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.
Get the best new trailers in under a minute, including The Secret Life of Pets 2 and "Friends from College."
Related News
-
Check Out What’s Coming to Shudder In August
31 July 2018 | Age of the Nerd -
Shudder’s August Releases Include The Dead, All Cheerleaders Die, In The Mouth Of Madness
27 July 2018 | DailyDead -
The Grateful Dead’s ‘Anthem of the Sun’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know
18 July 2018 | Rolling Stone
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Dead (1987)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
Under the Volcano
(1984)
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Albert Finney,
Jacqueline Bisset,
Anthony Andrews
Prizzi's Honor
(1985)
Comedy
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Kathleen Turner,
Robert Loggia
Fat City
(1972)
Drama
|
Sport
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Stacy Keach,
Jeff Bridges,
Susan Tyrrell
Phobia
(1980)
Drama
|
Horror
|
Thriller
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Paul Michael Glaser,
Susan Hogan,
John Colicos
Wise Blood
(1979)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Brad Dourif,
John Huston,
Dan Shor
Freud
(1962)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Montgomery Clift,
Susannah York,
Larry Parks
The Man Who Would Be King
(1975)
Adventure
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Sean Connery,
Michael Caine,
Christopher Plummer
A Walk with Love and Death
(1969)
Certificate: M
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Anjelica Huston,
Assi Dayan,
Anthony Higgins
The MacKintosh Man
(1973)
Thriller
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Dominique Sanda,
James Mason
The Night of the Iguana
(1964)
Drama
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Richard Burton,
Ava Gardner,
Deborah Kerr
The Kremlin Letter
(1970)
Certificate: M
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Bibi Andersson,
Richard Boone,
Nigel Green
Sinful Davey
(1969)
Certificate: M/PG
Adventure
|
Comedy
|
Crime
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
John Hurt,
Pamela Franklin,
Nigel Davenport
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
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 | ... | Mr. Bergin | |
| Ingrid Craigie | ... | Mary Jane | |
| Dan O'Herlihy | ... | Mr. Brown | |
| Anjelica Huston | ... | Gretta | |
| Donal McCann | ... | Gabriel | |
| Sean McClory | ... | Mr. Grace (as Seán McClory) | |
|
|
Frank Patterson | ... | Bartell D'Arcy |
| Marie Kean | ... | Mrs. Malins | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (65) »
Storyline
On the lightly snowy evening of January 6, 1904 in Dublin, elderly spinster sisters Kate and Julia and their niece, Mary Jane - all music teachers or performers, past or present - are hosting their annual Epiphany party and dinner, and, with the exception of Mary Jane's new crop of students and the young gentlemen tasked with keeping them company, most of the guests have attended in previous years. Kate and Julia's nephew Gabriel and his wife Gretta hold integral roles for the evening, Gabriel, who, in addition to being Freddy Malins caregiver if he gets too drunk as is often the case, is to carve the dinner goose and provide the evening's main toast, while Gretta is to present the pudding. With the added unexpected excitement provided by Irish nationalist Molly Ivors for Gabriel, the party basically goes according to script. As most of the guests have departed and just before Gabriel and Gretta are to do the same - this year they staying in a downtown hotel instead of making the long... Written by Huggo
Plot Keywords:
ireland | haunted by the past | dublin ireland | dinner party | 1900s |Taglines:
A vast, merry, and uncommon tale of love.Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 December 1987 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
John Huston's The Dead See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$69,074, 20 December 1987, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$4,370,078Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (DVD)Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Gabriel Conroy: And what do you mean, a West Briton?
Molly Ivors: Someone who looks to England for our salvation instead of depending on ourselves alone.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
During the song "6:00", written by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, a movie sample from The Dead can be heard: "Six o'clock on a Christmas morning...", "And for what?", "Well, isn't it for the honor of God, Aunt Kate?", "I know all about the honor of God, Mary Jane." See more »Quotes
Molly Ivors: I didn't think you were a West Briton!Gabriel Conroy: And what do you mean, a West Briton?
Molly Ivors: Someone who looks to England for our salvation instead of depending on ourselves alone.
See more »
Alternate Versions
Ten minutes of the film have been omitted from the 2009 DVD release. See more »Connections
Featured in At the Movies: The Duxorcist/Walker/Manon of the Spring/The Dead (1987) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Watch Hollywood hits and TV favorites for free with IMDb Freedive. Start streaming on IMDb and Fire TV devices today!
Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video.
I have watched thousands of movies in my life and I believe this movie is the most "perfect" movie that has ever been made. By perfect I mean the storytelling, the plot, the acting, the staging, the camera work, etc. (This is a lay opinion; I have no background in film production.) A lot of movies have perfect scenes, such as the bartender filing a report with the police officer in the movie Fargo. (Indeed, that scene could play well as a short.) In The Dead every scene is done to perfection, making the entire movie perfect. Perhaps, John Huston sold his soul to the Devil to make such a movie. Hopefully, Daniel Webster has gotten him out of the contract!