Was the German "Ultimate Final Cut" of Dawn of the Dead licensed or was it a bootleg?
 

I recently read about a German DVD of the original Dawn of the Dead, released back in 2000 by a company called Astro Filmworks. Someone at Astro edited together multiple cuts of the film, resulting in a version that runs 156 minutes in length, at least 17 minutes longer than any other cut.

My question is: Was this a licensed release? Did Astro pay for the distribution rights? Or was this cut made without the consent of the copyright owners?

Holy crap a 2 and a half hour zombie movie? I couldn't handle that.

Yeah, I was thinking that as well. If this cut is official (as in "legal", not as in "authorized by George Romero"*), then Dawn of the Dead might be the longest zombie movie ever made, and would almost certainly be the longest zombie movie to ever get a wide theatrical release in one form or another.

Of course, that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing, as far as the film is concerned. One of the few criticisms of the 128-minute theatrical cut is that it drags at times, and I have to agree. I can't imagine what it would be like with another half-hour lumped on.

*The reason I made this thread is because some sources call the cut "unofficial" in reference to Romero's lack of involvement in its creation. In other words, it's artistically unofficial, but I'm more concerned about the intellectual property aspect of it.

For the record i hated the Argento version of Dawn,the music and pacing is woeful,i will never watch that one again.

You have never seen it?

Actually, it's pretty good and a lot more mayhem. The original cut had a better score (love those bass guitar riffs), but if you like zombies, check out the extended edition.
Argento cut is the least of the three, although there are a few scenes not in the first two editions.

Not the 2 1/2 hour version. The original is just over 2 hours.