Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero (written by)

Release Date:

24 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

Plot:

Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.

Plot Keywords:

Mall | Sequel | Shopping Mall | Helicopter | Pennsylvania

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

David Emge	...	Stephen
Ken Foree	...	Peter
Scott H. Reiniger	...	Roger
Gaylen Ross	...	Francine
David Crawford	...	Dr. James Foster
David Early	...	Mr. Sidney Berman, TV Interviewer
Richard France	...	Dr. Milliard Rausch - Scientist
Howard Smith	...	TV Commentator
Daniel Dietrich	...	Givens
Fred Baker	...	Police Commander
James A. Baffico	...	Wooley, Maniacle SWAT Cop (as Jim Baffico)
Rod Stouffer	...	Rod Tucker - Young Officer on Roof
Jese Del Gre	...	Old Priest
Clayton McKinnon	...	3rd SWAT Cop in Projects Apt.
John Rice	...	2nd SWAT Cop in Projects Apt.

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (UK) (closing credits title) (USA) (complete title)
Dawn of the Living Dead
The Zombies (Philippines: English title)
Zombi (Italy)
Zombie: Dawn of the Dead
Zombies
Zombies: Dawn of the Dead (UK) (video box title)

Runtime:

126 min | Germany:156 min (extended version) | Italy:117 min (Dario Argento's European/Italian Cut) | Spain:115 min | USA:128 min (DVD version) | USA:139 min (director's cut)

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (German prints) | Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) (2004) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (Original rating) | Australia:R | Chile:14 (video rating) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Denmark:16 | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Open (rating surrendered) (1983) | USA:R (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Harold W. Brown Memorial Field - 3926 Logans Farm Road, Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Laurel Group

Trivia:

In order to save on production costs, director/editor George A. Romero had all the 35mm film stock developed into 16mm, and used that as his work reel. After choosing the scenes and takes he wanted, he had those alone developed into 35mm prints for the master reels.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the wide shot of the truck driving across the parking lot after Peter and Roger have placed the first truck, there's a cameraman visible on the very edge of the left side.

Quotes:

Peter: This place is gonna be rotten. We've got to clean it up, brother.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hide and Creep (2004)

Still my favorite horror film...

George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead was groundbreaking, satirical, but it was above all else just a fun kind of movie to watch when I was younger. It's also on the films that I count as having re-watchability, even with all of the gore and violence and chilling factors in the film. It combines a kind of documentary feel sometimes (newsreels come to mind when the zombie montages in the mall go on), but is also very un-real at the same time. The gore, courtesy of make-up impresario Tom Savini, is of the comic-book kind, where it's all very real and horrifying until you realize the color is off on the blood and the color on the faces of the un-dead is off.

I could go on and on about this film, but the key thing is to see it, even just once. You may find it out-dated trash, or time-less beauty. Either way, it's likely Romero's best film, or at least his most ambitious (though I've yet to see Knightriders to comment fully). Energy, humor, sadness, excitement, love, loss, it's everything a movie should be (plus the origin of Sex Machine)!