Birth of the Living Dead Page #9

the world said,

"Wait, there's no copyright

on this movie anymore!"

So, basically,

it became public domain.

Stupid mistake!

Image 10 received no royalties

for the huge ticket

sales in Europe.

Their attempt to sue

the distributor ended

when Walter Reade

filed for bankruptcy.

Pirated copies of "Night"

played worldwide.

It's impossible to know

how much money it's made.

End the war!

End the war!

End the war!

As the war grinded

on into the 1970s,

so did

"Night of the Living Dead,"

its midnight shows making it

a cult institution.

You want to own it,

you want it to belong to you.

Uh, you want to believe

there's a part of pop culture

that still kind of comes

through the back door,

that isn't heralded

and isn't having all of its fun

taken out of it

before it gets to you.

Um, and that's one

of the things that

that movie really had.

And for a long time.

And as history unfolded,

events seemed to vindicate,

time and again, "Night's"

suspicion of authority

and unmitigated bleakness.

All these things made

you think, "Oh, my God."

I'm not alone!"

Finally, you almost feel

like Ben, there are other,

there are like-minded people,

there's this cult

of other people

out there like me,

or people who know how

to fold this into a movie.

You wanted,

you wanted to see that.

For the British Film Institute's

"Sight and Sound,"

Elliot Stein wrote:

You know, 1968 was a moment

when everybody was reading

political messages

into every film

and I think it

is a political movie.

And one reason that "Night of

the Living Dead" works so well

is because everyone in America

thought some version

of this country

is going to hell.

The lunatics are taking over.

Conservative, older people

thought that, and progressive,

young people thought that that

had been true for a long time.

And on that political front,

the movie plays perfectly

to both audiences.

"Night of the Living Dead"

metaphorically, in a funny way,

were all these fears rising

up and coming at them.

And they weren't coming

at heroes or wealthy people,

they were coming

at the common American.

I mean, the young woman

who plays the lead.

The couple who's in the house.

They're just that average

working class American.

And here were these

fearful things coming

to not only kill them

but to eat them!

So, it fulfilled I think a kind

of pervasive fear that existed

in the country at the time

among normal working people.

There was a sense of chaos

and sense of tension, you know,

in the American fabric,

you know,

which means things

were going to change.

So I think that what

Romero was doing

with "Night of the Living Dead"

sort of points to you know,

this unraveling.

It's the unraveling of

everything we like to believe

is our comfort zone

and our safety.

"Night of the Living Dead's"

cynicism and ferocious intensity

was reflected in many

of the films that followed

in the 1970s.

Like "Night," these films

shattered all the things

that kept us safe

in traditional Hollywood movies.

Heroism.

Teamwork.

Science.

Young love.

The patriarchal family.

The media.

The government.

And the police and military.

There's really a fragility

to our society,

and then you realize well

in fact I must guard it,

I must be vigilant.

And then you get in to why

horror stories can actually have

a positive, uh,

message if you will,

a positive effect

which is to say:

Here is a cautionary tale.

Do not take anything

for granted.

Because one day a zombie might

wander up, and you may make fun

of the person who's afraid

but they could be right,

and then things might

go from bad to worse.

They're coming

to get you, Barbara!

And you've got "Zombie

Number One" Bill Hinzman.

Started it all 40 years ago.

My role in "Night

of the Living Dead"

was the "graveyard zombie."

And the graveyard zombie scene

was the last scene that was shot

and throughout the film,

I was a crewmember, of course,

and an investor in the film,

and throughout the film

I was jumping in to fill

a part as a zombie.

I was tall, skinny,

and had an old suit, uh,

so, it was pretty appropriate.

But anyway, when the time came

to film the final scene

George says, "You really

look good as a zombie",

do you want to do

the graveyard zombie?"

I said, "Yeah, sure."

You know, sometimes,

I really do blush, I think,

under the make-up, you know,

because it's really kind

of embarrassing.

I, I'm sure you've heard

the stories of actors

are always afraid

they're gonna get discovered

that they don't have

any talent or anything.

And, it's like,

sometimes I feel that way.

I'm a little embarrassed

sometimes because, you know,

every Sunday night I got

to take the damn garbage out,

and on the way out I'll go,

"I'm a legend!"

What the hell am I taking

the damn garbage out for?

"Why aren't I rich?"

But that's, that's life!

But it's so much fun

to do these things.

You know, just, especially if

I'm depressed about something.

My wife kicks me out

every once in a while

and says, "Go to one

of those events.

Get your ego built

back up again."

"Okay."

Captioned by Video Caption

Originally published 10/27/2013

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes