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Languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German
Subtitles: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, German
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: BD50
Price: £19.99 (Blu-ray); £9.99 (DVD)
Extras:
Missing Bits: Extended Bits, Outtakes, The Man Who Would Be Shaun, Funky Pete, Plot Holes;
Raw Meat: Simon Pegg's Video Diary, Lucy Davis' Video Diary, Joe Cornish's Video Diary, Casting Tapes,
Edgar and Simon's Flip Chart, SFX Comparison, Make-up tests, EPK Featurette;
TV Bits: T4 with Coldplay, Fun Dead, Trisha segments, Remembering Z Day; Zombie Gallery, Trailers,
Storyboards, U-Control, Zomb-o-meter Trivia Track, Audio commentaries
((Ant-Man, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Shaun of the Dead, Them, The World's End, TV: Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round, Asylum, French and Saunders, Is It Bill Bailey?, Mash and Peas, Murder Most Horrid, Sir Bernard's Stately Homes, Spaced, Straight 8)
Producer:
Nira Park
Screenplay:
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Music:
Dan Mudford and Pete Woodhead
Cast:
Shaun: Simon Pegg
Liz: Kate Ashfield
Ed: Nick Frost
Dianne: Lucy Davis
David: Dylan Moran
Pete: Peter Serafinowicz
Philip: Bill Nighy
Barbara: Penelope Winton
Yvonne: Jessica Stevenson
Shaun of the Dead is a comedy/horror that had a clever marketing campaign:
It's a "RomZomCom" - a Romantic Comedy... with Zombies.
Eagle-eyed TV viewers of decent comedy programmes (so those who think Friday nights should be centred around
My Family, Carrie & Barry, Eyes Down and All About Me can go and shoot themselves in the head),
will have noticed the split-second they heard of this movie that it came from the cast and crew of many of
those associated with the unsurpassable Channel 4 comedy,
Spaced.
If you loved that, you'll love this. And it's so rare to be presented with a film to watch that not only
has high expectations placed upon it, but one that also fills them all.
Shaun stands his ground.
The premise is a simple one. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a sales advisor at a local electrical store, he
hates his job, and when given the chance to stand in for his boss, the staff show no respect for him whatsoever.
His home life is a mess because his flatmate, Pete (Peter Serafinowicz - BBC2's Look Around You), is still annoyed at the fact that
his drug-dealing best friend and all-round slob, Ed (Nick Frost), has long-since outstayed his welcome,
and after one cock-up too many, Shaun now finds himself single after being dumped by his girlfriend of three years
last week, Liz (Kate Ashfield).
What to do next? Go down the pub, that's what, and drown his sorrows with Ed, the one person in this sorry
world who can still make him laugh. He'll need that the next morning as the TV is telling of many atrocities
going on around the country as zombies have taken over, the reason for which is never explained but then
that's not the point, and the only learn of the reality once they've come across two of them in their garden,
starting with a girl they just assume to be heavily drunk, and when she survives something that would normally
be fatal to human, they realise something's rotten in the state of New Cross, London...
The plan is therefore set, and Shaun devises a way that'll enable him and Ed to rescue his Mum, Barbara
(Penelope Wilton), deal with his step-father Philip (Bill Nighy), since they've got the
impression that he's gone over to the other side, swing by Liz's flat and they can all keep safe until the
coast is clear. Of course, it's never going to be that easy, even when they finally agree on holing up at
the Winchester pub.
As I said before, fans of Spaced are going to love this, and fans of any decent comedy should
definitely take a look at this. There's nothing too gory on view, but that said it's not really suitable
for anyone under the 15-certificate age limit it's being tagged with. Pegg and Frost largely reprise
their same flatmate roles - although they did used to share a flat together many moons ago so it could be
argued they're just playing themselves, and there's a neat cameo or two from their co-star from that series,
Jessica Stevenson. The Office's Lucy Davis plays Liz's best friend, ditzy Dianne,
and Dylan Moran is her overly-fussy boyfriend, David, who really needs a punch in the face for
his behaviour as the chaos ensues.
The main in the yellow cap will look familiar to Spaced fans.
There are so many clever little touches, such as when Philip finally does turn into a zombie, and as
Shaun tells his Mum, "There is nothing of the man you love, left in that car!", in
the background we can see him clambering into the front of the car to switch off the radio's
loud music he was only just complaining about. And when they start throwing LPs at the garden-based
zombies, I too couldn't believe that Ed blindly chucked an original pressing of New Order's
Blue Monday! Good job I didn't see this in the cinema as I howled when it happened.
There's also a fantastic spoof of the
Reservoir Dogs stand-off, and brilliant
jokes that stand-out, such as when Shaun and Ed escape their home to go on their rescue mission
using Pete's car, the seriousness of the situation takes a backseat several times such as when
passenger Shaun asks, "Would you like me to drive?", but Ed replies, "Oh, I've adjusted the seat now!",
and there are a good handful of 'repeated' jokes, where the same line crops up more than once in a
movie, often having different meanings.
There are cameos aplenty from many TV comedy shows, such as Martin Freeman, Reece Shearsmith, Tamsin
Greig, Matt Lucas, an uncredited Julia Davis as the voice of a newsreporter, and, well, if you're
a fan of Spaced you'll watch and enjoy this anyway so I'm preaching to the converted. It's just a shame
that none of the people who appear on TV shows as themselves get killed, particuarly monkey-boy
"how-did-THAT-ever-become-a-model" embarrassment to Manchester, and probably Channel 4's only non-gay
TV presenter, Vernon Kay.
That aside: Shaun of the Dead - it's Perfick!
Director Edgar Wright, who I had the chance to interview following the DVD release of Spaced
- which can be read from the link below, makes excellent use of the full 2.35:1 anamorphic frame, giving
everything in certain scenes a slightly vertically-stretched look to heighten the tension in the situation
and fit more into the frame. The picture is crisp and clear. Everything is nicely detailed and I also
love the whizz-pan shots which are frequently used, especially early on in the film.
For the record, I'm watching on a Panasonic 37" Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack excels in providing tension as well as musical relief when required,
along with adding to the situation such as perfect placement of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now"
and "You're My Best Friend". Directional sound FX also come into their own at the right moment.
There's just nothing to complain about whatsoever! (apart from Vernon Kay not being killed...
Voice in Dom's head: "It's only a movie!"... Me: "Movie?")
The unconventional heroes.
The extras on this disc, which contain spoilers, are presented in various different aspect ratios,
and most being subtitled, are as follows:
Missing Bits:
Extended Bits (13 mins):
14 of them, all with an optional commentary track.
Outtakes (11 mins):
37 of them, ending in a Paul/John exchange between Peter Serafinowicz and Simon Pegg. This segment was labelled
as deleted scenes on the DVD.
The Man Who Would Be Shaun (30 secs):
Nick and Simon redo their 'plan' in the voices of Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
Funky Pete (2 mins):
When Pete is woken up in the middle of the night and is not happy, in the film itself there's
plenty of effing and jeffing, but because they had to provide a clean version for some airlines
and TV stations, they deliberately took the piss by replacing every "fuck" with "funk".
Plot Holes (3 mins):
Excellent storyboard synopsis to explain the actions of three of the characters at certain parts
in the film.
Raw Meat:
Simon Pegg's Video Diary (6½ mins):
Simon Pegg discovers Lauren Laverne has turned into a zombie, has make-up applied,
drops in a reference to Robocop's ED-209, and shows why Nick Frost had to have an
injection in his bum.
Lucy Davis' Video Diary (5 mins):
The zombies take five, the Jaguar goes for a spin and Dylan meets some eager zombies.
Joe Cornish's Video Diary (10 mins):
he second half of 'Adam & Joe' auditions to be a zombie getting shot to pieces towards the end of the film.
Casting Tapes (4 mins):
Several key scenes with the main cast members, and Edgar Wright standing in for Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran in a couple
of scenes.
This particular segment is a Blu-ray exclusive.
Edgar and Simon's Flip Chart (13½ mins):
Filmed on September 1st, 2001, the director and main actor talk us through the original plans for
the film, and ask you to write in to see how it matched up.
SFX Comparison (2 mins):
Showing exactly certain gory scenes were done.
Make-up tests (2 mins):
The zombies are out and about.
EPK Featurette (7 mins):
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, featuring clips and interviews with key cast and crew members.
TV Bits:
T4 with Coldplay (4 mins):
The first in the section of footage recorded especially for playing in the background to the movie,
shows two members of Coldplay being interviewed by Vernon Kay, and introducing two new band members
since the others were attacked by zombies.
Fun Dead (1 min):
Zombies play an "It's a Knockout"-style game.
Trisha - "Your Nine Lives Are Up (1.5 mins) and Trisha - "I Married a Monster!" (3 mins):
Two segments in full. The former of these is a Blu-ray exclusive.
Remembering Z Day (2½ mins):
Six months on, a Sky News reporter looks back.
Zombie Gallery:
Scores of photos of the zombies and the cast larking about, plus a spoof '2000 A.D.' style comic strip
based on a section of the film and a selection of movie posters used to promote the cinema release for the film.
Trailers: Two teasers and an official trailer, all being 90 seconds and 2 minutes long,
plus two 20-second TV spots. And if you're wondering who does the deep voice in many of these, it's
Peter Serafinowicz, himself. Oh, and there's also a Blu-ray exclusive Fright Fest trailer.
Storyboards: Something to access during the film when a particular symbol appears.
Shaun has a disagreement with his step-dad.
Audio commentaries:
A massive four of them here:
Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran & Lucy Davis
Bill Nighy & Penelope Wilton
The Zombies, including Paul Putner, from Lee & Herring's This Morning With Richard Not Judy
(the curious orange).
Also on this disc is a "U-Control" feature, which on this disc gives you, throughout the film, storyboards and extra info,
the latter in the form of the 'zomb-o-meter'.
The menu mixes images from the film with a short piece of incidental music playing over and over.
There are subtitles in six languages and the chaptering is excellent with 37 throughout the 100-minute running time.
FILM CONTENT
n PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Blu-ray: 
