The 156 min German "Ultimate Final Cut" was put together by Oliver Krekel who owns Astro dvd. The version spliced together from the Anchor Bay release is a fan edit :
Original film name: George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead
New film name: George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead: The “Extended Mall Hours” Cut
Film studio name: Anchor Bay / United Film Distribution
Edit crew name: Officially Unofficial
Date original film was released: 1978
Date edit was released: January 2008
Original Runtime: 126 minutes (Romero’s theatrical cut) / 139 minutes (Cannes cut) / 117 minutes (Argento cut)
New Runtime: 155 minutes
Amount of time Cut/Added: 16 minutes added (to Cannes cut)
SCENES CUT/TRIMMED/EDITED: None
SCENES ADDED:
Countless extra snippets throughout the Argento cut were added to the 139 minutes Cannes cut. These include a few extra headshots in the mall sequences, as well as various dialogue extensions, such as the bikers in the finale planning their “attack strategy” (”One by one, they’re gonna knock you off your little bikes”).
One full scene which was previously cut and added back in is a bit of dialogue between Peter and Stephen after they return from “shopping” the first time. Stephen acts cocky while Peter wants him to realize just how lucky they were. This scene contains the line “Let’s say the lady gets killed… you’d be able to chop off her head?” which was used in the English language Italian trailer.
DVD Details:
NTSC
Audio is AC3 2 channel mono
Animated menus including scene select
Extra: Fanedit.org teaser trailer
7.4 GB (dual layer) / 4.33 GB (single layer)
Your intention for this fanedit:
To create the longest possible cut closest to Romero’s shooting script.
Your way to achieve your intention:
By taking the longest official cut (the 139 minutes Cannes cut), and adding roughly 16 minutes of footage that was exclusive to the Argento cut.
Hardware and software information (what did you use to create your fanedit):
SmartRipper
Vegas 6 and Vegas 7
Adobe PhotoShop
DVD Architect 3
DVD Rebuilder
Cinema Craft Encoder
Additional Comments:
This is an idea I’ve had for a fan edit for years. I first heard about the Argento cut having exclusive footage around 1999. It wasn’t until 2004 with the release of Anchor Bay’s “Ultimate Edition” that I finally saw Argento’s version. I finally started working on this in fall of 2007 on a whim. Principal editing began around September/October, and was put on hiatus. Production resumed around December 2007 through January 2008. Like I’ve also said, while Romero’s 126 minute cut is my preferred version, I still wanted to create this cut to piece together somewhat of a “glorified workprint”.
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