I never knew that about Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Very interesting, one of my favorite old school horror films. I think the beginning is the most realistic example of what an actual apocalyptic situation would look like and how different people would respond psychologically to such a terrible situation.
That's sort of the key to it: it has a foot-hold in reality, as all of Romero's original Living Dead trilogy does, but the characters and dynamics are a part of that. No one feels like a trope or a stock hero, they're people forced together by circumstances and have to face these circumstances together, which then leads into classic zombie action and other excitement.
In fairness, he did have some neat stuff heading down the pike his way, but this is one of those "you're right there!" kind of films. He was SO CLOSE to making this an absolute aesthetic juggernaut. With a more dynamic camera style and an even more intense rock-n-roll swagger, this could've been legendary. As-is...I still dig it, but there's a bittersweetness. Watched this on a double bill with "The Wraith," which hits the comic book tone a great deal better.
I never knew that about Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Very interesting, one of my favorite old school horror films. I think the beginning is the most realistic example of what an actual apocalyptic situation would look like and how different people would respond psychologically to such a terrible situation.
That's sort of the key to it: it has a foot-hold in reality, as all of Romero's original Living Dead trilogy does, but the characters and dynamics are a part of that. No one feels like a trope or a stock hero, they're people forced together by circumstances and have to face these circumstances together, which then leads into classic zombie action and other excitement.
"Streets" didn't do much for Walter Hill besides kill his directing career. I don't think he ever directed one after that.
In fairness, he did have some neat stuff heading down the pike his way, but this is one of those "you're right there!" kind of films. He was SO CLOSE to making this an absolute aesthetic juggernaut. With a more dynamic camera style and an even more intense rock-n-roll swagger, this could've been legendary. As-is...I still dig it, but there's a bittersweetness. Watched this on a double bill with "The Wraith," which hits the comic book tone a great deal better.