THe Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero [Paperback]

Paul R. Gagne (Author), Tom Allen (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gagne, a producer and director of children's films and a film and fantasy writer, incorporate into this survey articles published originally in Cinefantastique magazine on the life and career of Pittsburgh independent film director George Romero. Romero began making movies with 8mm. equipment at the age of 14, later studied theater and art at Carnegie Tech and then formed Latent Image to produce commercials and industrial films. After his first feature, Night of the Living Dead, came sequels, his collaboration with Stephen King on Creepshow and, currently, the syndicated Tales from the Darkside series. Gagne reveals various special effects and makeup tricks used by Romero ("arms and legs taken from mannequins . . . were covered with a blistered 'flesh' made from Silly Putty") and introduces many of Romero's friends and associates. Combining their memories with Romero's own insights, the author creates a biographical portrait that captures the director's drive and determination and "the spirit of the troupe" that works on his films. The book includes a listing of films, videocassettes, novelizations and sound-track recordings, and features eight pages of color photos and 100 black-and-white shots.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Dodd, Mead & Company; 1st edition (June 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0396085202
• ISBN-13: 978-0396085201
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, entertaining and endearing portrait of Romero., July 1, 2001

By 

Piers (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THe Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero (Paperback)

Paul R. Gagne's book on George A. Romero, charts his career from it's beginnings as a kid with a camera, to being an ad man to doing his debut "Night of the Living Dead" and through the subsequent highs (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow and Martin)and lows (There's Always Vanilla, Jack's Wife) and everything else in between (Day of the Dead, Knightriders, The Crazies, television series' et al.) up until about 1986 or so.

After a historical background, the book is divided up into a film by film basis and each chapter covers the origins of each project, the inspirations behind them, how they were done, anecdotes from various participants and then conclude with Romero's point-of-view on the particular venture. It's a nice comprehensive format and makes for good reading.

The book also contains a chapter at the end on Savini's work and how it was achieved, a comprehensive filmography, discography and possible future direction for Romero which at the time of purchase (1988) were probably a bit more accurate. Also of note are the large amounts of photos within the text (B&W), and the very nice colour spread in the centre. A very well written and well researched biog/filmography on one of films less understood and less represented auters.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The complete George A. Romero story-Kudos to Paul R. Gagne, October 29, 1998

By 

Jorge E. Fernandez([e-mail]) (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THe Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero (Paperback)

This book is the definative story of the films of George A. Romero. In fact, it's the only book that's soley dedicated to his films. Gagne recounts Romero's humble beginings at Image Ten Inc. working with John Russo, Bill Hinzman, and Russ Streiner. He concludes with Romero's production and writing credits for 'Tales from the Darkside'(The book was published in 1987). The book is very well written, researched, and contains information not published elsewhere. Gagne's writing-style is straight-forward and insightful. Obviously, Gagne is a fan and writes with great care and affinity. This is a magnificent book and is a must for all George A. Romero fans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative bio is a joy to read., April 26, 2001

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: THe Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero (Paperback)

For those who do not believe that horror icon Romero is an artist passionate about his work I submit this book as a testament that he in fact is. Although hopelessly out of date by now (it ends with a mention of Monkeyshines being his next movie) it still remains a vibrant look at the independant spirit that brings all of Romero's work life. Required reading for Romero fans (both fair weather and die hard). Highly recommended.