{"id":23163,"date":"2021-07-18T16:30:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T23:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=23163"},"modified":"2021-07-18T16:30:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T23:30:37","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-dead-buried-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=23163","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: DEAD & BURIED (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD package from\nBlue Underground will be available for purchase on July 20th<\/sup>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dead & Buried<\/em> is a movie that really does qualify\nas a cult classic. Produced and released during a busy period for horror\nfeatures, this atmospheric and creepy effort had a unique concept and\nbenefitted from incredible talent in front of and behind the camera. Perhaps there\nwere too many genre pictures coming out at the time, but this tale got lost in\nthe shuffle and underperformed at the box office during its original release.\nIn the decades since, the movie has built up a following of fans who managed to\ndiscover it on VHS or DVD, or became intrigued by the picture through word of\nmouth. It\u2019s an exceptionally effective film and a personal favorite of this\nreviewer.  In fact, I wrote about it\nextensively some time ago in this book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distributor Blue Underground have been knocking it out of\nthe park in recent years with their stunning 4K upgrades of titles like House\nby the Cemetery<\/em>, Vigilante<\/em> and most recently The Final Countdown<\/em>.\nYou can now add Dead & Buried<\/em> to the list. Decades ago, the company released\nan extras-filled DVD \u201cSpecial Edition\u201d that wowed horror fans. And now they\u2019ve got\nan even better product. They have meticulously gone over the 35mm inter-positive\nof the film and given it a phenomenal 4K, 16-bit scan for an Ultra HD disc and regular\nBlu-ray. If that wasn\u2019t enough, this new \u201cLimited Edition\u201d also includes a CD\nwith the film\u2019s rare score and several new bonuses that have never been seen before.\nIt\u2019s another stunner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Dan O\u2019Bannon (who had previously scripted Alien<\/em>\nand would later write and direct The Return of the Living Dead<\/em>) and\nRonald Shusett and directed by Gary Sherman (who also helmed the criminally\nunderrated Raw Meat<\/em> aka Deadline<\/em>), the story successfully transplants\nold-fashioned Caribbean-style zombie-like creations into a seemingly incongruous\nNorman Rockwell-like New England town. In a seemingly perfect little village,\nSheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) has to deal with an extraordinary problem \u2013\nany recent visitor who comes to town ends up meeting a violent death. These slayings\ncome at the hands of locals, who go so far as to photograph their victims\nduring the act. Even stranger, those who are killed immediately reappear as residents\nand behave as if nothing ill has befallen them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An elderly, quirky mortician (Jack Albertson) with a taste\nfor big band tunes helps Gillis with the case, but things get increasingly\ncomplicated as more townspeople get involved. The situation becomes really\ndisconcerting for the protagonist when he discovers that his wife (Melody\nAnderson) has books on witchcraft and voodoo in her drawer and then learns that\nthe schoolteacher has been giving her class lessons in the occult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film is notable for its remarkable atmosphere and\ngenuine sense of eeriness. When shrouded in fog, the town itself becomes a\ncharacter and there\u2019s something truly eerie about seeing the locals behave in a\ncalm yet viscous manner. Mood may be emphasized, but that doesn\u2019t mean that there\naren\u2019t a couple of big jolts included over the running time. In fact, one of\nthem is guaranteed to rattle first time viewers. Sherman expertly builds suspense\nthroughout, resolving the climax in a disturbing yet oddly moving. And just\nwhen the final explanation is delivered, the writers add a brilliant second\nsurprise that should floor many viewers. It\u2019s a great ending to a wildly\nentertaining picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie also benefits from Stan Winston\u2019s incredible practical\nmake-up effects. There are some incredible, cringe-worthy achievements on display,\nincluding an eye-related mishap that isn\u2019t easy to forget. Horror-hounds are\nalso treated to disturbing shots of undead residents (and sometimes individual body\nparts) on the move and in various states of decay. There\u2019s only one poor effect\nand it isn\u2019t from Winston. As the extras later explain, there was studio\ninterference with this picture. Executives insisted on adding a graphic murder\ninvolving acid. Alas, the make-up master wasn\u2019t available to shoot this bit and\nanother less-experienced technician was responsible. Still, this scene is a minor\nissue in an otherwise incredible film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, as you might have guessed based on the previous paragraph,\nthere was some studio tinkering in the final picture. Many of the extras go\ninto the changes in detail. The \u201cLimited Edition\u201d contains four commentary\ntracks. The first is a great archival track from the previous release with\ndirector Sherman, who goes into great detail about how he got involved in the\nfilm, the wonderful time he had shooting the picture with cast and crew, and then\nthe problems he faced in post-production with his distributor. He and his\nproducer successfully attempted to make an atmospheric and creepy feature (and\nthere is some fascinating discussion about using camera angles to subconsciously\ncreate unease), but it seems others wanted the movie to feel more like a garden-variety\nslasher picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In fact, they were ready to alter significant elements, but\nthe director and his team fought them off and managed to rescue the disturbing\ntale. However, there were some forced changes. Sherman shot a few lengthy\nmaster shots (in which a scene would play out in without cuts using elaborate\nchoreography) that were chopped up by money-men. The filmmaker laments the fact\nthat they threw away this footage and that sadly there is no way to reconstruct\nhis original cut. Still, he does admit the final product still works, even if some\nelements weren\u2019t as he intended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also an old commentary track with co-writer\/co-producer\nRonald Shusett and supporting cast member Linda Turley. The pair share their experiences\nand listeners learn more about the writer\u2019s process and how he felt about the adaptation.\nAnd there is yet another track recorded a few years back with the director of\nphotography discussing his use of fog and soft lighting techniques featured the\nfilm. Both of these are fun and informative to hear. The new addition with this\nrelease in the inclusion of a new fourth audio commentary with film historians,\nsharing their perspective today on the 40-year-old title. They add even more\ndetails about the production and discuss the career and credits of just about all\nof the participants involved. It\u2019s also an enlightening listen and the men talk\nabout Sherman\u2019s body of work, even discussing their feelings about his other works.\nIt may make many want to revisit other flicks from the director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to the four commentaries, there are also fun\nfeaturettes from the previous release about make-up man Stan Winston, as well\nas a discussion with the late, great co-writer Dan O\u2019Bannon about his work on\nthe screenplay. There\u2019s also a fun little special on actor Robert Englund (\u201cFreddy\u201d\nfrom A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>) who has an early role in this feature as\none of the outwardly friendly yet violent townspeople.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there are a ton of other extras. Interestingly enough,\nthere\u2019s a behind-the-scenes using a great deal of previously unseen silent footage\nshot on set by the cast and crew, with commentary explaining what was occurring.\nOne of the most notable pieces is rehearsal footage of a long master shot that\nwas cut from the final film. It takes place on a forest road and follows Sheriff\nGillis as he finds another victim. The camera keeps pulling back and moving\nfurther away as he examines the carcass and moves around the crime scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a new piece about the location used, comparing\nthen with how they look today. While the film has a northeast coast vibe, it\nwas all shot in Mendocino, California. Many of the buildings haven\u2019t changed\ndramatically and certain sites are similar to the way they appeared in the feature.\nAdditionally, you\u2019ll get a new discussion with Sherman and composer Joe Renzetti\non the movie score, which reveals more about the use of music and the effect it\nhad on the film. And there is another discussion with author Chelsea Quinn\nYarbro and her work creating a tie-in novel for the film that was adapted from the\nscreenplay. All of it is very informative and interesting. And there are tons\nof publicity materials as well as an impressive booklet and essay with more\ndetails about the movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, Blue Underground has also chosen to include the\nscore to the movie a CD. The music is haunting and memorable, really helping to\ncreate the foreboding atmosphere on display. It is truly fantastic to receive a\nhard copy of this hard-to-find but incredible music as part of the package and\nwill please anyone who enjoys collecting movie soundtracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As for the image quality, this film is a notable improvement\nover the previous edition. In fact, it\u2019s another stunning transfer from the distributor.\nIt should be noted that the movie was shot in softer tones and focus. This was\nobviously done to visualize a warm, picturesque seaside town at the outset, but\nthe hues turn cold and things turn violent. So, the photography isn\u2019t as sharp\nas a few of Blue Undergrounds other recent titles. However, this was the\nintended look of the film and was done intentionally by the filmmakers. This\nrelease beautifully recreates the proper look while still providing added\nclarity a significant upgrade that is gorgeous to behold in 4K and on Blu-ray.\nViewers will certainly note just how exceptionally shot the film is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead & Buried<\/em> is an exceptional cult movie that features\nengaging and unique characters, a surprising and twisty story, as well as style\nand atmosphere thanks to some impressive photography. This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d\nlooks and sounds better than any previous edition and it is also chock full of\nhours upon hours of extras that inform viewers about just about everything that\nwent on behind the scenes. In addition, you\u2019ll finally have a copy of the score\nto enjoy on your own. If you\u2019re a horror fan, then you really owe it to\nyourself to pick up Blue Underground\u2019s remarkable \u201cLimited Edition 4K Ultra HD +\nBlu-ray + CD\u201d of this classic chiller. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD package from Blue Underground will be available for purchase on July 20th. Dead & Buried is a movie that really does qualify as a cult classic. Produced and released during a busy period for horror features, this atmospheric and creepy effort had a unique concept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[113,299,2396,2923,3073,3202,5101,5383,5384,5385,5388,8125,9319,10080,10224,13673,17783,23474,23504,23884,24791],"class_list":["post-23163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-113","tag-4k","tag-bead-buried-blu-ray-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-blue-underground","tag-dan-obannon","tag-dead-buried","tag-dead-buried-blu-ray","tag-dead-buried-review","tag-dead-and-buried","tag-gary-sherman","tag-horror","tag-jack-albertson","tag-james-farentino","tag-melody-anderson","tag-score","tag-ultra-hd","tag-undead","tag-voodoo","tag-zombie"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}