Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero (written by)

Release Date:

24 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

Plot:

Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.

Plot Keywords:

Mall | Sequel | Shopping Mall | Helicopter | Pennsylvania

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

David Emge	...	Stephen
Ken Foree	...	Peter
Scott H. Reiniger	...	Roger
Gaylen Ross	...	Francine
David Crawford	...	Dr. James Foster
David Early	...	Mr. Sidney Berman, TV Interviewer
Richard France	...	Dr. Milliard Rausch - Scientist
Howard Smith	...	TV Commentator
Daniel Dietrich	...	Givens
Fred Baker	...	Police Commander
James A. Baffico	...	Wooley, Maniacle SWAT Cop (as Jim Baffico)
Rod Stouffer	...	Rod Tucker - Young Officer on Roof
Jese Del Gre	...	Old Priest
Clayton McKinnon	...	3rd SWAT Cop in Projects Apt.
John Rice	...	2nd SWAT Cop in Projects Apt.

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (UK) (closing credits title) (USA) (complete title)
Dawn of the Living Dead
The Zombies (Philippines: English title)
Zombi (Italy)
Zombie: Dawn of the Dead
Zombies
Zombies: Dawn of the Dead (UK) (video box title)
El amanecer de los muertos (Argentina) [es]
In de greep van de zombies (Netherlands) [nl]
L'aube des morts (Canada: French title) [fr]
Muertos vivos: La batalla final (Argentina) [es]
Swit umarlych (Poland) [pl]
Zombi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Zombi (Spain) [es]
Zombi, to xypnima ton nekron (Greece) [el]
Zombie (France) [fr]
Zombie (West Germany) [de]
Zombie - Das Original (West Germany) [de]
Zombie - Dawn of the Dead (West Germany) [de]
Zombie - Le crépuscule des morts-vivants (France) [fr]
Zombie - O Despertar dos Mortos (Brazil) [pt]
Zombies im Kaufhaus (West Germany) (video box title) [de]
Zonbi (Japan) [ja]
Zora zivih mrtvaca (Croatia) (video title) [hr]

Runtime:

126 min | Germany:156 min (extended version) | Italy:117 min (Dario Argento's European/Italian Cut) | Spain:115 min | USA:128 min (DVD version) | USA:139 min (director's cut)

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (German prints) | Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) (2004) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (Original rating) | Australia:R | Chile:14 (video rating) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Denmark:16 | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Open (rating surrendered) (1983) | USA:R (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Harold W. Brown Memorial Field - 3926 Logans Farm Road, Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Laurel Group

Trivia:

The Monroeville mall used as the site of much of the action was once the largest mall in America. Now it is almost a inconsequential mall compared to other larger sites.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Peter and Roger drive to the truck depot, Peter whoops, "Three more." In the background, a van can be seen driving past everything.

Quotes:

Roger: [over the radio while driving trucks] Hey, too tall, too slow, two, come back!
Peter: You look my size when you're sitting in a truck.
Roger: What I want to know is how we got to be in the same force with you being so large and all?
Peter: Well, they told me it was a midget force, and they needed somebody to look up to. Hey, where's Flyboy? What's his twenty?
Roger: He's probably up on the roof... with Flygirl!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spaced: Help (#2.4)" (2001)

The best horror film of its kind

After being introduced to "Halloween," I was introduced to other horror movies for which I heard my peers talked about in school and after watching this movie on the movie channel, I was introduced to something more gruesome than anything else. "Dawn of the Dead" is the sequel to the popular cult "Night of the Living Dead" in which two national guards, a reporter and a pilot have escaped Philadelphia on a chopper after finding out that the whole globe has been affected with zombies resurrecting from the dead and attacking the living. The four of them hide out in a deserted mall where they think everything is safe until they realize that the reporter is pregnant and that they're zombies invading the mall. After exterminating the zombies, the survivors make the mall their own home where they shop for food, steal the cash and turn a small room into a personal resting place. "Dawn of the Dead" is by far one of the best horror films and sequels I have ever seen. It's dark, mean and much more violent than the original black and white horror film.