Night of the Living Dead
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 black-and-white independent horror film directed by George A. Romero. Early drafts of the script were titled Monster Flick, but it was known as Night of Anubis and Night of the Flesh Eaters during production. The film stars Duane Jones as Ben and Judith O'Dea as Barbra. The plot revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and the efforts of Ben, Barbra and five others to survive the night while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse.
Romero produced the film on the small budget of $114,000, but after a decade of theatrical re-releases it had grossed an estimated $12 million in the United States and $30 million internationally. Night of the Living Dead at ; last accessed June 24 2006. Night of the Living Dead was strongly criticized at the time of its release for its graphic content. In 1999 the Library of Congress entered it into the United States National Film Registry with other films deemed "historically, culturally or aesthetically important."
The film had a tremendous impact on the culture of Vietnam-era America. It is so thoroughly laden with critiques of late-1960s American society that one historian described the film as "subversive on many levels." While not the first zombie film made, Night of the Living Dead influenced countless films, arguably is the lone progenitor of the modern "zombie apocalypse" horror sub-genre and is perhaps the defining influence on the modern pop-culture zombie archetype. The film is the first of five Dead films (completed or pending) directed by Romero. It has been remade twice, in 1990 and in 2006.
See also
- Public domain film
- List of American films of 1968
- Living Dead series
- List of films considered the best
- List of films in the public domain in the United States
