This incredible anecdote reveals a surprising link between George A. Romero and Martin Scorsese

When it comes to horror movies, there aren't many bigger names than George A. Romero.

The New York native, who sadly passed away on Sunday, aged 77, after a brief battle with lung cancer, was a true pioneer of the genre.

His zombie movies Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985) are considered to be masterpieces and influenced a generation of future filmmakers.

Many of Romero's other movies like Martin (1977), Creepshow (1982) and The Crazies (1973) are still considered to be cult classics.

You only need to go on Twitter to see how many lives his movies touched.

If blood and guts horror films aren't your thing, then rest assured Romero was a gentle soul at heart.

His all-time favourite movie was The Tales of Hoffman (1951), a fantasy musical based on a French opera directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Here is a trailer for the film:

Now, this may shock younger readers, but there was a time where there wasn't Netflix and you would actually have to leave the house in order to rent movies.

As a teenager, Romero would have to travel into Manhattan from The Bronx in order to rent a 16mm reel of the film and projector from a distribution house.

During an episode of the Empirepodcast in 2014, Romero recounted his memories of renting the film and how it forged an unlikely connection with a fellow director.

It was always available. If you went for one of the popular films you would always be disappointed.

One day it was out and I said 'well whose got it?' and the guy who worked there said 'some kid over in Brooklyn.'

Then it happened two or three times again and apparently when I had it out that kid from Brooklyn started to complain too. 

We were the only two people taking this film out and that kid turned out to be Martin Scorsese.

That's right, the future directors of Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow were renting the exact same movie and they were none the wiser.

That story would probably warm the heart of even the deadest zombie.

HT Telegraph Empire Scotsman Flip the Movie Script BBC

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