‘The Amusement Park’ Blu-Ray Review – George A. Romero’s Social Nightmare Has Finally Been Uncovered

Recently discovered and restored 46 years after its completion, George A. Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK stars MARTIN’s Lincoln Maazel as an elderly man who finds himself disoriented and increasingly isolated as the pains, tragedies, and humiliations of aging in America are manifested through roller coasters and chaotic crowds.

Commissioned by the Lutheran Society, the film is perhaps Romero’s wildest and most imaginative movie – an allegory about the nightmarish realities of growing older, and an alluring snapshot of the filmmaker’s early artistic capacity and style. The “lost” film was restored in 4K by IndieCollect in New York City.

For thoughts on The Amusement Park, please check out my thoughts here. 

Video Quality

The Amusement Park debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of RLJE Films with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1 that is derived from a brand new 4K restoration sourced from two 16mm prints. Considering that this film has never properly been in circulation, it is awe-inspiring to have this looking so good in high definition. The presentation is very pleasing throughout with image stability and delineation being quite strong all things considered. This film was largely captured on location which this transfer replicates in a really immediate way. Some shots can run slightly soft, but this is likely due to a mixture of the nature of how it was originally captured and the severity of the fading of the prints. 

Colors are nicely saturated with the natural hues of the environment coming through. Skin tones are natural and consistent with distinct facial features such as old age lines easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with no substantial instances of crush or banding apparent. This transfer retains the natural 16mm film grain of the presentation that is often thick and coarse but with a refined look rather than a frozen mess. Instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches have been cleaned up immensely with overall clarity and detail looking excellent. There are still subtle specks and blemishes that have made it through the restoration gauntlet, but most will not clock these brief moments. Having this film available at all would have been a treat, the fact that it looks so terrific is even better. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a really solid LPCM 2.0 track that serves this material well. This track shows no age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. The distinct sound effects and carnival music appear to be faithful to the intent of the project. Nothing ever overwhelms the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements even as the main character wanders to different areas of the park. This disc maintains a fine sense of fidelity. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Assistant Cameraman Michael Gornick provides a great commentary track moderated by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures in which he discusses his early career, how he came to be friends with George A. Romero, the background details of this project, secrets about the locations where they filmed, how they captured certain shots, and much more that reveals a lot about this film that fans will want to know.

• Re-Opening The “Park” with Suzanne Desrocher-Romero: A 12-minute piece with the President & Founder of the George A. Romero Foundation in which she discusses how this work first came onto her radar, the long process to get the film out into the world, the restoration process, the disturbing nature of the film, the excitement around this new release and more. 

• Bill & Bonnie’s Excellent Adventure with Bonnie Hinzman: A ten-minute piece in which Hinzman gets to discuss her numerous roles include script supervisor, performer and more. She recalls her time working at Romero’s company, how the project came together, the different shooting locations, the film’s restoration and more. 

• For Your Amusement with Artist Ryan Carr: An 11-minute interview with Carr, who is an illustrator for the George A. Romero Foundation, in which he discusses his background, his interest in the grotesque, his drawings in connection with the film, creating a graphic novel for this material, the scenes that impact him the most and more. 

• Panel Interview: A 23-minute virtual panel with Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, IndieCollect President Sandra Schulberg, horror legend Greg Nicotero and author Daniel Kraus moderated by Shudder’s Samuel Zimmerman in which they discuss the background of this film, the original intention behind the project, George A. Romero’s thoughts on the work, the details behind the restoration process, how this film fits into the director’s career, the message of the film and more. 

• The Amusement Park Official Brochure: An option to digitally flip through a brochure for the project. 

• The Amusement Park Script: An option to digitally flip through the script. 

• Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery: A collection of still photos are provided here. 

Final Thoughts

The Amusement Park could be seen as something of a curio from the estate of the late, great George A. Romero, who never embraced this as a notable piece of art. Yet, there is something to be said for the perspective of the rest of the world, which is simply happy to have discovered new material from a horror master. The film is not as outwardly horrific as some of his works, but there is a great deal of discomfort and paranoia which quickly reminds you that his fingerprints are all over it. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray with a wonderful A/V presentation and a great array of special features. Genre fans should not miss a chance to watch a forgotten film oddity that stands proudly next to Romero’s other work. Recommended 

The Amusement Park is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.