Document Shredding Movie Reviews

In 1978, film professor/filmmaker Roy Frumkes wrote, produced & directed Document of the Dead chronicaling indepedent filmmaker George A. Romero. Filmed over one long weekend on the set of Dawn of the Dead, Frumkes conducts interviews with various members of the cast and crew, including Romero himself. Mixed with footage from Night of the Living Dead, Martin, Romero's modern-day vampire film, and Dawn of the Dead, the documentary tells it's own story concerning a little guy fighting the system. The little guy being Romero and the system being the modern film industry.

Simply put, this is one of the best documentaries concerning filmmaking. Going from pre-production to distribution, Document of the Dead covers all the grounds that Romero went through in order to get Dawn of the Dead on the silver screen. It's a treat particularly for Dawn fans being that it contains scenes not seen in any version of Dawn of the Dead and the now-legendary alternate ending is addressed. Also worth mentioning is Make-up Effects Artist/Stunt Cordinator/Actor Tom Savini at work creating zombies out of filmmaker Frumkes and his then-girlfriend.

My main complaint is the 3rd Act/"10 Years Later..." segment shot on the set of Two Evil Eyes. The documentary was just fine chronicaling the first 10 years of Romero's career. Though, the footage/interviews aren't bad in any manner, the documentary worked better concerning Romero's attempts to make his films his way in Pittsburgh during the 1970s. Once the main story arc (Romero fighting for his cut of Dawn of the Dead for U.S. theatres and succedding with the film becoming a critical/commercial success!) ends, there's nowhere else to go. I can't help but give a little complaint with the lack of any mention towards Romero's post-Dawn films such as Knightriders, Creepshow, and Day of the Dead.

In the Bonus Materials for the dvd, there's a commentary track with Frumkes and other members of the crew. Frumkes is nice, professional and has only kind things to say about Romero, Savini & the other people he was around while making Document. He's certainly a major film fan. It's full of facts and fun antedotes from the set. Well-worth a listen! Also there's deleted footage from the original cut of Document shot on the Dawn set and unused interviews from the "10 Years Later..." segment.

All that aside, Document of the Dead is worth seeing if you're a fan of the horror genre, George A. Romero, or just films in general.

As a documentary, this film could have been a bit better. But as a companion to Dawn of the Dead, this is excellent stuff. The film offers plenty of behind-the-scenes material in the Monroeville Mall. One is able to see this incredible space transformed into one of the great film sets of all time. There are also interviews with cast members and with Tom Savini as well, not to mention Savini diving from the balcony in his death-stunt. Document of the Dead also goes into other Romero films with behind-the-scenes and other business bits like distribution, etc. However, there is quite a bit of Dawn material here, making this essential for the die-hard fan.

This has to be one of the most thorough documentaries ever made about flimaking, independent or otherwise. It covers every facet involved; pre-production, scriptwriting, casting, storyboarding, production, post production, editing, distribution. It has interesting interviews with Romero, (producer) Richard Rubinstein, special effects artist/actor/stuntman Tom Savivi, several cast and crew members, and clips from Romero's two hour forty five minute version of Dawn Of The Dead which include some alternate footage not seen on the U.S. theatrical release. All interspersed with scenes from Night Of The Living Dead, Martin, and the Calgon commercial spoof on Fantastic Voyage.

There is also a segment on Two Evil Eyes which reunites Romero and Frumkes. It focuses on a special effects segment detailing on what can go wrong in movie making usually does. Quite effective.

The DVD supplements feature a fascinating audio commentary with director Frumkes, cinematographer Reeves Lehmann, and narrator Nicole Potter, with lots of anecdotes, including a very sad one detailing the lost alternate ending of the original cut of Dawn Of The Dead. There are also seven minutes of deleted footage from the original documentary, plus a twenty minute interview segment from Two Evil Eyes with Adrienne Barbeau, George Romero, and Tom Savini.

Required viewing for future filmakers and, of course, fans of Dawn Of The Dead, George Romero, and Roy Frumkes.

A job well done.