[Ecgberht]

> If it was only an old black-and-white movie, still subject to copyright, today the movie would be a historical footnote at best.

That's a very ungenerous take. The film is very good and was revolutionary for it's time. Check out other horror films from the same era and the tone is completely different. Night of the Living Dead changed what horror films could be.

And there's plenty of old black and white movies still in copyright that are highly regarded as classics so I don't know what that has to do with anything.

[derbOac]

I share your perspective; my guess is if it was copyrighted it probably would have had the same status. My guess is it would have been distributed relatively cheaply with the same outcome.

However, I also think it's reasonable to posit it might not have attained the same status had it not gone out of copyright. Easy access can really affect awareness and buzz around films, especially in certain genres like horror.

Horror films were already shifting in tone by 1968. Psycho was a 1960 release, for example, and The Birds was released in 1963. Carnival of Souls has a similar aesthetic as Night of the Living Dead and was released in 1962.

[dfxm12]

The movie invented the zombie genre as we know it today, was made by George Romero, which is a credential in an of itself, and Duane Jones' performance as Ben would stand out today almost as much as it did back then. These points, along with the film being poignant and entertaining as hell would ensure that generation after generation would would keep coming back. Remember, lots of films are out of copyright. Not a lot of such films made as much money or have the staying power as Night of the Living Dead.

On top of this, genre films in general, and horror specifically, if anything, have rabid fans that go out of their way to watch movies because of their genre, regardless of accessibility or buzz. Again, George Romero's involvement alone would make sure that even a passing fan of horror (or budding cinephiles) would seek it out.

[teddyh]

> Night of the Living Dead changed what horror films could be.

And this would indeed merit the film a historical footnote. But it would be virtually unavailable, and nobody in a position to make it available would take the chance on an ancient black-and-white film. And it would therefore in all likelihood languish in obscurity.

[b112]

All older films do not sit dormant for decades, and then are suddenly rediscovered. That's not remotely so. Some are a cult classic when produced, thus no one is ever "taking a chance on it", because it's always been a profitable endevour to pump out on late night TV, or on a VHS, DVD, Bluray, or digital version.

It feels like so much history and reality is missing in this idea of an 'ancient film'.

There were so many films like this, yet under copyright, available on late night TV back in the day. Before most had cable, before most even had VHS machines, you'd turn on TV at night on a Saturday, or at 2am on a Tuesday, and see endless old movies.

Once VHS came out, you could get virtually anything older because the film -> VHS transfer process was cheap, and people wanted content. You'd pay a buck to rent old junk at the store, and the campier the better.

Put another way, it became a cult classic when it was released, and then was always available. Endless copyrighted works were in the same category.

There is no 'chance' taken, for it was always seen as chance-worthy.

But beyond this:

* This film is the first part of a trilogy, Night, Dawn, Day of the Living Dead. Anyone watching any of these films, wanted to see the whole set

* Even if under copyright, as others have stressed, this one is on the list. What list? A list you do clearly not share, which is fine, but horror fan films do.

EDIT:

I'm going to give a little more context here.

In this timescope, there was a show called "I Dream of Jeannie"... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Jeannie

In this show, Barbra Eden wears a 60's envisioned harem costume. There is one important aspect of this costume, and that is that her belly button is covered.

Why?

Because it was illegal.

There is a whole deep dive here, but the point is that Night of the Living Dead was an extremely gory and violent film in its day, immensely groundbreaking, and people desperately wanted to see it.

It didn't become a cult classic because it was easier to distribute. It became one because of what it was.

That's the point I think.

NOTE: This does not invalidate the concept that some films can follow your path, it's just that this one didn't.