I don’t know about you, but first impressions are important. Covers are about first impressions especially. In an age where people might just want to go back and check out the inspirations behind recent zombie movies like Resident Evil or 28 Days Later, they have to be seduced by cover art just as audiences were back in the 80’s. When Day came out on Media Home Entertainment in 1986, I was excited to see that they used such a beautiful painting instead of the usual poster scheme. Thankfully Anchor Bay chose to recreate the look of that first impression. It still looks very good and hopefully more people will want to investigate the movie because of its eye-catching cover.

On first glance, the cover on this special edition looks the same, but the title is actually embossed and Bub is not green this time, and actually is a die-cut effect that reveals Dr. Logan and Dr. Tongue (the jawless zombie) underneath.

Nowhere on the front does it say anything else about what some high falutin critic rated it, or that it is the third in the trilogy or the darkest day of horror .... It is very simple. The back is largely made up of listing all the extra features, but has a newly- written, brief synopsis. The discs themselves are reproductions of the familiar theatrical poster art in an orange/yellow color scheme.

If you’re expecting a booklet filled with color shots that you already saw on the DVD, then get ready for a more original and fun approach. What Anchor Bay has done instead, is simulate a blood-smudged, 16-page notepad as if had been written by the mad Dr. Logan himself! Inside are sketches by Rob Webb and original pre-production sketches by Derrick Devoe, with clever notes from Logan himself ("reward is the key!", "how long I have been down here?", "another soldier died – they are so useful!"). Mike Felsher has written a honest, excellent reappraisal of this most maligned Dead chapter.

In short, an uncut version of Day has never looked better. The only picture close to its clarity is the Japanese JVD "Producer’s Cut" from 1997, except Anchor Bay didn’t turn up the greens as much as in that version. Color saturation may be stronger in some spots than others. The details in the makeups appear crisper, even though there is some quality difference in the cave scenes. You can see the grotesque Dr. Tongue clearer as he walks up in front of the sun, Bub in the background watching Logan’s experiments, the multitudes of zombie faces in the dark near the end, etc. One of the things I am glad Anchor Bay and Crest listened to me on was restoring the creepy UFDC leader as on the old Media VHS.

Fans may still be irked by the insistence of presenting the film in 1.85 widescreen (originally it was going to be 1.77).  The matting appears to be the same as the last DVD, and while it does reveal a bit MORE side information, it chops off tops of trees, palm fronds on the ground, zombie bodies from the waist down, zombie jaws in closeups, various things that don't take away from the enjoyment of the film, but nevertheless form the entire picture that we've come to know from years of watching on video.

The picture may be viewed as more composed and the other things "empty information", but I still would have preferred having the movie multibox, or true anamorphic so that the whole picture can fit into a black matte.

You have your choice of Dolby DTS-ES or Dolby EX 6.1 Surround. Echo to the cast’s voices have been restored for an even more claustrophobic, larger than life experience. The dialogue is different in at least two spots, from a source tape used on the Producer's Cut released by JVD Japan. John says before they descend down the elevator: "Right..I could do this even if all this wasn't going on..." and Sarah turns from Bub in the lab - "I can't look..it can't be-"

Haven’t you all waited for the day when George would narrate us through his favorite chapter of the trilogy? The always animated yet soft-spoken Tom Savini to break down effects shots. Cletus Anderson jumps in with observations on production design and Lori Cardille squirms in her seat for the duration. The group has a mutual admiration for each other, and it shows at various times, especially during the machete scene. "Good going Lori!" George says about her emotional performance.

Who didn’t like Pulp Fiction? Well, Roger wrote it. He has seen tons of movies and it’s apparent from the first few moments of the commentary. He has genuine fondness for this picture, and really loves Howard Sherman. All the way through everytime Sherman appears, he cannot resist

Avary has strong opinions on the merits of the film, and believes that the film’s only flaw is the music – although he admits he is just a Goblin lover – but does like most of the Day score. He doesn’t hesitate to point out the more illogical things in the plot in more of a humorous way than harsh criticism ("Rule number one for if you’re the government and you stick a bunch of army men down underground – you need to supply them with recreation – they need hookers!")

Avary is fun to listen to and young enough to have vivid recollections of the release of both Dawn and Day, as well as a childhood that almost revolved around the trilogy. He recounts his days dressing up as a zombie for Halloween, playing ‘guns and zombies’, and meeting George Romero for the first time as a fanboy. He still uses dialogue from the film (such as "mouthful of Greek salad") in everyday conversation! He also seems to be convinced Logan should have resurrected and that this should exist somewhere. Lots of shots were cut from Day when it was in the editing room but footage of Logan zombified was never made. Basically his insights are surprising and serve as a nice tonic to the facts and crew perspective heard in the first commentary.

BONUS DISC

This brand new 39 minute documentary delivers the goods. The editing is top-notch, and there are on-screen comments from George Romero, David Ball, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Chris Romero and cast members Lori Cardille, Joe Pilato and Howard Sherman. It’s hard to imagine this turning out any better. Everything from the original script to the infamous story of entrails left in the freezer and how crew got sick near the end of the shoot, is covered. This looks like something you'd see on channels like AMC or A & E.

You may notice the 15 minute featurette from the older DVD is not included. I was told that Anchor Bay was not able to re-license it. I think you’d agree that it was not necessary with the multitude of on-set photos in its place.

Any Day of the Dead special edition needs Tom Savini’s personal video footage of on-set makeup tests. This is NOT the same set of excerpts from the Elite laserdisc from 1998. Anyone who has not purchased that laserdisc likely has seen Scream Greats Vol. 1 where some of the same footage was first exposed, but another generation will now see all that and more.

Audio Interview with Richard Liberty

Though it ultimately was not included, I did offer a very good printed interview from the days of the old Romero fanclub newsletter but it may make it to the website interactive features…more on that later. In that interview, the character is fresher in Liberty's mind so more insight is provided into his dialogue on the tape recorder or instance.

I suggested this to Anchor Bay last year to fill out the disc the way those Monroeville Mall TV spots did on the old Elite laserdisc (and hopefully future Anchor Bay DVDs). With this tour captured on video of the Gateway Commerce Center, may be the closest fans can get to seeing the underground facility, how it’s used, how it’s changed, etc.

There are only three domestic (U.S.) trailers due to the scarcity of materials on foreign commercials. The first is the minute long teaser as on the previous DVD. The second is the Taurus Entertainment trailer with Bub in the theater (owners of the Japanese JVD DVD know this trailer). The third was the actual full length trailer. Interesting to know that the shots were recomposed from an old reference tape I supplied and it came out perfect. Japanese trailers couldn’t be included due to a licensing deal.

The TV Spots – previously unreleased – were also recomposed. You may notice the logo looks different in them (kind of a Wide Latin font). It is because while they could recompose the scenes and sound, the logo on the yellow background could not be used from the reference tape. You have to give Crest and Anchor Bay the A for effort however for the amazing work. Longtime fans may notice a second or two of narrative missing from the spots – "When the dead rose from the graves…" should be "IT BEGAN when the dead rose from their graves…" But the shots are ALL there. I remember seeing these and wondering what the makeup would look like since the editors made sure not to show you anything close up.

Anchor Bay treats you to three or four still galleries. A hundred from me, another hundred from Greg Nicotero’s personal collection, a set from the zombie extras the Loves and Lee Karr, and a set of continuity Polaroids from Cletus Anderson. Many close-up makeup shots, and full body costume shots.

Most of the items you see on this site are presented in full glory - even some of my rarest, giga-normous posters were scanned by the pros at Anchor Bay. Michael E. Smith contributed a gallery of some very odd foreign video releases – did you know one company marketed Day as "Dawn of the Dead 2"? Or that another used an image from "Return of the Living Dead" on their Day video? Lots to see! If even I have never seen some of this stuff, maybe you haven’t either.

What? You never read the original script for Day? The one that was really long and had dozens of characters? Well here’s your chance! TWO drafts, one of which is the "Gasparilla" version that George didn't even own anymore, as well as extensive production memos identifying the featured zombies, are downloadable as PDF files. Thanks to Greg Nicotero for these items.  Anchor Bay will soon provide a link to their site that will have even more extras (as if this disc wasn’t enough!)