Film Review: DAWN OF THE DEAD - THE ARGENTO CUT (ZOMBI) (1978)

 Film Review: DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) - The Argento Cut (ZOMBI)

Daniel Phillips

 “When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.”

A cut specifically for the European market (apart from the UK) handled expertly – by ‘Maestro’ Dario Argento, famed for his direct but oftentimes over-complicated tracking shots, plus a plethora of fantastic Giallo, horror and thriller movies throughout the 1970’s to the present day! This cut of the movie can be described in this brief summation – near unbearable tension throughout, a work of zombie film-making genius. With its blend of horror, tension, and action DAWN OF THE DEAD stands on its own as the only true Zombie epic of all time. 

“It was a beautiful relationship built on mutual respect and the final film is a classic.”  George A. Romero and Argento spent some time in Rome working together on the screenplay after an initial meeting in New York, as Argento had expressed great interest in seeing this sequel to a movie he considered a classic come to life, “One of my all-time favourite horror films was ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and when I found out George Romero was looking for a co-producer for the sequel, naturally I was more than interested.”  

What makes this specific cut unusual, is what has been put in as much as what has been cut out. Complete with full-colour flesh feasts, ground-breaking gore and special effects by Tom Savini, DAWN OF THE DEAD in this form offers a non-stop barrage of carnage. This cut of the film holds a more serious tone, awash with blood, mutilation and ultra-violence, by popular consensus – one of the most shocking movies ever made!  Much, in fact… most of the humour is removed, leaving a much more foreboding and disturbing tale – par for the course really when it comes to Argento.  It is increasingly difficult to itemize all the differences between the U.S. theatrical cut and Argento’s European cut, since it’s mostly minor changes that give this cut a whole different feel tonally.

 Most of the satirical and sardonical comments that link the zombies to modern consumerism are taken out. Scenes involving the survivors having fun at the mall (pies-in-faces etc) are chopped, the beginning and end titles are also different. However, it’s one of the best known (and almost legendary) scenes of the movie that was cut out – and it's unknown why Argento didn't include it: the helicopter zombie, I suppose you could posit that the scene has too comedic an undertone, and that potentially Argento wanted to “arrive at the mall” more promptly, rather than being side-tracked with the “ha ha”.  There are dozens of scenes that are either only included in Romero's or Argento's version. Romero's version alone in comparison to the Argento version offers 26 minutes of "new" material - still, it misses out on roughly 10 minutes of footage that is included only in Argento's version.

 The European cut features extensive gore shots and is much more focused on the real human emotion, the toll of taking life after life, on a person’s psyche. There are many more slow cuts around the time of Roger and his team taking the apartment building, showing just that. The psychological effects of taking a life (albeit an undead one). The Argento cut features a scene here not shown in the Romero cut, and that is Roger slaying the zombies in the basement of the building, and its aftermath. Slightly prior to this when clearing out the building and overrun by a couple of the undead, Roger and a young brother-in-arms struggle to fight off the undead and are almost overcome. The big difference here is on the cutting room floor. During this scene in the Romero cut of the movie, the young soldier is seen to hesitate because he cannot load his gun quickly enough, but in the European cut he is seen to not be firing due to the psychological trauma brought on by the slaying. Amazing what a quick cut here and there can have you believe, and completely change the tone and feeling of the film. 

Due to much of his quick cutting method, there are a few things in the Argento cut that feel rushed or end up not making a lot of sense. For instance, when Roger and Peter leave the mall, and steal the trucks to block the entrances to the mall, it is never explicitly said that is what they are doing, it feels a little out of place. In the Romero cut of the movie they venture out prior to this and verbally confirm the plan; one case in point in which cutting some of the more dialogue-heavy scenes works against the Giallo master in the long run, yes there’s more action, but at what cost to the linear story?

For his version, George A. Romero used a lot of royalty-free music from the DeWolfe-Library - a collection of different compositions of all genres and eras, whereas Argento called in old reliable rock band Goblin. This caused a little creative difference. “I’ll never forget the day the Goblin tracks arrived. We had our own lab facilities and when we played the tracks, they literally plastered us to the wall! The music wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but I did end up using some of it myself because it was powerfully strong and had an amazing drive.” Recalled Romero. 

The history between Dario Argento and Goblin is long and storied, them having supplied music for a half dozen or so of his films. In my mind these chasmic differences in music bring across an entirely different mood and tonality. If you refer to the audio commentary on the DVD release, Romero says that he wanted to “create a self-ironic, hyped-up movie that has a somewhat comic book style”. Many scenes are less shocking because of his use of stock music - the gruesome reality of death… The zombie apocalypse is now a gag - at least from the perspective of the protagonists. They are forced to live in the world of the living dead – but for them, the apocalypse is just a daily routine.  Goblin’s music adds so much tension not really felt in the Romero cut, like a lump hammer to the senses in its directness at times, hyping the fear to fever pitch.

 Argento wanted to make a dark and action-packed movie - that intent was a subtle as a punch in the mouth. Romero thought this cut was too fast, too serious, and too focused on action, “Terrifying events are very funny to me but Dario’s approach is much more operatic, obviously more Italian. His attitude is you can’t really mix the two different expressions. I look back now and think Dario was wise enough to let me have my creative rope only I strangled myself with it by not being so forward thinking as he was – and still is. The stuff he excised from my American cut was all the little throwaway gags that were dear to my heart. That’s where we differ entirely. I can’t help but keep my tongue firmly in my cheek while Dario is always deadly serious. He was always respectful of my creative process even though he didn’t agree with it.”  

Ultimately, whether it's the Theatrical Cut, ‘Directors’ Cut, or European Cut you prefer, DAWN OF THE DEAD's legacy is a testament to the film's overall quality and rightful place in our hearts. Dario Argento followed his innovative gut and with that helped create zombie film history.