Document of the Dead

1981 American film

Document of the Dead

DVD cover

Directed by| Roy Frumkes
Written by| Roy Frumkes
Produced by| Roy Frumkes
Starring|

* George A. Romero
* Richard P. Rubinstein
* Michael Gornick
* Carl Augenstein
* Tom Savini
* Ken Foree
* Scott H. Reiniger
* David Emge
* John Amplas
* Roy Frumkes
* Christine Forrest

Narrated by|

* Susan Tyrrell
* Nicole Potter (1989)

Cinematography| Reeves Lehmann
Edited by|

* Dennis Werner
* Gary Cooper (1989)
* Hedy Speaker (2012)

Music by| Rick Ulfik

Production
companies

* School of Visual Arts
* Roy Frumkes Productions

Distributed by| Off Hollywood

Release date

* January 19, 1981 (1981-01-19) (The Public Theater)

Running time

* 66 minutes (1981)
* 85 minutes (1989)
* 102 minutes (2012)

Country| United States
Language| English

Document of the Dead is a 1981 documentary film by American filmmaker Roy Frumkes that was largely shot during the production of the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead. Originally a 66-minute feature, it has since been expanded two times, first to 85 minutes in 1989, then to 102 minutes in 2012.

## Synopsis[edit]

Taking a look back from Romero's first television commercials onward, the documentary chronicles the career and stylistic techniques of Dawn of the Dead's director, George A. Romero.

## History[edit]

In 1977, Roy Frumkes, a teacher at New York's School of Visual Arts, wanted to make a teaching film on independent filmmaking. He was given $7,000 with plans to make a 25-minute feature. He was going to base it on the production of either Earl Owensby's Wolfman or George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. He decided to go with Dawn since Romero was already a proven independent film maker.[1] The film, which was shot on 16mm, ended up being 66 minutes long and cost $33,000.[2]

The film was premiered at Joseph Papp's The Public Theater on January 19, 1981 was subsequently entered into film festivals and won awards. But there weren't any offers good enough to properly distribute the film.[1] In 1988, 10 years after filming, Frumkes was approached by a former student of his, Len Anthony, to release the film via his company Off Hollywood. Frumkes agreed, and Anthony asked him if he could update it "[b]ecause this is already old". Frumkes recorded additional interviews on the set of the film Romero was making at the time, Two Evil Eyes. This part of the film totalled 24 minutes, was shot on videotape and cost another $50,000.[2] The film, now running 85 minutes, saw its first home video release when Off Hollywood released it on VHS in 1989.

The 85-minute version would see many more releases on home video. It was re-released in 1996 by Tee Dee Gee Distributing, and was also released on VHS in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan.[3] It was released on LaserDisc in Japan in 1995.[3] Then, in 1998, it was released on DVD by Synapse Films as "The Special Edition", including an audio commentary, six minutes of deleted scenes, and never-before-seen interview segments from Two Evil Eyes.[4] The next year, Synapse released a LaserDisc with the same content as the DVD.[3] The film has since been included as a special feature on multiple editions of Dawn of the Dead, including on Anchor Bay Entertainment's 2004 Ultimate Edition DVD set and Arrow Films's 2010 DVD and Blu-ray releases.

2012 saw the film again expanded, this time to 102 minutes, featuring interviews performed through 2006.[5] It was released as The Definitive Document of the Dead on DVD along with a new audio commentary. It was also released on a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack, with the Blu-ray features a high-definition transfer of the original 66 minute cut.[6]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Frumkes, Roy (August 1989). "A Zombie's Testament". Fangoria. No. 85.
2. ^ a b Lamberson, Gregory (2 October 2008). "Roy Frumkes: Producing Screams and Laughter". Cheap Scares!: Low Budget Horror Filmmakers Share Their Secrets. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0786437061.
3. ^ a b c "Document of the Dead". The DAWN of the DEAD Reference Page. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
4. ^ "Document of the Dead". Synapse-Films.com. 14 October 1998.
5. ^ Eric Cotenas. "The Definitive Document of the Dead". dvddrive-in.com.
6. ^ "The Definitive Document of the Dead [Synapse Website Exclusive Limited BD/DVD Combo]". Synapse-Films.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2013-12-11.

## External links[edit]

* Document of the Dead at IMDb
* Document of the Dead at AllMovie
* Document of the Dead on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

George A. Romero

* Filmography
* Bibliography

Films|

* Night of the Living Dead (1968)
* There's Always Vanilla (1971)
* Season of the Witch (1973)
* The Crazies (1973)
* The Amusement Park (1975)
* Martin (1978)
* Dawn of the Dead (1978)
* Knightriders (1981)
* Creepshow (1982)
* Day of the Dead (1985)
* Monkey Shines (1988)
* Two Evil Eyes (1990)
* The Dark Half (1993)
* Jacaranda Joe (1994)
* Bruiser (2000)
* Land of the Dead (2005)
* Diary of the Dead (2007)
* Survival of the Dead (2009)

Television|

* O. J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose (1974)
* Tales from the Darkside
* The Movie

Books|

* The Living Dead (with Daniel Kraus)

Related|

* Unrealized projects
* Night of the Living Dead (film series)
* Creepshow 2
* Document of the Dead
* Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero
* George A. Romero's Resident Evil

* v
* t
* e

Living Dead films

Official films|

| Romero's Dead series|

* Night of the Living Dead (1968)
* Dawn of the Dead (1978)
* Day of the Dead (1985)
* Land of the Dead (2005)
* Diary of the Dead (2007)
* Survival of the Dead (2009)

|

Dead series remakes|

* Night of the Living Dead (1990)
* Dawn of the Dead (2004)
* Day of the Dead (2008)
* Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017)

Return of the
Living Dead  series|

* The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
* Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
* Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
* Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
* Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)

Night of the Living Dead 3D series|

* Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
* Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012)

Unofficial films|

| Zombi series|

* Zombi 2 (1979)
* Zombi 3 (1988)
* After Death (1989)
* Killing Birds (1988)
* Others

|

Dead series remakes and sequels|

* Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition (1999)
* Children of the Living Dead (2001)
* Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
* Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead (2011)
* Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)
* Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)
* Night of the Animated Dead (2021)
* Others

Documentaries|

* Document of the Dead (1981/1989/2012)
* Birth of the Living Dead (2012)

Parodies|

* Night of the Living Bread (1990)
* NOTDOT (1991)
* Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)
* Night of the Living Carrots (2011)

Homages|

* Hell of the Living Dead (1980)
* Flesheater (1988)
* Shaun of the Dead (2004)
* Winter of the Dead (2005)
* Hood of the Living Dead (2005)
* Fido (2006)
* Flight of the Living Dead (2007)
* Dance of the Dead (2008)
* Zone of the Dead (2009)
* Juan of the Dead (2011)
* War of the Dead (2011)
* One Cut of the Dead (2017)

Other media|

| Soundtracks|

* Dawn of the Dead
* The Return of the Living Dead
* "Night of the Living Dead" (1979)

|

TV series|

* Day of the Dead (2021)

Print media|

* Escape of the Living Dead (2005 comic)
* Empire of the Dead (2014–2015 comic)
* The Living Dead (2020 novel)

Video games|

* Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green (2005)
* City of the Dead (cancelled)

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