Movies - Dawn of the Dead

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)

	Movies - Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead is a loose remake, or "reimagining", of George A. Romero's 1978 film. The remake and original share a similar premise and central location, but the story differs significantly. It was released in 2004 and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, Kim Poirier and features cameos from original cast members Ken Foree (Evangelist), Scott Reiniger (General), and Tom Savini (Sheriff). It was directed by Zack Snyder and written by James Gunn.

Plot

An unknown virus causes anyone infected by it to die, then revive and mindlessly attack non-infected survivors. As depicted in a montage behind the opening credits, human civilization collapses. Ana (Polley), whose husband is infected when bitten by a neighbor's young daughter, escapes the chaos-torn suburbs. After crashing her car, she ends up at a shopping mall where she takes refuge with several other survivors, including a policeman (Rhames), a jack-of-all-trades salesman (Weber), a criminal (Phifer) and his pregnant wife. Another group of survivors arrive together in a delivery truck. In relative safety, the expanded group first waits for rescue, then generally wiles away its time, but as the mall becomes surrounded by more and more of the infected and the situation inside deteriorates, they realize they need to escape once more.

Tagline: When there`s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth...

Cast

Ana: Sarah Polley
Kenneth: Ving Rhames
Michael: Jake Weber
Andre: Mekhi Phifer
Steve: Ty Burrell
CJ: Michael Kelly
Terry: Kevin Zegers
Bart: Michael Barry
Nicole: Lindy Booth
Norma: Jayne Eastwood
Tucker: Boyd Banks
Luda: Inna Korobkina
Glen: R.D. Reid
Monica: Kim Poirier
Frank: Matt Frewer

Reactions

Heavily derided by fans and critics before its release , on release the film received mixed to positive reactions from both . Particular praise was given to the 10 minute pre-credit sequence. This segment was played on TV the week before the film was released, a practice that has become common since.

Others felt that the film did not retain the social satire and poignancy of the original. Romero himself, while having strong reservations about some elements of the film, stated that he thought the film was better than he'd anticipated.

Premise changes from the original

In the original film the zombies moved very slowly and were most menacing when they collected in large groups. In the remake, they are capable of moving much faster, even running at times, and appear to have unlimited endurance (at one point, chasing a vehicle for miles through a city). Many admirers of the original (and Romero himself) protested this change, feeling that it limited the impact of the undead . This is somewhat borne out by the fact that the remake has almost no close up shots of zombies that last more than a second or two. Snyder mentions this problem in the commentary track of the new version's DVD, pointing out that they seem too human when the camera lingers upon them for longer.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Dawn of the Dead (2004 film); it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Movies - Dawn of the Dead

Plot

Cast

Reactions

Premise changes from the original

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay