‘Night of the Living Dead’ and ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Are Getting Criterion Releases

I don’t buy a whole lot of physical media these days, but Criterion releases are those kind of definitive editions that are hard to resist.  I’m a sucker for their awesome cases, visual upgrades, and compilation of special features.  All things that speak to my cinephile needs.  And all that is made even better when it’s a movie that I actually love, like the two films that were announced today.

Criterion has revealed that they are releasing 4K versions of George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” and “Silence of the Lambs.” Here’s a breakdown of what each release will contain:

Night of the Living Dead

Shot outside Pittsburgh on a shoestring budget by a band of filmmakers determined to make their mark, Night of the Living Dead, directed by horror master George A. Romero, is one of the great stories of independent cinema: a midnighthit turned box-office smash that became one of the most influential films of all time. A deceptively simple tale of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls, Romero’s claustrophobic vision of a late-1960s America literally tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combined gruesome gore with acute social commentary, and quietly broke ground by casting a black actor (Duane Jones) in its lead role. Stark, haunting, and more relevant than ever, Night of the Living Deadis back, in a new 4K restoration. 1968 * 96 minutes * Black & White * Monaural * 1.37:1 aspect ratio SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES * New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director George A. Romero, coscreenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner, and producer Russell W. Streiner * New restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Gary R. Streiner, and presented uncompressed on the Blu-ray * Night of Anubis, a never-before-presented work-print edit of the film * New program featuring filmmakers Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, and Robert Rodriguez * Never-before-seen 16 mm dailies reel * New piece featuring Russo about the commercial and industrial-film production company where key Night of the Living Dead filmmakers got their start * Two audio commentaries from 1994, featuring Romero, Russo, producer Karl Hardman, actor Judith O’Dea, and more * Archival interviews with Romero and actors Duane Jones and Judith Ridley * New programs about the editing, the score, and directing ghouls * New interviews with Gary R. Streiner and Russel W. Streiner * Trailer, radio spots, and TV spots * More! * PLUS: An essay by critic Stuart Klawans “Night of the Living Dead” will retail for $39.95 but you can preorder for $31.96.  Check it out here

The Silence of the Lambs