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Event
BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD Philadelphia Premiere
BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD - Philadelphia Premiere!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013, 8:00 PM @ PhilaMOCA
Presented by Danger After Dark
The basic story behind NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is now familiar to horror fans around the world: in 1967, Pittsburgh filmmaker George A. Romero gathered a small cast and crew of friends and acquaintances to film a low-budget, independent, black-and-white horror movie that would basically create the modern-day zombie film as we know it, and also change the landscape of international horror cinema forever. But the new documentary feature BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD presented here by PhilaMOCA and Danger After Dark for a one-night-only screening as part of its nationwide tour this fall approaches the NIGHT saga from a unique and compelling new perspective. While Romero is interviewed extensively in the film, director Rob Kuhns' study of NIGHT is not just another standard "making-of" chronicle of the film's production, but rather an insightful look at the film's long term social and cultural impact, and the ways in which the film's controversial release changed the role of African-American leading men in U.S. cinema (the documentary makes a compelling case for actor Duane Jones' pioneering character of Ben in NIGHT as the bridge between Sidney Poitier's noble black heroes of 60s productions and the more forceful Blaxploitation figures of 70s cinema, represented by Fred Williamson). BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD also examines how NIGHT reflected various hot button issues of the era, from protests against the war in Vietnam, to tensions and unrest surrounding the struggle for civil rights, and the gradual disillusionment of the 60s peace-and-love movement in the wake of political assassinations and violence. Featuring interviews with film critic Elvis Mitchell, NYU film professor and filmmaker Sam Pollard, producer Gale Anne Hurd ("The Walking Dead," the TERMINATOR films), director Larry Fessenden (WENDIGO, THE LAST WINTER), producer Chiz Schultz (who would go on to make the groundbreaking black vampire film GANJA AND HESS with Jones), author Jason Zinoman (Shock Value), and others, BIRTH provides a revealing historical context for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD that hasn't been explored at length in previous documentaries, and emerges as a fascinating dissection of a classic horror movie, as well as the society that surrounded it.
For more information, check out:
http://www.birthofthelivingdead.com
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Doors at 7:30, Movie at 8:00, $10
http://www.philamoca.org
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LocationPhilaMOCA (View)
531 N. 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
United States
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