NOW AVAILABLE The Walking Dead-The Complete First Season 3-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray and The Walking Dead-The Complete First 3-Disc Season Special Edition DVD

THE WALKING DEAD SPECIAL EDITION ON BLU-RAY SERVES UP JUICY MAKING-OF GUTS TO FEED FANS

With Season Two of the groundbreaking, flattening horror series soon to debut on AMC and Halloween lurking ahead on the calendar, FilmEdge highly recommends THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON 3-Disc Special Edition on high-definition Blu-ray to get your seasonal scares and a gut full of expanded bonus features worth the wait. Ghoulishly delightful as the 2-Disc Blu-ray edition of THE WALKING DEAD was this spring (see our review) hardcore fans of the series and zombie enthusiasts in general no doubt felt that first release lacked chewable meat on its bones. The series' short, six-episode debut season barely occupied two Blu discs even in hi-def, and the handful of bonus features, though solidly produced, only whet viewers' appetites for more insights into the creation of this edgy cable phenom. Hunger no more, flesh eaters! This 3-disc WALKING DEAD Special Edition release is a beautiful banquet for fans and horror aficionados alike that should be devoured this Halloween.

Since FilmEdge has already covered most of the original two-disc content in our earlier review from March, we'll skip repeating it and focus directly on what's new in this Blu-ray Special Edition: Commentary Tracks on all six Season One episodes and the entire Disc Three of new Bonus Features including a nifty black-and-white version of the Season One pilot episode. While the third disc alone likely justifies purchase of this new set for WALKING DEAD fans and collectors, the added episode commentaries further enhance the larger Season One experience which created this stalk-away hit for AMC.

So good were the bonus materials offered in the previous 2-disc set that they only left fans wanting a more extensive, detailed look behind the scenes of the series, and this new third disc of extras is enjoyably robust in delivering the ghoulish goods. Series executive producers and creative teammates like Gale Anne Hurd, Frank Darabont, comics creator Robert Kirkman and step up proudly and participate fully in these added commentaries and documentaries. Makeup wizard and consulting producer Greg Nicotero also digs deep into video footage with his zombie effects crew from KNB EFX to introduce you to these revolting walkers in the flesh as they're created. These new featurettes are not the common, glossy EPK blather, all flash and no substance. Instead these added documentaries truly embed you among the cast and crew to the point that you can almost feel the sweltering humid weather of location filming outside Atlanta with them. Horror lovers will get their fill of behind-the-screams magic with the zombie makers and actors who portrayed them (including Nicotero himself), and bonus feature freaks like us will revel in the creative details of production unfurling on your TV screen.

DISCS ONE AND TWO - NEW EPISODE COMMENTARY TRACKS

Actors Andrew Lincoln (Rick), Jon Bernthal (Shane), Emma Bell (Amy), Laurie Holden (Andrea) along with episode directors Darabont, Michelle MacLaren, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Ernest Dickerson and Guy Ferland also give valuable episode-specific commentary that's all-new and a superb addition to the Special Edition. Darabont provides a great overview of Season One and looks briefly ahead to Season Two (ironic to hear him discuss it now that he's been removed from the show) while offering plenty of specific insights into the production of the Pilot episode he narrates on the Commentary track. Also worth a listen is how the four episode directors describe their episodes as fitting into the overall story arc, and perhaps more importantly how they as individuals shaped their specific story segments. These newly added commentaries are meaty and entertaining enough to make a repurchase of Season One worth your money if you already own the 2-Disc set, even more so coupled with the new Disc Three of bloody good extras.

DISC THREE - NEW BONUS MATERIALS

Here's an all-new disc WALKING DEAD fans can really sink their teeth into, including six new documentaries and a very interesting way of looking at the Season One pilot episode like you've never seen it before:

• Pilot Episode: The Black-and-White Version (1:07:04)  Just as the title implies, enjoy an alternate look at the series pilot with all the color drained from the image. Sounds simplistic, but fans might be shocked how much more direct are Darabont's visual homages to George Romero's original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD when seen in monochrome. This effect may be tempered by one's generation and whether one's first introduction to the modern zombie genre was Romero's 1968 film or not, but viewers should enjoy it either way. While the blood and gore lack their juicy red visual impact, the zombies' destruction and corruption of the flesh gain a much more graphic quality (artistically speaking) which closely mimic Kirkman's comic panels as drawn by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. This is a nifty addition to this third bonus disc and definitely merits a look as one more way to savor THE WALKING DEAD.
  
  
• We are THE WALKING DEAD (56:26) Documenting the earliest set and prop builds of pre-production through post-production editing of the climactic Season One finale, this three-part treasure trove delivers great behind-the-scenes info and interviews witnessed 'first-hand' via filmmaker Constantine Nasr's ever-present camera. It's one thing for a making-of featurette to interview cast and crew as a fly on the wall of film production, but it's entirely another to make the long hours, tense moments and stifling heat of location shooting a palpable experience for viewers. This nearly hour-long documentary offers plenty of factual (and fun) meat while expertly avoiding the shallow EPK featurettes so often produced for television series bonus features. Chew on this one and let it fill your curiosity to learn how this landmark series began and will soon arise again.
  
  
• Bring Out the Dead: KNB and the Art of Making Zombies (16:57)  Special FX Makeup supervisor and Consulting Producer Greg Nicotero offers his own tour behind the scenes from his unique perspective as the creator of countless zombie characters. Witness archival footage of the earliest zombie makeup tests to extras beginning their first day of Zombie School to learn the ropes of becoming animated corpses. Nicotero even gets into the act portraying two key zombie characters: the deer-eating ghoul at the campsite and the biter who sets in motion one of the series' dramatic highlights in Episode Five. You'll learn from the KNB makeup team what a gruesome challenge it is to ready a hundred zombies for each day's filming in Atlanta, and the perils faced by undead performers in the humid Southern heat. The squeamish may balk at the blood gags used for zombie head shots and dismemberment, but those folks probably aren't buying the Blu-ray set anyway. Extended footage of the iconic Bicycle Girl zombie is a gory treat.
  
  
• Digital Decay: The VVX of THE WALKING DEAD (12:01)  While the series creators use as many on-set makeup and physical effects as possible to make its zombie apocalypse look gritty and realistic, digital effects by CG masters at Stargate aided the look and scope of production. Their first major assignment was erasing the legs of the actress playing Bicycle Girl to realize this iconic half-torso zombie on-screen. Yet many more subtle effects populate the series, ranging from bloody bullet hits on the walkers to expanding the environments of post-disaster Atlanta and filling it with hundreds of digital zombies roaming its streets. Of course Stargate provided a spectacular bookend to their work on the show with the destruction of the CDC building, which was only possible in the digital realm of filmmaking. This skillful blend of practical and digital artistry, keeping effects-savvy viewers guessing "How did they do that?" all season long, contributed greatly to the phenomenal success of THE WALKING DEAD. These digital wizards promise even greater eye-popping visions in Season Two!
  
  
• No More Room in Hell: The Walking Dead Phenomenon (12:38) retells Robert Kirkman's rocky path to success in publishing THE WALKING DEAD comic books which quickly became a printed best-seller and eventually caught the eye of series exec producer Frank Darabont to become a smash hit on cable. Those unfamiliar with Kirkman's prolific comics saga will get great insight and panel samples by his artist Charlie Adlard as a primer on how this flesh-eating feast began (in black-and-white as another homage to Romero's classic film) and just how far it has evolved since. Viewers may be inspired to buy a few reprints of early installments to sample the inspiring comics, or go whole hog for the massive The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1 which compiles the first 48 comic editions in a large, 1000+ page book. It really immerses the reader in Kirkman's corpse-riddled world and the survival story of his living heroes with no commercial interruptions.
  
  
• Adapting the Dead (7:33) continues the discussion with comic author Robert Kirkman about his own requirements for adapting his books to film, and how Frank Darabont's own zombie-loving sensibilities proved the perfect fit to the writer's expectations and vision. Both agree that allowing the TV series to deviate from the comics plots and characters at times for dramatic effect and the demands of a weekly series allow both story mediums to excel on their own merits. Kirkman's participation in the cable series' production demonstrates the fruitful creative partnership between he and Darabont that yielded a ratings bonanza for AMC in just the first six episodes.
  
  
• Killer Conversation: Frank Darabont & Greg Nicotero (12:44) This highly conversational 'interview' with series creator Frank Darabont and makeup master Greg Nicotero delves into the duo's off-screen friendship as monster-mad buddies as it does their creative partnership bringing THE WALKING DEAD to television.  Growing up with a shared passion for horror movies (good and bad) and staying up late in the pre-VCR era to watch these films on local TV sowed the seeds of their future collaborations. In fact, while Nicotero built a career waist-deep in zombie creatures, working with the likes of George Romero, Sam Raimi and more, Darabont searched for years to find the proper vehicle to get his storytelling skills into the realm of the undead. Both Darabont and Nicotero discovered THE WALKING DEAD comics separately and a creative match made in hell was born. The two zombie fans also chat about the finer points of portraying the undead and how their preferences were firmly established by Romero's 1968 landmark film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and how together they have made their own mark on the genre with this breakthrough TV series.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of these excellent bonus features is how central executive producer/director/writer Frank Darabont was in the creation and ultimate success of THE WALKING DEAD's first season. So the question lingers in the air after viewing Disc Three: how will Season Two go after the surprising removal of Darabont from his creative duties on the series?  FilmEdge published our reaction and analysis of AMC's shocking move to oust Darabont this August, not long after he and the cast had just finished plugging Season Two at Comic-Con with no idea the axe was about to fall on him. It's no surprise this decision wasn't announced until after the high-profile entertainment convention, since Darabont's removal from the show (and the Comic-Con panel) would have been an even-worse PR disaster for AMC than was their shocking blurt of the news weeks later.

Supposedly Darabont's creative influence would still be felt in at least the early episodes of Season Two as part of his show-running capacity, but for how long into the new run will it last? Will viewers be able to see and feel a difference between pre- and post-departure phases of this season's story arc and style? Given the disharmony between Darabont and AMC executives since mid-summer, Darabont sure gets his fair share of credit and screen time in the bonus features, so viewers might never know the difference if they didn't read the trades or follow TWD blogs. Of course these Season One featurettes were all shot well before Darabont got bumped, so there's an added element of interest watching Frank and the cast talk about going forward to Season Two while knowing his eventual fate to be apart from it in the end.

Don't let the network politics detract you from the goods here, just enjoy THE WALKING DEAD The Complete First Season Special Edition in all its gory glory. This extended release is one of the best-produced and most enjoyable TV series collections FilmEdge has reviewed and earns our five-star recommendation. True fans of this landmark horror series will definitely want to add this bonus-packed Blu-ray to their collections to savor as Season Two staggers into view on AMC this Sunday, October 16th.

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FILMEDGE Visit AMC's official THE WALKING DEAD website THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON Special Edition is now available on Blu-ray and DVD All original content of this site is © 2011 FilmEdge.net. All rights reserved THE WALKING DEAD materials are © 2010 TWD Productions LLC. All rights reserved