Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Today marks the 44^th anniversary of the premiere of the Zombie classic, Night of the Living Dead. The film was directed by George A. Romero and stared Duane Jones, Judith Dea, and Karl Hardman. 

This film was created on a mere $114,000 budget and to date has earned $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally.  Initially the film received negative reviews from the critics; New York Times critics labeled the film as a “junk movie” as well as “spare, uncluttered but really silly.” . Likewise, Variety called the film an “unrelieved orgy or sadism”.  Roger Ebert spoke out against the theater owners and parents who permitted children to see the film due to its lack of a MPAA Film Rating which it was not given until November 1968. According to Ebert the film affected the audience instantly:

“The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying... It's hard to remember what sort of effect this movie might have had on you when you were six or seven. But try to remember. At that age, kids take the events on the screen seriously, and they identify fiercely with the hero. When the hero is killed, that's not an unhappy ending but a tragic one: Nobody got out alive. It's just over, that's all.”  

Despite the vast negative responses the film received it has been selected by the Library of Congress for the conservation in the National Film Registry as a film judged, “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”  Also more than 40 years after its premiere, the film holds a status as a classic and has been named on numerous lists as being one of the best films of all time.  

Little Otsu Film Diary

A few weeks ago my friend and fellow Blogger,  FuriousBow, told Informed me that Little Otsu created and sold these marvelous little journals for keeping track of my reviews regarding films. This gem is titled, 'The Film Diary' and I am so very excited that I listened to her about this product and made a point to order one for myself.

I anxiously logged onto my laptop and followed the link she had sent to me. I found that the Little Otsu website was cleverly arranged and exceptionally easy to navigate. I was delighted to find that not only does this company produce ‘The Film Diary’ they also sell many other varieties of journals as well as planners, calendars and much more.  

Hitchcock (2013 Film)

Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and producer most notable for his work in  Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Strangers on a Train (1951), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and Rear Window (1954) to name just a few. Likewise, he is also widely known for his American anthology series, 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' (1962 -1965), which featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. The series was voted on of "The 100 Best TV shows of ALL_TIME". Although he was most recognized for his writing and directing he was also fond of making cameo appearances  where as a recurring theme he would carry a musical instrument. He made cameo appearances in 39 of his 52 surviving films (1). 

Of all his works the movie Psycho (1960) reigns as his most well known. The screenplay was written by Joseph Stefano and based on a book with the same name that was written by Robert Bloch. The plot was loosely inspired by the crimes of Ed Gein. Ed Gein is known for exhuming corpses from graveyards and making trophies from their bones and skin. The film depicts the meeting of a secretary who goes to a secluded motel after embezzling money from her employer and the motel's disturbed owner. The films follows the deadly aftermath of their encounter.