Night of the Living Dead

For other uses, see Night of the Living Dead (disambiguation).

Night of the Living Dead
Promotional poster with large text reading They Won't Stay Dead! Night of the Living Dead above stills of zombies and victims from the film.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge A. Romero
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGeorge A. Romero
Edited byGeorge A. Romero
Production
company
Image Ten
Distributed byContinental Distributing
Release dates
  • October 1, 1968 (1968-10-01) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
  • October 4, 1968 (1968-10-04) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$114,000–$125,000[2][3]
Box office$30,236,452 (est.)[a]

Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.

Having gained experience creating television commercials, industrial films, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood segments through their production company The Latent Image, Romero, Russo, and Streiner decided to make a horror film to capitalize on interest in the genre. Their script primarily drew inspiration from Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend. Principal photography took place between July 1967 and January 1968, mainly on location in Evans City, Pennsylvania, with Romero using guerrilla filmmaking techniques he had honed in his commercial and industrial work to complete the film on a budget of approximately US$100,000. Unable to procure a proper set, the crew rented a condemned farmhouse to destroy during the course of filming.

Night of the Living Dead premiered in Pittsburgh on October 1, 1968. It grossed US$12 million domestically and US$18 million internationally, earning more than 250 times its budget and making it one of the most profitable film productions of all time. Released shortly before the adoption of the Motion Picture Association of America rating system, the film's explicit violence and gore were considered groundbreaking, leading to controversy and negative reviews. It eventually garnered a cult following and critical acclaim and has appeared on lists of the greatest and most influential films by such outlets as Empire, The New York Times and Total Film. Frequently identified as a touchstone in the development of the horror genre, retrospective scholarly analysis has focused on its reflection of the social and cultural changes in the United States during the 1960s, with particular attention towards the casting of Jones, an African-American, in the leading role.[5] In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[6][7][8]

Night of the Living Dead created a successful franchise that includes five sequels released between 1978 and 2009, all directed by Romero. Due to an error when titling the original film, it entered the public domain upon release,[9] resulting in numerous adaptations, remakes, and a lasting legacy in the horror genre. An official remake, written by Romero and directed by Tom Savini, was released in 1990.

  1. ^ "Night of the Living Dead (X)". British Board of Film Classification. November 18, 1980. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Mark (October 30, 2013). "The Top Ten Best Low-Budget Horror Movies of All Time". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  3. ^ "Night of the Living Dead (1968)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The First 100 Years 1893–1993. American Film Institute. December 21, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Night of the Living Dead". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Klawans, Stuart (February 13, 2018). "Night of the Living Dead: Mere Anarchy Is Loosed". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Maçek III, J.C. (June 14, 2012). "The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead". PopMatters. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Preserving the Silver Screen (December 1999) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Boluk & Lenz 2011, p. 5.


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