Dawn of the Dead (1978)

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.

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero

Stars:

David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Emge	...	Stephen
Ken Foree	...	Peter
Scott H. Reiniger	...	Roger
Gaylen Ross	...	Francine
David Crawford	...	Dr. Foster
David Early	...	Mr. Berman
Richard France	...	Scientist
Howard Smith	...	TV Commentator
Daniel Dietrich	...	Givens
Fred Baker	...	Commander
James A. Baffico	...	Wooley (as Jim Baffico)
Rod Stouffer	...	Young Officer on Roof
Jese Del Gre	...	Old Priest
Clayton McKinnon	...	Officer in Project Apt.
John Rice	...	Officer in Project Apt.

Storyline

In this first sequel of "Night of the Living Dead," four people take up residence in a deserted mall while trying to stay alive amid the armies of the dead and a vicious gang of militant bikers.

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Plot Keywords:

mall | sequel | shopping mall | helicopter | flesh eating zombies | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laurel Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 156 min (Ultimate Final Cut) 119 min (Dario Argento's European Version) 128 min (DVD) 139 min (Extended Version)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (German prints) Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pam Chatfield's Lead Zombie character, The Nun Zombie trapped in a door was originally supposed to die. But Romero liked her and had her released from the door instead.

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Goofs

In the grocery store where Stephen and Peter are grabbing the loaves of bread, in the reverse shots of Peter talking to Steve you can see the silver microphone zeppelin in the left side of the screen.

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Quotes

[Roger was almost bitten by a zombie, and has snapped]
Roger: Bastards, you bastards! We got 'em, didn't we? We got this, man! We got this by the ass!

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Crazy Credits

The zombies overrun the mall throughout the course of the end credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.35 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Ai Margini Della Follia (Alternate Take 2)"
(uncredited)
Composed by Dario Argento, Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli,
Antonio Marangolo, and Agostino Marangolo
Performed by Goblin

User Reviews

Apocalypse in the Food Court

Thoughtful if unsubtle epic follow-up to Night of the Living Dead was one of THE influential movies of the late 70's; pity, then, that the people it influenced paid more attention to the amped-up gore than to the sense of contained hysteria that makes what should be tough going (there are basically three scenes in this movie: zombies attack people, people attack zombies, people stand around talking) a uniquely involving and provocative self-analysis of the zombie film.

The symbolism is, well, not delicate. Just in case we missed it the first time, the trope that the mall attracts the zombies "because it was an important place to them" is repeated for our rumination. But the overall sustained atmosphere, inside and outside of the banal environment of the shopping mall, is by far the film's salient contribution; even when there is no obvious action onscreen, there is the threat of an attack to come, and the clock is clearly ticking on the four protagonists during their idyll. Moreover, it takes the conspicuously familiar and catapults it into an apocalyptic situation, creating a powerful sense of displacement.

The violence, which is primarily what draws people to or repels them from this movie, comes on strong, but quickly becomes monotonous (as it is, the vast majority of the violence in the movie is inflicted against the zombies rather than by them, though is none the less repulsive for that); the scariest part of the movie is how plausible it makes the concept of total disintegration of what we perceive as civilization. The soundtrack, highlighting pulsing, insistent synthesizer chords, contributes much to the onscreen tension, which the action choreography is exemplary. An unlikely masterpiece.