Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Previous coverage of George Romero's Land of the Dead (2005) on our site was provided by my colleague Marty Liebman and myself. Marty reviewed Universal Studios' BD-25 of the Unrated Director's Cut while I wrote about Scream Factory's first Collector's Edition, which contains two cuts of the film. To read our impressions of the 2008 and 2017 releases, please refer to the linked reviews.

Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's second three-disc "Collector's Edition" presents the unrated version of the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in Dolby Vision on Disc One and standard 1080p Bu-ray on Disc Two. The original theatrical cut appears on regular 1080p Blu-ray only (Disc Three). The transfers stem from a 4K restoration from the original camera negative completed this year. Land of the Dead, a 2.35:1 movie, was shot on 35 mm Fujifilm using ARRICAM Studio ST and Moviecam Compact cameras. It was printed on Kodak Vision 2383. Tom Mayclim was the negative cutter at the lab, Exact Cut. In addition, the film was transferred to a digital intermediate (DI) at Cinebyte Digital Imaging. Universal's 2008 BD was sourced from the DI. The theatrical version on Scream's 2017 BD was struck from the internegative (not an interpositive).

I recently watched Universal's anamorphic widescreen DVD of the longer cut. I don't know if it comes from a film print or the DI. (Authoring and compression were done by Deluxe Digital Services, which Universal often employed to work on its discs in the DVD era.) On the Screenshots tab, I made a number of frame comparisons between the 4K (downsampled to 1080p), Universal's 2005 DVD, and the 2024 BDs from which I made a handful of captures from. It was sometimes difficult to find identical frame matches between the 2005 and 2024 presentations since some shots appear re-framed on the most recent transfer. Screen compositions have not been stretched, though. They look natural in their native 2.35:1.

In a low-lit shot of Big Daddy (Eugene Clark), you can see that it's darker on the UHD (#17) compared to on the inaugural home video transfer (#16). Also, the smoke even stands out a little more on the 4K. For the shots that introduce the zombies post-credits, the greenery is saturated a bit more on the recent 1080p transfer (#36). But the natural light captured at dusk looks even more natural on the 4K (#37). I detected some subtle but important differences in color saturation in the interiors. For instance, the cherry-wood on the wall of Kaufman's (Dennis Hopper) lair boasts a bolder shade to it along with more detail in #31 than in the other two transfers (cf #s 29 and 30).

The triple-layered UHD carries a mean video bitrate of 85.0 Mbps and a total video bitrate of 99.1 Mbps. The two Blu-rays average bitrates of 31500 kbps and 31997 kbps for the unrated and theatrical versions.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, & 40 = Scream Factory 2024 Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD (Unrated Version) (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 32, 35, & 38 = Universal Studios 2005 Widescreen DVD (Unrated Director's Cut)
Screenshot #s 27, 30, 33, 36, & 39 = Scream Factory 2024 Collector's Edition Blu-rays (from 4K restoration)

The ninety-plus-minute features comes with the standard dozen chapter breaks from Shout on all three discs.

Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied three audio track options to watch Land of the Dead with on UHD and the Blu-rays (in addition to two archival commentaries): a new Dolby Atmos mix (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible with a standard bitrate of 3689 kbps) encoded at an average bitrate of 4329 kbps and a maximum bitrate of 5835 kbps; a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (4180 kbps, 24-bit); and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (2066 kbps, 24-bit). I listened to the lossy DTS track on the DVD and compared it to the DTS-HD MA 5.1 on the recent discs. While the lossless 5.1 mix is superior presentation- wise to the standard DTS, dialogue placement and sonic arrangement of sound effects are virtually identical. Fireworks shown in the film crackle and boom with impressive range. Machine gunfire and explosions are distributed nicely across the surrounds.

The Atmos track doesn't disappoint in the slightest. For dialogue delivery, it registers a little louder along the fronts than the 5.1. While I didn't hear many additional f/x delivered from the height channels in the back, the front sound stage delivered a wide field of f/x that was fully immersive. This is a pretty spectacular Atmos track!

I have listened to Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's score several times on the Blu-rays and on album. I am particularly impressed with its variety. At times, it employs heavy percussion and other times, it's softer with the keyboards giving it a melodic quality.

The optional English SDH for the feature are complete and accurate. I didn't spot any typographical errors.

Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Many of the extras spread across these three discs first appeared in 2005 on Universal's full-screen and widescreen DVD editions. They were subsequently retained on Universal's HD DVDs and BDs in the late 2000s. For details on those bonus features, please consult Marty's original review. I have parenthetically noted when each extra made its disc debut.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD, Unrated Version (1:36:48, 2160p)

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Producer Peter Grunwald, and Editor Michael Doherty (2005)

• Audio Commentary with Zombie Performers Matt Blazi, Glena Chao, Michael Felsher, and Rob Mayr (2017) - this feature-length track moderated by Felsher contains lots of production anecdotes by the zombie extras who appeared in the film. Blazi, Chao, Felsher, and Mayr are all über fans of Romero. They discuss the thrill and excitement they experienced meeting and working with the legendary director. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Producer Peter Grunwald, and Editor Michael Doherty (2005)

• Audio Commentary with Zombie Performers Matt Blazi, Glena Chao, Michael Felsher, and Rob Mayr (2017) - this feature-length track moderated by Felsher contains lots of production anecdotes by the zombie extras who appeared in the film. Blazi, Chao, Felsher, and Mayr are all über fans of Romero. They discuss the thrill and excitement they experienced meeting and working with the legendary director. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• Undead Again: The Making of Land of the Dead (12:56, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Bringing the Dead to Life (9:31, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Scenes of Carnage (1:42, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Zombie Effects: From Green Screen to Finished Scene (3:18, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Scream Test – CGI Test (1:05, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Bringing the Storyboards to Life (7:54, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• A Day with the Living Dead hosted by John Leguizamo (7:34, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• When Shaun Met George (12:59, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Cholo's Reckoning - An Interview with Actor John Leguizamo (15:36, 1080p) (2017) - the prolific actor offers his recollections of seeing Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the political subtext of Romero's zombie films. On Land of the Dead, Leguizamo gives his observations of Romero and Greg Nicotero, filming in Toronto, as well as working with Simon Baker and Asia Argento. Continue watching till after the final credits because there's an interview coda! This is an excellent interview, which I'd rank at the top of Scream's 2017 extras. In English, not subtitled.

• Charlie's Story – An Interview with Actor Robert Joy (15:05, 1080p) (2017) - Joy spends a good amount examining the role of his character Charlie in the story. He also recalls the experience of working with Romero on The Dark Half (1990). Joy expresses his thoughts about the makeup applied to his face. In addition, he discusses working with Baker, Argento, Dennis Hopper, and Leguizamo. In English, not subtitled.

• The Pillsbury Factor – An Interview with Actor Pedro Miguel Arce (17:28, 1080p) (2017) - Arce tells viewers about his acting beginnings and the audition he did for Land of the Dead. He delivers reflections on the scenes he appeared in and experiences collaborating with Romero, Baker, and Leguizamo. He shares useful professional advice that he received from Asia Argento. In English, not subtitled.

• Four of the Apocalypse – An Interview with Actors Eugene Clark, Jennifer Baxter, Boyd Banks, and Jasmin Geljo (18:50, 1080p) (2017) - Banks, Baxter, Clark, and Geljo each talk about their auditions for Land of the Dead, working with Romero and Greg Nicotero, and props that the actors used. Each actor was interviewed separately for this program. Each interviewee speaks in English, not subtitled.

• Dream of the Dead: The Director's Cut with Optional Commentary by Director Roy Frumkes (24:39, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Deleted Footage from Dream of the Dead (18:02, upconverted to 1080i) (2005)

• Deleted Scenes (2:55, upconverted to 1080p) (2005) - This is known as The Remaining Bits on Universal's DVDs, HD DVDs, and BDs. The short reel contains six scenes omitted from the final cut. They appear in 2.35 anamorphic widescreen and are of very good image quality. While there's production audio (one can hear Romero yell, "Action!"), there's no audio in certain effects shots because it was added later in post.

• Photo Gallery (9:12, 1080p) (2017) - a continuous slide show of 109 distinct images that depicts the making of and advertising campaign for Land of the Dead. The first 88 stills comprise mostly on-set photographs (with a few publicity snapshots) of actors Asia Argento, Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, and John Leguizamo. Following those are several pictures of George Romero with the actors and directing the movie. The last set consists of 21 stills of poster replicas, lobby cards, and a Japanese press kit. Each frame in the gallery is skipable using the chapter buttons on your remote control.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:46, 1080p) (2017) - Universal's teaser trailer for Land of the Dead, which appears in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track (192 kbps).

Land of the Dead 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Land of the Dead has high replay value with plenty of zombies to satisfy genre fans. It could have been even better with a stronger protagonist in the lead. Simon Baker creates a likeable character in Riley Denbo but he's often too mellow. He lacks the charisma and electric presence of John Leguizamo, who should have been given more screen time of the two. Romero's dialogue writing is one of the film's core strengths. I wish he had written more for Mulligan (Bruce McFee), who's the voice of reason for the working class against real-estate mogul Kaufman.

Scream Factory's three-disc package is a significant audiovisual upgrade over its 2017 Blu-rays. The Dolby Vision presentation and HDR grade are first rate. The recently produced Dolby Atmos mix is hugely impressive at times. Despite the current high price tag, I RECOMMEND it VERY HIGHLY.