a fan favourite

If your a fan and want to know all the gritty, exciting and even dull aspects of the making of this film. Objectively I would not recommend it to anyone not familiar with the series. But if you are there are several nuggets of info and some great behind the scenes photos.

[David Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, and for a super fan of this film and all round zombie enthusiast, it was a brilliant read from start to finish. I will see the film differently knowing all I do that occurred during the making of the film, in a good way!

[Dani Nefasto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este no es un libro que recomendaría a todo el mundo...pero si a los muy (muy) cafeteros del cine de Romero, y en concreto a los de esta tercera entrega de su saga de los muertos vivientes. Desde la gestación del proyecto, los cambios de guion hasta un detallado diario de rodaje donde podemos saber con una precisión quirúrgica, lo que sucedió en cada día que duró la filmación de la película, desde los detalles detras de las escenas más memorables hasta la última broma que se gastaron entre los miembros del equipo (casualmente Tom Savini está envuelto en casi todas ellas).
En definitiva, un libro recomendadísimo para "hard core" fans, pero también para todo aquel que le interese indagar en los engranajes de una producción independiente.

[Mr Greig Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a George Romero fan, this is a must read. For anyone else with just a passing interest in him or this book, maybe not for you. There is so much detail packed into this about the production and day to day minutiae of what goes into making a movie. Some interesting quotes and insights from cast and crew and a tonne of great photographs.

[Lawrence Devincentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting. I learned some new things about the movie and it's making. I would have personally liked to have seen separate interviews with each cast member and an annotated script to refer to when talking about each scene for reference and clarity since the book has an account of each day of filming. On the plus side, it had great pictures never seen before. If you like the movie, I recommend it.

[Danny Marianino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Great insight to a classic film!

[Heber Moura Trigueiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great account of the making of this horror classic!
Very detailed and never boring.
And excellent read!

[Thomas Herlofsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustingly complete account of the filming of George A. Romero's third zombie masterpiece. A must for hardcore fans, probably quite dull for anyone else.