Shock Waves and Dawn of the Dead (1978) with Frank Dietz - Talking Pondo

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode, Frank Dietz returns to the podcast. He brings along the movie Shock Waves. Marty and Clif give Frank the movie Dawn of the Dead to watch.  First up is Shock Waves, the 1977 low-budget horror film starring Peter Cushing, Brooke Adams, John Carradine and a group of very creepy waterlogged undead Nazi super-soldiers. Clif, Marty and Frank dig into the movie’s atmospheric cinematography, underwater sequences and how much this little 16mm production manages to accomplish with it's limited budget. They also discuss Peter Cushing’s ability to sell just about any piece of scientific gobbledygook with complete conviction and whether these things are really zombies at all. Then it’s time for George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, the 1978 classic that takes the zombie apocalypse into a suburban shopping mall. Clif, Marty and Frank talk about Romero’s direction, Tom Savini’s groundbreaking effects work, the movie’s incredible ensemble, it's social commentary and why the film still packs a punch nearly fifty years later. Frank also shares his personal experience seeing Dawn of the Dead in theaters in 1978 and how the movie scared the hell out of him. Along the way: zombie optometry, Peter Cushing and Grand Moff Tarkin, Flipper, Fred Olen Ray, the magic window and the original ending of Dawn of the Dead. #TalkingPondo #FilmPodcast #ShockWaves #DawnOfTheDead #FrankDietz #GeorgeRomero #PeterCushing #ZombieMovies  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook Bluesky Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin