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Originally Posted by shadyJ
I didn't hate the 90' NOTLD, but of course it was far inferior to the original, for the reasons you stated, although I think 'love and humanity of the very real characters' is a bit of a stretch to describe the original. One mistake the remake made is toughening up Barbara. Some people complain about how brittle Barbara is in the original, but I think that serves the story and atmosphere perfectly. She is a nervous wreck, and her hysteria gives the movie almost a sense of panic, an edge because it makes the situation all the more fragile. Plus her screaming is great. One of the great scenes of horror is Barbara screaming as the zombies take her away.
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It's with the Barbara and Ben characters that I mention the love of humanity. Because Barbara is so weak, that, even though she's a stranger (& white), Ben protects her with his life. He becomes what he has to be to protect her. Among the group he's stuck with, he has to assume the role of leader. There's a selfish dude Karl, who would just assume let Ben get killed at the earliest convenience; but Ben needs to use everyone. Protecting Barbara is at the heart of protecting our loved ones. It's the heart and backbone of the film. I don't recall really caring about any characters in the 90 version.
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Originally Posted by Giganticface
I prefer the stronger Barbara from the remake, but agree that as a whole the movie isn't better than the original. It's good though. I actually think it's a darn good remake as far as remakes go, and the effects are excellent. Tom Savini did well in his full-length directorial debut.
I agree with Sculpt that certain social themes were lost in the original, such as racism, but times had significantly changed between 1968 and 1990. The original was perhaps the first black hero in a feature film, while in 1990, African American culture was reaching new heights in popularity, both in music and film. In 1968, Romero was commenting on Vietnam, which was a distant memory in 1990, when there was no equivalent controversy. If Tom Savini wanted to make a statement in 1990, it would have probably had to be about political correctness or Saddam's oil fields. I'm glad he didn't attempt that. :)
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I may give the 90 version a second look.