TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

The Crazies [1973]


RRP: £16.99
Our Price: £4.34 (subject to change)

Editorial
Special Features

English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English\DTS English
Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS
TV Spots
Audio Commentary
Film Notes
Romero Biography
Photo Gallery
Featurette

Editorial
Synopsis

In director George Romero's THE CRAZIES, a government plane carrying a biological warfare virus crashes near the small Pennsylvania town of Evans City. The virus finds its way into the town's drinking water, turning everyone who comes in contact with it into a murderous lunatic. Firefighter David (Will McMillan) and his pregnant wife Judy (Lane Carroll) remain unaffected but face great danger in trying to escape the town, which has been quarantined by the U.S. army, who lurk around every corner clad in gas masks and protective suits. Joining them in their attempt to escape are Clank (Harold Wayne Jones), one of David's fellow firemen, and Kathy and Artie (Lynn Lowry and Richard Liberty), a father and daughter whose strange behavior indicates that they might have been exposed to the virus. Similar in tone and structure to his LIVING DEAD trilogy, Romero's film overcomes a visibly limited budget to create a colorful 1970s genre film that neatly captures the feeling of governmental distrust that was characteristic of the Vietnam era. With both a social message and plenty of splatter, THE CRAZIES is an underrated horror film with appeal.

A glimpse of what could be from Romero
Review date: 2003-09-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

This George A Romero film from 1973 should have been a huge international hit. Unfortunately, it was released at a time when other horror films were more in the public eye (Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

That aside, The Crazies gives us a glimpse into the breakdown of society. After a chemical agent is mistakenly let loose on a small Pennsylvania city, the film shows us the effects through the eyes of three groups of people;

The Military
Scientists and
Normal citizens

Whilst the film is not itself terrifying, you will be disturbed at the fact that it could happen.

This DVD has been a long time coming, and with remastered picture and DTS sound, make it a very worthwhile purchase.

Similar Products

Reviews


One of Romero's great early films
Review date: 2003-08-31 Rating: 8 out of 10

The Crazies is probably my favourite Romero film after his original zombie trilogy. Which make sense I guess since it is zombie-esque, after all. We follow a small group of people who try to survive the outbreak of a virus in their village, which has been quarantined by the military.

The infected people all go a bit crazy and try to kill everyone else, while the military practically shoot everything in sight. There is a decent amount of gore, if you are in to that kind of thing. What's more important though, as is usual in Romero films, are the characters and their plight. The story is engaging and the character development is enough that you actually care about them and their circumstances. There are a few poignant moments, and while lead characters in Romero films are often killed off, it is done in a sympathetic way and no one is put there just to keep the body count up.

Romero is one of those film makers who I perceive as being very unique and fascinating in their younger days then becoming a bit bland as they have got older. I would say Cronenberg is another example.

The Crazies is thankfully one of his early films. It's stylish in Romero's unique, low budget way. The editing has a lot of verve and most Romero films, up until around Day of the Dead, are characterised by this.

The low budget quality and overall look to the film add to the atmosphere and general sense of realism and evokes and almost documentary feel, much like Night of the Living Dead.

The Crazies, as mentioned, is pretty much a zombie movie with people gone insane, rather than the dead rising from the grave. In this sense it predated by many years films like 28 Days Later and its ilk, that have perhaps over saturated the cinema over the past few years. It is a shame then that The Crazies is being remade, as it will look like an imitation of all the rest when originally it was one of the first.

If you enjoyed any other early Romero films then I can't see how you could fail to enjoy this. I love every Romero film up to (and including) Day of the Dead. Even There's Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch. There is just something about his films that I can't quite put my finger on, but they are incredibly hypnotic.

There's a decent amount of extra's on the disc, the commentary probably being the best of the bunch.

Great film from a (formerly?) great director. Sits comfortably among other low budget horrors such as Evil Dead 2, Shivers, Scanners etc.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Lane Carroll
Harold Wayne Jones
Lloyd Hollar
Will MacMillan
Lynn Lowry

Creators:
Lane Carroll (Primary Contributor)
Will MacMillan (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Starz Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Starz Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060020621925
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-07-28
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1973-03-16
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional