Product Details

• Actors: Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Mickey Knox, Fabiana Formica
• Directors: Michele Soavi
• Writers: Gianni Romoli, Tiziano Sclavi
• Producers: Michele Soavi, Conchita Airoldi, Dino Di Dionisio, Gianni Romoli, Heinz Bibo
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: September 23, 1996
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304178360
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,132 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If you think you hate your job, think again. Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett), the titular Cemetery Man, lives a lonely life with a dead-end career. He works and resides in a cemetery that holds a dark, hidden secret. You see, those who are buried in Dellamorte's cemetery have the tendency to rise from the dead. Francesco's job is to make sure the dead remain dead. When they rise, he must hunt them down and ensure they get their eternal rest. Since his strange career takes up most of his time, there is no room in his life for romance or friendship. His sole companion is his mute, Igor-like assistant Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro). Not surprisingly, Francesco has grown weary of the dull drum and repetitive routine his job and life have become. It is not until he meets the girl of his dreams (Anna Falchi), who happens to be a widow attending her husband's funeral, that Francesco realizes that there may be more to life than this. Sound a bit odd? Well, it is. But fans of the zombie and the "twentysomething disgruntled worker" genres will feel right at home with this Michele Soavi cult favorite. At its center, Cemetery Man is a black comedy/existential mediation on loneliness and career disappointment. But where Fight Club is entrenched in an action/buddy-flick setting and Office Space is a strict black comedy, Cemetery Man is staged deep in the Italian zombie genre, giving it extra points for originality. --Rob Bracco

Stills from Cemetary Man  (Click for larger image)

From The New Yorker

It begins promisingly, like one of the old Mario Bava Italian horror movies: a graveyard watchman (Rupert Everett, in various stages of undress) who dispatches the dead when they come back to life falls for a beautiful widow, and their romance is sexy, ghoulish fun. But eventually the watchman loses his mind, becoming unable to distinguish the dead from the living, and the movie loses its humor as it turns into a listless existential exercise about the meaning of life and death. The director, Michele Soavi, shoots with a hip, decorative eye-he has a gift for atmosphere-but his story is missing the sensational excesses of a "Re-Animator" or an "Evil Dead 2"; he takes the madness seriously. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of fun., June 28, 2004

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

Dellamorte Dellamore (Michele Soavi, 1994)

Soavi, who got his start as an assistant director to Italian horror god Dario Argento, spent his time making obscure B-movies until he stumbled upon Dellamorte Dellamore (Of Love and Death, but released in America under the title Cemetery Man), Giovanni Rimoli (Trauma)'s adaptation of Tiziano Sclavi's novel of the same name (one of the highly-praised and popular Dylan Dog novels that have made Sclavi a household name in most countries that are not on this side of the Atlantic).

Set in Dylan Dog's hometown of Buffalore, Dellamorte Dellamore is the story of Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett, who should need no introduction), the caretaker at a cemetery infected by a plague that causes the dead to come back to life seven days after being interred. Dellamorte (whose name translates as "St. Francis of the Dead") takes it all in stride, keeping around a variety of inventive weapons with which to re-dispatch the dead. After all, all that gravedigging means a lot of overtime pay, right? Dellamorte's sole companion in life is his sidekick, the seemingly mentally challenged Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazaro, recently in Brotherhood of the Wolf, but probably best remembered for his unforgettable role in City of the Lost Children). Until, that is, he spies the most beautiful woman (Italian supermodel Anna Falchi) he's ever seen at a funeral. Immediately, you know you're not watching your everyday horror film; Dellamorte becomes a bumbling romantic-comedy film star around her. And yes, that's what you've got here--a romantic comedy. With zombies.

The comedy/horror blend works extremely well, and in the process doesn't keep the viewer from seeing that there's a lot more underneath the hood than the surface would convey. (This is hinted at throughout, but becomes obvious in the final scene thanks to a startling trick Soavi hands us; watch closely, because you may not catch it unless you do. It's brilliant.) Dellamorte and Gnaghi are complex characters on the surface, but there are clues throughout the movie as to their deeper motivations and understandings of the things going on around them. To me, this is living proof that Rupert Everett is a better romantic comedy lead than Hugh Grant, but that's just me. (Hugh Grant hasn't worked with zombies!)

Dellamorte Dellamore is one of those movies you can't really believe was made in the nineties. Intelligent, beautifully-shot, low-budget horror/comedy that looks as if it came out of Dario Argento's salad days (or out of Japan; there's more than one aspect of this film that reminds me of the brilliant My Left Eye Sees Ghosts). I can't recommend this wonderful film highly enough. Go as far out of your way as you need to to catch this one. **** ½

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one and only art house zombie movie!, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

If you're looking for geniuninely funny, creepy and beautiful horror film look no further.

Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore) tells the tale of unlucky in life cemetery watchman Francesco Dellamorte. Watching over the Buffalora cemetery is no easy task, particularly when the dead come back to life after seven days. And these are no ordinary zombies folks. The "Returners" truly embrace that at one with the earth bit that you hear some people saying they wish to be when they die. Perhaps if they see this movie first, they'll think twice about that.

Poor Dellamorte can't seem to get along with anyone, not his mentally slow assistant, Gnaghi, not the beautiful "She", nor anyone in town. He even seems at odds with the old Grim Reaper himself.

The humor is decidely black and hilarious. Of the many times I've seen this movie since 1994, it gets funnier all the time. Rupert Everett is marvellous as Francesco, as is the teenage actress who portrays the Re-Animator-like zombie Valentina.

The FX are great, the zombies awesome. The plot chaotic and very fun. This has got to be the best horror film of its type this decade. A note: Some people may find the tone of the film a bit harsh toward women, (I don't. Particularly when compared to most Italian/Spanish zombie/horror films).

This should have ushered in a new era of zombie films, but sadly did not.

Don't miss this...

and remember No Deposit, No Returner!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Atmosphere, December 23, 2001

By	Mark A. Kintzley (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here's another one of those films which doesn't get the notice it deserves. I have only seen the Dellamorte Dellamore uncut version so I can only comment on what I've seen. This film is one of my favorite horror films. It has so much to offer and it is offered with quite a bit of style. Not to mention Anna Falchi is in the film. She is a beautiful Italian model who, by the way, acts much better than most of her American counterparts. There is almost a romantic feel to this film. I hate to use the word romantic at all, but since this is a horror/zombie flick I guess I can. This cemetary seems to exist on a plane level with the Twilight Zone. It is a very strange cemetary where the dead come back to life and are again put back to rest by the "Cemetary Man". He longs for a better life, but accepts his condition until one day... I recommend this film to those of you who like dark comedy, horror, romance etc...I personally hate romance movies, but it worked well in this film...Frightening!