The Dead Zone (1983)

A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Jeffrey Boam (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt

7 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Johnny Smith
Brooke Adams	...	Sarah Bracknell
Tom Skerritt	...	Sheriff Bannerman
Herbert Lom	...	Dr. Sam Weizak
Anthony Zerbe	...	Roger Stuart
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Henrietta Dodd
Martin Sheen	...	Greg Stillson
Nicholas Campbell	...	Frank Dodd
Sean Sullivan	...	Herb Smith
Jackie Burroughs	...	Vera Smith
Géza Kovács	...	Sonny Elliman (as Geza Kovacs)
Roberta Weiss	...	Alma Frechette
Simon Craig	...	Chris Stuart
Peter Dvorsky	...	Dardis
Julie-Ann Heathwood	...	Amy

Storyline

Johnny Smith wakes from a coma due to a car accident, only to find he has lost five years of his life, and yet gained psychic powers. Foreseeing the future appears to be a 'gift' at first, but ends up causing problems...

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Plot Keywords:

coma | car accident | vision | evil politician | corrupt politician | 

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Taglines:

In his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands, he has the power to change it.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before his accident, Johnny Smith is an English teacher. Stephen King was also an English teacher before becoming a full-time writer.

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Goofs

During the scenes leading up to the car crash, it is raining heavily in some scene cuts and in others not at all.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Johnny Smith: [Johnny is reading "The Raven" to his class] And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting, on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, and the lamp light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor, and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be lifted... nevermore.

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Crazy Credits

As the opening titles roll, certain parts (or "dead zones") of the screen become blocked out, until the part of the screen you can see spell out the title "The Dead Zone."

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Alternate Versions

Although the UK cinema version was 18-rated and intact in 1986 Thorn-EMI released a British home video version with 13 seconds cut to obtain a 15 certificate rating from the BBFC. A scissor suicide sequence was re-edited to remove shots of the preparation and aftermath, and shots of topless nudity and the descending scissors were removed from the gazebo murder. Later 18-rated releases feature the full uncut print.

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Connections

Referenced in The Frighteners (1996)

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Soundtracks

The Yankee Doodle Boy
(a.k.a., "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy") (uncredited)
Written by George M. Cohan
(Cohan included a snippet of "Yankee Doodle" (traditional) in his own composition)
Performed by Traditional

User Reviews

The Dead Zone: Deserves its recognition

The Dead Zone is one of those critically acclaimed movies which I'm astounded has taken me this long to get around to.

Starring Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and the late great Herbert Lom this Stephen King adaptation tells the story of a man who upon coming out of a coma learns he has gained the power of premonition.

The interesting thing about the Dead Zone is it's almost like a mini-series squeezed into a single film as it doesn't have one solid storyline throughout and instead is a series of stepping stones to the brilliant finale.

The cast are on point and Lom who is famous for his villianous characters (Pink Panther for example) is highly likeable and steals every scene he's in.

I'm so glad coming out of this that I finally got round to it as it is yet another great King adaptation worthy of its acclaim.

The Good:

Opening a movie with an Edgar Alan Poe quote works for me

Perfectly executed from performances to writing

Great finale

The Bad:

Cheating protagonists, they never get old

Would have benefitted from at least 30 minutes more

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

It's scary how alike Martin & Charlie were around the same age

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Dead Zone

Filming Locations:

Canada's Wonderland, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,556,083, 23 October 1983

Gross USA:

$20,766,616

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,766,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Lorimar Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1