Dead Again (1991)

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writer (WGA):

Scott Frank (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Mystery About True Love...And Certain Death.

Plot:

Mike Church is a Los Angeles private detective who specializes in finding missing persons. He takes on the case of a mystery woman who he calls Grace...

Plot Keywords:

Church | Murder | Hypnosis | Private Eye | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kenneth Branagh	...	Roman Strauss / Mike Church
Andy Garcia	...	Gray Baker
Derek Jacobi	...	Franklyn Madson
Wayne Knight	...	'Piccolo' Pete Dugan
Hanna Schygulla	...	Inga
Campbell Scott	...	Doug
Emma Thompson	...	Grace / Margaret Strauss
Jo Anderson	...	Sister Madeleine / Starlet
Christine Ebersole	...	Lydia Larsen
Lois Hall	...	Sister Constance
Richard Easton	...	Father Timothy
Patrick Montes	...	Pickup Driver
Raymond Cruz	...	Clerk
Robin Williams	...	Doctor Cozy Carlisle
Patrick Doyle	...	Policeman in lift
Erik Kilpatrick	...	Cop #2
Gordana Rashovich	...	Handcuffed Woman
Obba Babatundé	...	Syd (as Obba Babatunde)
Vasek Simek	...	Otto (as Vasek C. Simek)
Gregor Hesse	...	Frankie
John Gould Rubin	...	Cafe Owner
Steven Culp	...	Party Guest #1
Yvette Freeman	...	Nurse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Miriam Margolyes	...	Lady (uncredited)
Ralph Morse	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Peter Riga	...	Waiter at House Party (uncredited)

Directed by
Kenneth Branagh

Writing credits (WGA)
Scott Frank		(written by)

Produced by
Lindsay Doran	....	producer
Dennis Feldman	....	co-producer
Charles H. Maguire	....	producer
Sydney Pollack	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Patrick Doyle

Cinematography by
Matthew F. Leonetti		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter E. Berger

Casting by
Gail Levin

Production Design by
Tim Harvey

Art Direction by
Sydney Z. Litwack

Set Decoration by
Jerry Adams

Costume Design by
Phyllis Dalton

Makeup Department
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist
Thomas R. Burman	....	special makeup effects (as Tom Burman)
Bari Dreiband-Burman	....	special makeup effects (as Bari Burman)
Leonard Engelman	....	second makeup artist
Virginia G. Hadfield	....	second hair stylist (as Virginia Hadfield)
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup artist (as Dan Striepeke)
Audrey L. Anzures	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
William C. Gerrity	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Steve Danton	....	first assistant director
Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom	....	second assistant director (as Tracy Rosenthal)
Kate Yurka	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Henry Alberti	....	set designer
Gary Daspit	....	property person
Glen R. Feldman	....	assistant property master (as Glen Feldman)
Frank Flores	....	property person
Joseph E. Hubbard	....	set designer (as Joseph Hubbard)
Jim Husbands	....	lead person (as James Husbands)
Dennis Ivanjack	....	production painter
Robert Krume	....	construction coordinator
Eric Orbom	....	set designer
George Stuart Jr.	....	paint supervisor (as George Stuart)
Robert A. Sturtevant	....	general supervisor (as Bob Sturtevant)
Edward Staten Vance	....	construction supervisor (as Ed Vance)
Dean Wilson	....	assistant property master
John Zemansky	....	property master
Jim Husbands	....	leadman (uncredited)
Gary Stel	....	laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bobbi Banks	....	adr editor
Bob Baron	....	adr mixer
Denis Blackerby	....	dubbing recordist
Fred Burke	....	foley editor
Larry Carow	....	sound editor
Marty Church	....	foley mixer
Midge Costin	....	sound editor
Greg Curda	....	foley mixer
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Thom Ehle)
David Lee Fein	....	foley artist
Frank Howard	....	sound editor
David J. Hudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joseph A. Ippolito	....	sound editor
Jerry Jost	....	sound mixer (as Gerald G. Jost)
Victoria Martin	....	foley editor
Mel Metcalfe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Donald Ortiz	....	assistant sound editor
Maggie Ostroff	....	assistant sound editor
Terry Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joan Rowe	....	foley artist
Christopher C. Schiavo	....	apprentice sound editor
Fred Stafford	....	adr editor
Pat Suraci	....	boom operator
James Thompson	....	cable person
George Watters II	....	supervising sound editor
Gary Wright	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Steven C. Foster	....	special effects (as Steve Foster)
Greg Hendrickson	....	special effects (as Gregg Hendrickson)
Frank Toro	....	special effects

Stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunt coordinator (as Greg Barnett)
Steve Boyum	....	stunt coordinator
Clarke Coleman	....	stunts
Doug Coleman	....	stunts
Kenny Endoso	....	stunts (as Ken Endoso)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (as Jean Epper)
Kelly Malone	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts
Chad Randall	....	stunts
Jayleen Sun	....	stunts
Mickey White	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Keith Baber	....	assistant lighting technician
Pat Blymyer	....	chief lighting technician (as Patrick Blymyer)
Tim Dunford	....	second assistant camera
Mark Figueroa	....	second assistant camera
Bob Fillis	....	assistant lighting technician (as Robert Fillis)
Antonio V. Garrido	....	dolly grip (as Antonio Garrido)
Lloyd Gowdy	....	electrician
Burton Lindemoen	....	second company grip (as Burt Lindemoen)
Don Linsley	....	grip
Kurt Marshall	....	electrician
Patrick Marshall	....	electrician
Robert D. McBride	....	camera operator (as Robert McBride)
Terry H. Neville	....	electrician (as Terry Neville)
Thomas A. Pendell	....	video assist operator
Dan Reilly	....	first company grip (as Daniel Reilly)
Russell Reilly	....	second company grip
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Stephen J. Ullman	....	first assistant camera (as Steve Ullman)
Michael D. Weldon	....	first assistant camera (as Mike Weldon)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Elisabeth Jereski	....	casting assistant (as Liz Jereski)
Kim Hardin	....	casting associate (uncredited)
Franklyn Warren	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Culotta	....	costumer
Sandra Culotta	....	costume supervisor
Deborah Hopper	....	costumer
Daniel Weinberg	....	costumer

Editorial Department
John Coniglio	....	apprentice film editor (as John Robert Coniglio)
Bob Kaiser	....	color timer
Karen Marmer	....	post-production associate (as Karen Marmer Allen)
Theresa Repola Mohammed	....	negative cutter
George C. Villaseñor	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Lawrence Ashmore	....	orchestrator
William Kraft	....	conductor
Roy Prendergast	....	music editor
John Richards	....	score mixer
Bob Beecher	....	apprentice music editor (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Manny Demello	....	transportation co-captain
Anthony C. Steere	....	transportation captain (as A.C. Steere)
James Thornsberry	....	transportation coordinator (as Jim Thornsberry)

Other crew
Scott W. Anderson	....	assistant: Mr. Maguire
Serena Baker	....	assistant location manager
Vartan Chakarian	....	craft service (as Vartan Chakirian)
Hugh Cruttwell	....	production consultant (as Hugh Crutwell)
Dana Delfs	....	production office assistant
Susan Hegarty	....	dialect coach
Jana Karas	....	accounting assistant
Carol King	....	assistant to producer
Barbara Lortie	....	first aid (as Barbra Lortie)
John McDonald	....	assistant: Mr. Maguire
Kathleen Melton	....	production secretary
Carla Meyer	....	dialect coach (as Carla Myer)
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Eileen Peterson	....	unit publicist
Michael Roberts	....	production accountant (as Michael D. Roberts)
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor (as Marshall I. Schlom)
S.W. Schuster	....	assistant: Mr. Branagh
Ned R. Shapiro	....	location manager (as Ned Shapiro)
Mindy Sheldon	....	assistant accountant
Barbara Spitz	....	production coordinator
David M. Rodriguez	....	production accountant: additional photography (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• Mirage

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1992) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1994) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Pictures (1992) (Germany) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Spain)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• Evergreen Recording Studios  music recording
• Leonetti Company  camera equipment provided by
• Michaelson Food Service  catering (as Michaelson's)
• Reeltime Creative  trailer music
• Renaissance Theatre Company  special thanks
• f-Stop  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violence

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (f) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

When we first meet Mike Church, he's parked on the wrong side of the street. Most people thought this was a nod to Kenneth Branagh's British heritage. The real reason is because Branagh wanted a number of LA skyscrapers visible in the background.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening credits, the newspaper stories (other than the obvious headlines) consist of the same five paragraphs printed 37 times in succession.

Quotes:

Franklyn Madson:Well I, for one, am v-v-very interested to see w-w-what's going to happen next.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (#19.3)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Lush Life

And again.. and again,, and again.

***SPOILERS*** Modern Film-Noir murder mystery that covers 42 years,1948-1990, and two lifetimes. Grace, Emma Thompson,has been in this Catholic sanitarium, Saint Audrey's, since she was found wandering aimlessly on the streets of L.A. With the church not being able to keep or care for her any longer due to her deteriorating mental condition the church's administrator Father Thimothy, Richard Easton,calls a former parishioner Private eye Mike Church, Kenneth Branagh. Church is to find out just who this Grace, a name given to her by the church, really is.

Putting an ad in the local L.A newspapers Church is immediately contacted by antique dealer Franklin Madson, Derek Jacobi. Madson dabbles in the occult and is experienced in the science of past-life regression; regressing persons back to their past lives through hypnosis. Madson puts Grace into a trance and regresses her back in time. It's then that Grace claims that in her previous existence she was a woman named Margrate Struss back in 1949. It was back then in 1949 that she was murdered by her husband Roman. Roman was a failing Hollywood musical composer and with his money, that he inherited from his first wife back in Germany, gone he was just about to have a nervous breakdown. Romans also suspected that Margaret was cheating on him by having an affair with newspaper reporter Gray Baker, Andy Garcia. One evening Roman just lost it and took out a pair of scissors brutally murdering Margaret.

This amazing revelation, by Grace, is later confirmed through old newspapers clippings that also brought out that not only was there a Margaret and Roman Struss, back in L.A in 1948-49, but that she was also brutally murdered by her husband Roman.

Mike and his assistant Pete(Wayne Knight), who later in the film makes one of the most jolting as well as unsuspecting guest appearances in motion picture history, get in touch with former psychiatrist and now grocery store owner Cozy Carlisle, Robin Williams, an expert in past-life regression. Cralisle, who was drummed out of his profession for having sex with one of his patients, tells them that past-life regressions do in fact have some truth to them and what Grace has been saying under hypnosis could very well have happened to her in a past life.

The movie then takes on an almost supernatural angle to it and as its story slowly starts unfolding it becomes apparent to everyone that Grace is telling the truth but there's only one slight misrepresentation in her story! Grace wasn't Margrate Struss in her previous existence and the person who was wasn't murdered by Roman! There are surprises galore in this movie about murder madness and reincarnation and an ending that will surly blow you, like almost everyone else watching it, away.

The movie is so well put together that your never allowed, by it's writer and director, to realize exactly what's going on until almost the very last five or so minutes. It's then where the truth about Grace/Margrate suddenly explodes right in your face leaving you, like it did both Grace & Mike Church, in a state of shock.

Crossing different lives and time periods "Dead Again" in its concluding moments comes to a startling and paranormal rendezvous. It's at that point when the past suddenly catches up with the present and the mind boggling results of that time/space related conjunction become truly astonishing.