In 1977, Roy Frumkes, a teacher at New York's School of Visual Arts, wanted to make a teaching film on independent filmmaking. He was given $7,000 with plans to make a 25-minute feature. He was going to base it on the production of either Earl Owensby's Wolfman or George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. He decided to go with Dawn since Romero was already a proven independent film maker.[1] The film, which was shot on 16mm, ended up being 66 minutes long and cost $33,000.[2]
The film was premiered at Joseph Papp's The Public Theater on January 19, 1981 was subsequently entered into film festivals and won awards. But there weren't any offers good enough to properly distribute the film.[1] In 1988, 10 years after filming, Frumkes was approached by a former student of his, Len Anthony, to release the film via his company Off Hollywood. Frumkes agreed, and Anthony asked him if he could update it "[b]ecause this is already old". Frumkes recorded additional interviews on the set of the film Romero was making at the time, Two Evil Eyes. This part of the film totalled 24 minutes, was shot on videotape and cost another $50,000.[2] The film, now running 85 minutes, saw its first home video release when Off Hollywood released it on VHS in 1989.
The 85-minute version would see many more releases on home video. It was re-released in 1996 by Tee Dee Gee Distributing, and was also released on VHS in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan.[3] It was released on LaserDisc in Japan in 1995.[3] Then, in 1998, it was released on DVD by Synapse Films as "The Special Edition", including an audio commentary, six minutes of deleted scenes, and never-before-seen interview segments from Two Evil Eyes.[4] The next year, Synapse released a LaserDisc with the same content as the DVD.[3] The film has since been included as a special feature on multiple editions of Dawn of the Dead, including on Anchor Bay Entertainment's 2004 Ultimate Edition DVD set and Arrow Films's 2010 DVD and Blu-ray releases.
2012 saw the film again expanded, this time to 102 minutes, featuring interviews performed through 2006.[5] It was released as The Definitive Document of the Dead on DVD along with a new audio commentary. It was also released on a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack, with the Blu-ray features a high-definition transfer of the original 66 minute cut.[6]
