The new 4K digital restoration of George A. Romero’s classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD that has been making the special-screening rounds has now been dated and detailed as a Criterion Collection Blu-ray and DVD release, and so has a 4K restoration of Jonathan Demme’s serial-killer smash THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Read on for all the info and the cover art.
Both titles will be released February 13; NIGHT will be issued in 2-Blu-ray and 3-DVD sets, while SILENCE will come in 2-Blu-ray and 2-DVD editions. The upgraded transfer of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD will be presented in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with newly restored monaural audio, while SILENCE will be presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Surround Master Audio. Special features on NIGHT include commentaries dating back to the original 1994 Elite Entertainment laserdisc plus a bunch of new supplements, while SILENCE will be a similar mix of old (including a long-out-of-print Criterion commentary) and fresh material. The full lineups:
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
- NIGHT OF ANUBIS, a never-before-presented workprint edit of the film
- New program featuring filmmakers Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro and Robert Rodriguez
- Never-before-seen 16mm dailies reel
- New piece featuring scripter John 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
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
- Audio commentary from 1994 featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally and former FBI agent John Douglas
- New interview with critic Maitland McDonagh
- 35 minutes of deleted scenes
- Interview from 2005 with Demme and Foster
- INSIDE THE LABYRINTH, a 2001 documentary
- “Page to Screen,” a 2002 program about the adaptation
- “Scoring THE SILENCE,” a 2004 interview program featuring composer Howard Shore
- “Understanding the Madness,” a 2008 program featuring interviews with retired FBI special agents
- Original behind-the-scenes featurette
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by critic Amy Taubin along with, in the Blu-ray edition, a new introduction by Foster; an account of the origins of the Hannibal Lecter character by author Thomas Harris; and a 1991 interview with Demme
Retail prices are $39.95 each for the NIGHT Blu-ray and DVD sets, $39.95 for the SILENCE Blu-ray set and $29.95 for the SILENCE DVD set.
