Building a Better Zombi (2004) (V)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

William Hellfire

Writers:

Mike Baronas (conceived and written by)
Kit Gavin (co-writer)

Release Date:

3 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Retrospective of ZOMBI 2

Plot Keywords:

Making Of

Cast

Dardano Sacchetti	...	Himself
Elisa Briganti	...	Herself
Fabrizio De Angelis	...	Himself
Enzo G. Castellari	...	Himself (as Enzo Castellari)
Sergio Salvati	...	Himself
Franco Bruni	...	Himself
Giannetto De Rossi	...	Himself
Mirella De Rossi	...	Herself (as Mirella Sforza)
Maurizio Trani	...	Himself
Fabio Frizzi	...	Himself
Rosario Prestopino	...	Himself
Gino De Rossi	...	Himself (as Gino Di Rossi)
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	...	Himself (as Ottaviano Dell'acqua)
Al Cliver	...	Himself

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Fever Dreams

Trivia:

This feature-length documentary is featured on the 2-Disc 25th Anniversary DVD for Zombi 2 (1979), released in 2004.

Movie Connections:

Features Zombi 2 (1979)

Great Documentary

Building a Better Zombi (2004)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely entertaining documentary that takes a look at the filming and history of Lucio Fulci's groundbreaking 1979 film Zombie aka Zombi 2. We get interviews with producer Fabrizio de Angelis, writer Dardano Sacchetti, cinematographer Sergio Salvati, special effects supervisor Giannetto de Rossi, make-up artists Maurizio Trani and Rosario Presopino, composer Fabio Frizzi, special effects artist Gina e Rossi, actor Al Cliver and actor Ottaviano Dell'acqua who plays the wormed faced zombie, which was on the cover of the American release. All these folks tell stories about the production of the film and the history behind it and there really isn't too much that isn't talked about. We learn how the special effects were created and this includes the infamous eye/splinter scene as well as the famous throat ripping. The budget for the film is also discussed as is its box office returns. The title refers to the controversy about whether or not this was a cash-in, a remake or a rip off of Romero's Dawn of the Dead, which was released in Italy as Zombi. Everyone here claims that the Fulci film was better but at times they are pretty harsh in their comments and sometimes they come off quite bitter. The most interesting thing was the story Sacchetti tells about how Italian movies were sold to people before they was even a screenplay.