Night of the Living Dead 1968
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film written, directed, photographed and edited by George A. Romero, co-written by John Russo, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in western Pennsylvania, which is under assault by an enlarging group of cannibalistic, undead corpses.
The film was completed on a US$114,000 budget and shot outside Pittsburgh, where it had its theatrical premiere on October 1, 1968. The film grossed US$12 million domestically and US$18 million internationally, earning more than 250 times its budget. Night of the Living Dead has been regarded as a cult classic by film scholars and critics, despite being heavily criticized upon its release for its explicit gore. It eventually garnered critical acclaim and was selected in 1999 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as a film deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3][4][5]
Night of the Living Dead led to five subsequent films between 1978 and 2009, also directed by Romero, and inspired several remakes; the most well-known remake was released in 1990, directed by Tom Savini
Directed by George A. Romero
Produced by
Russell W. Streiner
Karl Hardman
Screenplay by
John Russo
George A. Romero
Starring
Duane Jones
Judith O'Dea
Marilyn Eastman
Karl Hardman
Judith Ridley
Keith Wayne
Cinematography George A. Romero (uncredited)
Edited by George A. Romero (uncredited)
Production
company
Image Ten
Distributed by Continental Distributing
Release date
October 1, 1968
Public Domain