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4K UHD Edition with the Uncut Version + Theatrical |
The theatrical version was compared with the workprint.
When Barbara and her brother Johnny visit their mother's grave, they are attacked by decaying corpses. Johnny dies and Barbara manages to flee to a nearby farmhouse. After a while, Ben shows up there, having run out of gas. Hiding in the basement are Harry Cooper, his wife Helen, their injured daughter Sarah, and the couple Tom and Judy. Together they barricade the house. Cooper prefers to seek shelter in the basement, but Ben and the others want to flee by car. To do so, they need gasoline from a nearby gas station. The attempt fails and the zombies increasingly manage to break into the house... The remake of Night of the Living Dead, shot by FX legend Tom Savini, is heavily based on the original, but differs in a few crucial points. Barbara is the tough action heroine with a rifle slung over her shoulder, who fights her way through to a different but similarly depressing ending. The makeup and effects are top-notch, and the film is just as oppressive and thrilling as the original.
Workprint version contains censored scenesTo prevent the film from receiving an X rating in the US, some bloody scenes in which zombies are shot in the head had to be removed or replaced. The workprint of the film corresponds largely to the final theatrical version, but includes the bloody headshots and is probably the version that would have been submitted to the MPAA and received an X rating. Here and there, the workprint has some additional extensions that are of no great significance, such as the car that can be seen longer at the beginning. The workprint uses different music and the scene transitions are not yet in place. Instead of a crossfade, there are hard cuts. Depending on the source, there are different quality versions of the workprint. The version available digitally from some retailers (referred to below as version 1) is of mixed quality. I have a VHS version that is slightly better in terms of quality. The colors are less distorted and the image is sharper. Update: On September 23, 2025, the film was released on 4K UHD Blu-ray and is available in a newly created Uncut version which e.g. adds some of the gory bits, that you could previously only find in the workprints compared here. We'll take a detailed look at the new Uncut version in a separate comparison.
Image comparison: Theatrical version (German Blu-ray - 2021):
Workprint (Version 1):
Workprint (Version 2):
Running times:
[00:00:00][00:00:00]
The BD begins with the Columbia Pictures logo.
TC: 15 sec. [00:00:21][00:00:06] The workprint has no title credits.
No time difference. [00:00:53][00:00:39] The theatrical version shows the black screen earlier after the full moon was visible.
In the workprint, the full moon moves further up.
TC: 2 sec. WP: 12 sec. [00:01:43][00:01:40] The workprint shows two additional shots of the car driving down the road before arriving at the cemetery. Johnnie considers this a charade and complains about visiting his mother's grave again.
In the theatrical version, the dialogue occurs as the two drive through the cemetery. In the workprint, Johnnie can be heard complaining that he has to drive Barbara to the cemetery. WP: 52 sec. [00:13:43][00:14:32] After Barbara knocks down the farmer zombie with the poker, the workprint shows her pulling the poker out of the zombie's head. Then a cut to Barbara.
WP: 7 sec. [00:15:59][00:16:54] In the theatrical version, the door is seen earlier, before Ben opens it.
TC: 2 sec. [00:19:45][00:20:39] The theatrical version fades from the sunset to the dark night sky full of clouds.
In the workprint, it fades directly to the moon. TC: 6 sec. [00:40:44][00:41:31] In the workprint, the zombie hits the barricaded window again.
WP: 1 sec. [00:45:02][00:45:51] When Barbara looks out of the window, the theatrical version shows the shed with the gas pump surrounded by a few zombies.
In the workprint, you can see the zombies staggering through the forest.
TC: 3 sec. WP: 3 sec. [00:51:26][00:52:14] In the theatrical version, Barbara puts the rifle to the head of the McRuder zombie. This is followed by a cut to Barbara as she pulls the trigger.
In the workprint, Barbara, Ben, and Judy are seen for longer as Barbara raises the rifle. This is followed by a shot of her shooting the McRuder zombie in the head.
TC: 2 sec. WP: 3 sec. [00:52:17][00:53:06] In the theatrical version, Barbara shoots the zombie in the head. He falls backwards.
The workprint uses an alternative shot in which the blood splatters backward when the zombie is shot in the head.
TC: 1 sec. WP: 1 sec. [00:54:38][00:55:26] Cooper is seen earlier running up the stairs.
WP: 10 sec. [00:55:18][00:56:16] The theatrical version shows Cooper nodding contemptuously in front of the TV as the reporter speculates about the possible causes of the zombies.
The workprint shows an alternative shot of Cooper.
TC: 4 sec. WP: 4 sec. [00:58:29][00:59:26] The theatrical version shows Barbara longer as she raises her rifle to shoot the zombie.
The workprint cuts to the zombie earlier. It is hit in the head.
TC: 1 sec. WP: 1 sec. [00:59:31][01:00:28] In the theatrical version, Helen goes down the basement stairs to check on her daughter. Tom then runs to the window and sees the zombies at the shed.
In the workprint, the sequence of scenes was changed. Tom first runs to the window, then Helen goes to the basement.
TC: 17 sec. WP: 17 sec. [01:01:31][01:02:38] In the theatrical version, Barbara is seen earlier before Ben comes to her.
TC: 1 sec. [01:03:15][01:04:12] The theatrical version shows Tom standing up and raising his rifle to shoot the zombie.
TC: 1 sec. [01:03:18][01:04:14] After the zombie is seen, the theatrical version cuts to Tom firing a shot.
In the workprint, Tom stands up and shoots the zombie in the head. The zombie's head explodes.
TC: 1 sec. WP: 2 sec. [01:03:42][01:04:39] Cooper, Barbara, and Helen stare out the window longer after the car drives away.
WP: 2 sec. [01:07:34][01:08:32] After Ben is seen hammering on the door, the workprint cuts earlier to the zombies at the electrical box.
WP: 2 sec. [01:10:04][01:11:04] When Ben gets up to chase Cooper, Barbara is seen longer in the workprint. She gets up and calls after Ben to stop. A zombie approaches from behind. Barbara turns around and shoots it in the head with her pistol.
In the theatrical version, Barbara's line was simply superimposed over the next scene in which Ben runs up the stairs. WP: 7 sec. [01:10:24][01:11:30] The theatrical version cuts to Ben firing a shot from the pistol before cutting back to the zombie.
In the workprint, the zombie can still be seen being hit in the head and bleeding.
TC: 1 sec. WP: 1 sec. [01:14:39][01:15:45] Ben is seen earlier in the workprint when he points his gun at zombie Helen.
WP: 1 sec. [01:16:08][01:17:16] In the theatrical version, the zombies stagger through the house a little longer.
TC: 1 sec. [01:24:29][01:25:35] The theatrical version shows credits while various still images are shown in which the zombies are brought to the fire.
Instead, the workprint only shows a black screen.
TC: 3:48 min. WP: 1:47 min. |
