New Dawn of the Dead Blu-ray Announced!

Dawn of the Dead is already available on Blu-ray in the USA, but in the UK, fans must either import or make do with one of the many DVD releases available.  But this is set to change as on the 19th October, as Arrow will be releasing a new three-disc set which should appease even the most dedicated Dawn fan.  Here's a breakdown of the content:

Blu-ray Disc One:

• The Theatrical Cut presented in 1080p with DTS-HD audio.
• Commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini and Chris Romero.
• Commentary with Richard P. Rubenstein, producer.
• Document of the Dead documentary.  Roy Frumkes - who later went on to write splatter classic Street Trash - brilliant documentary focusing on Romero, Pittsburgh and horror movie making in the 70s.
• Document of the Dead: The Lost Interview.
• Fan of the Dead documentary.  Made by fan Nicolas Garreau, this 52 minute documentary visits major locations used in the Dead trilogy and has exclusive interviews with Romero and the cast.

DVD Disc Two:

• The Director's Cut.
• The Dead Will Walk documentary.  Created for the 25th Anniversary of the movie, this contains interviews with all the major actors and crew involved in the making of Dawn of the Dead.

DVD Disc Three:

• Dario Argento's Dawn of the Dead Cut.
• Scream Greats documentary.
• Publicity Vault.

The set will be available with a choice of four different versions of cover-art, a new oil-painting, the original, a little seen gas mask version and a version I don't recognise - perhaps someone can fill me in where it's from?  A booklet and a double-sided poster complete the set.

This release is both good and bad.  The good is that the UK will now have access to Dario Argento's more violent cut of the movie, plus the director's and theatrical cut in one set, however it's unfortunate only the theatrical will be in HD.  The eagle-eyed will also notice that this set is almost exactly the same as the Ultimate Edition released by Anchor Bay in the USA, however there seems to be no mention of the commentaries on either the director's or Argento's cut of the movie.  Hopefully this is an oversight and they will both be present and correct.

Currently, Arrow's Dawn of the Dead is listed as an HMV Exclusive in the UK, priced at a pre-order cost of  £17.99, with other sites listing a March 2010 release.