For years there has been a copy of Dawn of the Dead floating around that was created by fans for fans, this is called the Dawn of the Dead Extended Mall Hours Cut merging all possible clips from every version of the 1978 film into one massive version of the movie. By all rights this is the original definitive edition of the George Romero classic if you were lucky enough to get a copy of the mall hours cut then you were the champion of all dawn of the dead. In a 155-minute cut, footage from all three major versions of the film has found its way onto file-sharing sites under the title ‘Extended Mall Hours’.
The malls hours cut is a version of the film that has been altered by a fan. A new interpretation of a film is created by removing, rearranging, or adding new material. This fan edit includes quite a bit of extra footage. Moreover, the mall sequences contain several scenes of violence and various dialogue extensions that amplify the narrative and give a greater sense of importance to the story. In the movie’s finale, we see the bikers planning their “attack strategy” during an expanded scene. Stephen and Peter also have an extended conversation after they return from their first shopping trip. In the event that Fran were to get bitten, they argue about how they would handle it. It has a much darker tone than the theatrical cut, with a more depressing tenor. The new material has been seamlessly incorporated into the revised version.
For a long time The Extended Mall Hours Cut was a rare video that was bootlegged and handed around in closed circles of horror fandom but now I believe a quick YouTube search will actually yield you the results you are looking for.
Now, Dawn of the Dead is available on a Blu-ray release called “The Complete Cut,” which contains all available footage. The “Extended Mall Hours Cut” is essentially replaced but will remain forever in our hearts as the original definitive edition. Just to be clear “The Complete Cut,” is now the best version to own as its picture quality is superior and edits were made by professionals making it even better then our previous beloved Mall Hours Edition.
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