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IMDbPro

The Dead

  • 1987
  • PG
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
8.5K
YOUR RATING
Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann in The Dead (1987)
Gabriel Conroy and wife Greta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.
Play trailer2:05
1 Video
25 Photos
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Gabriel Conroy and wife Gretta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.Gabriel Conroy and wife Gretta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.Gabriel Conroy and wife Gretta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.

  • Director
    • John Huston
  • Writers
    • James Joyce
    • Tony Huston
  • Stars
    • Anjelica Huston
    • Donal McCann
    • Helena Carroll
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    8.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Huston
    • Writers
      • James Joyce
      • Tony Huston
    • Stars
      • Anjelica Huston
      • Donal McCann
      • Helena Carroll
    • 70User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 11 wins & 19 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:05
    Watch Trailer

    Photos25

    Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann in The Dead (1987)
    Donal McCann in The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston in The Dead (1987)
    The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston in The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann in The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston in The Dead (1987)
    Marie Kean and Donal McCann in The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston in The Dead (1987)
    The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston, Helena Carroll, and Cathleen Delany in The Dead (1987)
    Anjelica Huston, Donal Donnelly, Donal McCann, and Dan O'Herlihy in The Dead (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anjelica Huston
    Anjelica Huston
    • Gretta
    Donal McCann
    Donal McCann
    • Gabriel
    Helena Carroll
    • Aunt Kate
    Cathleen Delany
    • Aunt Julia
    Rachael Dowling
    • Lily
    Kate O'Toole
    • Miss Furlong
    • (as Katherine O'Toole)
    Bairbre Dowling
    • Miss Higgins
    Maria Hayden
    • Miss O'Callaghan
    Cormac O'Herlihy
    • Mr. Kerrigan
    Colm Meaney
    Colm Meaney
    • Mr. Bergin
    Ingrid Craigie
    Ingrid Craigie
    • Mary Jane
    Dan O'Herlihy
    Dan O'Herlihy
    • Mr. Brown
    Sean McClory
    Sean McClory
    • Mr. Grace
    • (as Seán McClory)
    Frank Patterson
    • Bartell D'Arcy
    Marie Kean
    Marie Kean
    • Mrs. Malins
    Donal Donnelly
    Donal Donnelly
    • Freddy Malins
    Maria McDermottroe
    • Molly Ivors
    Lyda Anderson
    • Miss Daly
    • Director
      • John Huston
    • Writers
      • James Joyce
      • Tony Huston
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The final shot is not of Ireland, but of snow falling in Joshua Tree National Park, California.
    • Goofs
      Molly says she is off to a union meeting in Liberty Hall to hear James Connolly speak. The movie is set on January 6, 1904. However, James Connolly had emigrated to the USA in 1903, where he arrived on September 18, 1903. He did not return to Ireland before 1910. He arrived in Derry on July 26, 1910.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Gabriel Conroy: [voice over] One by one, we're all becoming shades. Better to pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age. How long you locked away in your heart the image of your lover's eyes when he told you that he did not wish to live. I've never felt that way myself towards any woman, but I know that such a feeling must be love. Think of all those who ever were, back to the start of time. And me, transient as they, flickering out as well into their grey world. Like everything around me, this solid world itself which they reared and lived in, is dwindling and dissolving. Snow is falling. Falling in that lonely churchyard where Michael Furey lies buried. Falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living, and the dead.

    • Alternate versions
      Ten minutes of the film have been omitted from the 2009 DVD release.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Duxorcist/Walker/Manon of the Spring/The Dead (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      The Lass of Aughrim
      Traditional Irish ballad

      Sung by Frank Patterson

    User reviews70

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    THe crowning of a career
    John Huston was seriously ill when he made his final achievement,and it's thoroughly his testament:uncompromising,difficult ,a thousand miles away from crazes and fashions,it will stand as the best "last film" you can ever dream of.A very austere screenplay,no action,no real hero,but a group of people coping with the vanity of life,the fleeting years and death.The party doesn't delude people for long.Admittedly,warmth and affection emanate from the songs and the meal,complete with turkey and pudding.But the passage of time has partly ruined Julia's voice,first crack in the mirror.Then the camera leaves the room where the guests are gathered and searches the old lady's bedroom.For sure,hers seems to have been a happy life,but it's a life inexorably coming to an end-A shot shows towards the end of the movie Julia on her future deathbed-.Maybe an unfulfilled life,because she remained a spinster,with no children to carry on .Only some poor things,yellowish photographs,bibelots and trinklets.... But are a human being's hopes and dreams all fulfilled?Look at Gretta.She 's a married woman ,about thirty-five,she's still beautiful and healthy but she knows something is broken.What Julia is today,she will be tomorrow,that's why,in her stream of consciousness,she goes back to her past,only to find out how harrowing her memories are: a young man committed suicide for her,a symbol of her youth now waning.The final monologue,if we listen closely to it,involves us all in this eternal tragedy,the doomed to failure human condition,John Huston's masterly lesson.
    helpful•45
    8
    • dbdumonteil
    • Jun 27, 2001

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 18, 1987 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Ireland
    • Languages
      • English
      • Irish Gaelic
    • Also known as
      • John Huston's The Dead
    • Filming locations
      • Anglesea Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Vestron Pictures
      • Zenith Entertainment
      • Liffey Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,370,078
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $69,074
      • Dec 20, 1987
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,370,078
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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