Tubi Thursday: The Crazies (1973)

 After seeing the Remake last week, how does the original compare?

Is it better?  Worse?
Slightly more depressing?

Let's see...

A man goes crazy, kills his Wife (off-screen) and burns down his House with his kids inside.

This is the Film's Opening, but would be remixed for the SECOND infected incident in the Remake.

Also this was a real fire set as a Training Exercise.

Unlike the Remake, we know RIGHT AWAY what is going on.

The Military is called in when an agent apparently infected the Town.

The Agent- named Trixie (remember that for later)- is super vague, but deadly.

We mostly follow Colonel Peckem (another Black Lead in a Romero Film) who is just trying to contain the situation with no loss of life.

We ALSO follow this jerk of a Scientist trying to work on a cure in the same Building.

We also ALSO follow a group of people who are trying to avoid the Military and get help.

Amongst the group, we get some upset former Vietnam Vets (an idea Romero would use again), the pregnant Girlfriend of one (reused in the Remake) and a Father-Daughter pair.

I won't SPOIL the latter's fate, because, well, it's all kind of gross- even for the 70s.

All the while, we also ALSO AL-SO follow random Soldiers- who don't really need to wear the masks- interacting with different groups- including Bill Hinzman.

Lots of chaos ensues as the narratives entwine and the Characters interact.

The Budget is smaller and the Film is somehow even bleaker than the Remake.

It also kind of just stops.

A Film that tries to say many things, even if it can't quite focus on one thing long enough to make a great point.

The Film is very pessimistic- even by 1970s standards.

The Plot is built around government incompetence and arrogance leading to countless deaths.  Fiction sure is crazy, right?!?

Following so many Characters really does make this one hard to follow.  I shouldn't need a Flow Chart to know which person I'm following and where they are.

So much of the Film is just the masked guys running around and shooting.  The masks allowed them to reuse Stuntmen, of course, and it kind of gets repetitive.

All of Romero's Social Commentary- from a story by Lee Hessel- is there, but in a rawer, unrefined form than we would see in Dawn or Day of the Dead.

It's still a must watch for Romero Fans, as long as you see it as The Crazies and not, say, this Title...

This on-screen credit is still on the HD Remaster.

A Film that is less focused, but still more original than the Remake.  I just wish that Romero's work here was peak.