# Dawn of the Dead (1978 film) {#dawn-of-the-dead-1978-film .reader-title}
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38--49 minutes
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| Dawn of the Dead |
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| Theatrical release poster by Lanny Powers^\[1\]^ |
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| Directed by | George A. Romero |
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| Written by | George A. Romero^\[2\]^ |
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| Produced by | Richard P. Rubinstein^\[2\]^ |
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| Starring | <div> |
| | |
| | - David Emge |
| | - Ken Foree |
| | - Scott Reiniger |
| | - Gaylen Ross |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Cinematography | Michael Gornick^\[2\]^ |
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| Edited by | George A. Romero^\[2\]^ |
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| Music by | <div> |
| | |
| | - Goblin^\[2\]^ |
| | - Dario Argento^\[2\]^ |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Production\ | <div> |
| company | |
| | Laurel Group^\[2\]^ |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Distributed by | <div> |
| | |
| | - United Film Distribution Company (US)^\[2\]^ |
| | - Titanus (Italy)^\[3\]^ |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Release dates | <div> |
| | |
| | - September 1, 1978 (Italy) |
| | - March 27, 1979 (Japan) |
| | - April 7, 1979 (Dallas) |
| | - April 13, 1979 (United States) |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Running time | <div> |
| | |
| | - 126 minutes (US)^\[2\]^ |
| | - 119 minutes (Italy)^\[3\]^ |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Countries | <div> |
| | |
| | - United States^\[2\]^ |
| | - Italy^\[4\]\[5\]^ |
| | |
| | </div> |
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| Language | English |
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| Budget | \$640,000^\[a\]^ |
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| Box office | \$66 million^\[6\]\[8\]^ |
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'*Dawn of the Dead'* ^\[b\]^ is a 1978 zombie horror film written,
directed, and edited by George A. Romero, and produced by Richard P.
Rubinstein. An American-Italian international co-production,^\[11\]^ it
is the second film in Romero\'s series of zombie films, and though it
contains no characters or settings from the preceding film *Night of the
Living Dead* (1968), it shows the larger-scale effects of a zombie
apocalypse on society. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin
has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David
Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of
the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall
during mass hysteria.
Romero waited to make another zombie film after *Night of the Living
Dead* for several years to avoid being stereotyped as a horror director.
Upon visiting Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, with a
friend whose company managed the complex, he decided to use the location
as the basis for the film\'s story. The project came to the attention of
Italian filmmaker Dario Argento who, along with his brother Claudio and
producer Alfredo Cuomo, agreed to co-finance the film in exchange for
its international distribution rights. Argento also consulted with
Romero during the scriptwriting phase. Principal photography on *Dawn of
the Dead* took place between November 1977 and February 1978 on location
in Monroeville and Pittsburgh.^\[12\]^ The special make-up effects were
created by Tom Savini, whose work on the film led to an extensive career
creating similar effects for other horror films. In post-production,
Romero and Argento edited separate versions of the film for their
respective markets. Argento\'s version features a progressive rock score
composed and performed by his frequent collaborators Goblin, while
Romero\'s cut primarily favors stock cues from the De Wolfe Music
Library.
Following its Italian premiere on September 1, 1978, *Dawn of the Dead*
was released in other markets the following year. Despite facing
difficulties with various national censorship boards -- in the United
States, it was released unrated to improve its commercial prospects
after it was given an X by the Motion Picture Association of America,
and in Britain it was liable for seizure during the 1980s \"video
nasties\" moral panic -- the film proved to be a major success at the
box office, grossing \$66 million worldwide against its estimated budget
of \$640,000. Noted for its satirical portrayal of consumerism, *Dawn of
the Dead* has received widespread critical acclaim since its initial
release, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest horror films
ever made, as well as the greatest zombie film. Like its predecessor, it
has garnered a large, international cult following.^\[2\]\[13\]^ In
2008, it was chosen by *Empire* magazine as one of *The 500 Greatest
Movies of All Time*, along with *Night of the Living Dead*.^\[14\]^
*Dawn of the Dead* was followed by four official sequels, beginning with
1985\'s *Day of the Dead*, and a separate series of unofficial
Italian-made sequels, beginning with 1979\'s *Zombi 2.* It has also
inspired a 2004 remake film directed by Zack Snyder, as well as numerous
parodies and pop culture references in other media such as *Shaun of the
Dead*, *Dead Rising*, and *Left 4 Dead*.
The United States is devastated by a mysterious plague that reanimates
recently-dead human beings as flesh-eating zombies. At the dawn of the
crisis, it has been reported that millions of people have died and
reanimated. Despite the government\'s best efforts, social order is
collapsing. While rural communities have natural barriers, such as
Johnstown, and the National Guard have been effective in fighting the
zombie hordes in open country, urban centers have descended into chaos.
At WGON-TV, a television studio in Philadelphia, traffic reporter
Stephen Andrews and his pregnant girlfriend, producer Fran Parker, are
planning to steal the station\'s helicopter to escape the city. Across
town, Philadelphia Police Department SWAT officer Roger DeMarco and his
team raid a low-income housing project, whose mostly black and Latino
tenants are defying the martial law of delivering their dead to the
National Guard. The tenants and the officers exchange gunfire as the
officers try to gain entry, and indiscriminate attacks by racist
officers and the reanimated dead exacerbate the resulting chaos. Roger
encounters an officer from another unit, Peter Washington. As the SWAT
team successfully dispatch the zombies, a disillusioned Roger suggests
that he and Peter desert and join up with Stephen (who is Roger\'s
friend) in escaping the city.
Roger and Peter join Fran and Stephen at a police dock and then leave
Philadelphia in a stolen WGON-TV news helicopter. Following some close
calls while stopping for fuel, the group comes across a shopping mall,
and decide to remain there since there is plenty of food, medicine, and
all kinds of consumables. Roger, Peter and Stephen camouflage the
entrance to the stairwell leading to their safe room and block the mall
entrances with trucks to keep the undead from penetrating. This involves
driving through crowds of zombies, who attack the trucks. Roger becomes
reckless and is soon bitten by the zombies.
After clearing the mall of zombies, the group builds a hidden safe room
as a fallback in case of future attacks, before settling into a
hedonistic lifestyle with all the goods available to them. Roger
eventually succumbs to his wounds and dies; when he reanimates, Peter
shoots him in the head and buries his body in the mall. Months later,
all emergency broadcast transmissions cease, suggesting that the
government has collapsed. Now isolated, the three load some supplies
into the helicopter, in case they might need to leave suddenly. Fran
gets Stephen to teach her how to fly in case he is killed or
incapacitated.
A nomadic biker gang sees the helicopter in flight and breaks into the
mall, destroying the barriers and allowing hundreds of zombies back
inside. Despite having a fallback plan should the mall be attacked,
Stephen, consumed by territorial rage, takes matters into his own hands
by firing on the looters, beginning a protracted battle. On their way
out, straggling bikers are overwhelmed and eaten by the zombies. Stephen
tries to hide in the elevator shaft, but gets shot and subsequently
mauled by roaming zombies. When Stephen reanimates, he instinctively
returns to the safe room and leads the undead to Fran and Peter. Peter
kills the undead Stephen while Fran escapes to the roof. Peter, not
wanting to leave, locks himself in a room and contemplates suicide. When
the zombies burst in, he has a change of heart and fights his way up to
the roof, where he joins Fran. Having escaped and low on fuel, the two
then fly away in the helicopter to an uncertain future.
- Ken Foree as Peter Washington
- Gaylen Ross as Francine \"Fran Flygirl\" Parker
- David Emge as Stephen \"Flyboy\" Andrews
- Scott Reiniger as Roger \"Trooper\" DeMarco
Director George A. Romero makes an uncredited appearance as a WGON TV
director. Assistant director and Romero\'s future-wife---Christine
Forrest--- portrays his assistant. Also featured at the WGON TV station
are David Crawford as Dr. James Foster, David Early as commentator
Sidney Berman and Daniel Dietrich as station manager Dan Givens. Future
*Romper Room* hostess Molly McClosky makes an uncredited appearance as a
station worker. Later sequences depicting an emergency TV network
feature Howard Smith as an unnamed commentator and recurring Romero
collaborator Richard France as Dr. Millard Rausch, referred to in the
credits as \"Scientist\".
Featured among the motorcycle raiders are Rudy Ricci as their leader,
brothers and frequent Romero collaborators Tony and Pasquale Buba, and
Taso N. Stavrakis. Tom Savini, the film\'s make-up artist, also appears
as Blades, a machete-wielding raider. Joseph Pilato, who would later be
cast in Romero\'s *Day of the Dead*, plays the leader of group of police
officers evacuating by boat, although most of his performance was cut
from the theatrical release. Other police officers in the film include
James A. Baffico as Wooley, with his wife Joey Baffico having an
uncredited role as a zombie who attacks Roger. Longtime Romero
collaborator John Amplas, who also served as the film\'s casting
director, makes an uncredited appearance as one of the apartment tenants
who engages in a gunfight with the police.
The history of *Dawn of the Dead* began in 1974, when George A. Romero
was invited by friend Mark Mason of Oxford Development Company---whom
Romero knew from an acquaintance at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon---to
visit the Monroeville Mall, which Mason\'s company managed. After
showing Romero hidden parts of the mall, during which Romero noted the
bliss of the consumers, Mason jokingly suggested that someone would be
able to survive in the mall, should an emergency ever occur.^\[15\]^
With this inspiration, Romero began to write the screenplay for the
film.
Romero and his producer, Richard P. Rubinstein, were unable to procure
any domestic investors for the new project. By chance, word of the
sequel reached Italian horror director Dario Argento. A fan of *Night of
the Living Dead* and an early critical proponent of the film, Argento
was eager to help the horror classic receive a sequel. He met Romero and
Rubinstein, helping to secure financing in exchange for international
distribution rights. Argento invited Romero to Rome so he would have a
change of scenery while writing the screenplay. The two could also
discuss plot developments.^\[16\]^ Romero was able to secure the
availability of the Monroeville Mall as well as additional financing
through his connections with the mall\'s owners at Oxford
Development.^\[15\]^ Once the casting was completed, principal shooting
was scheduled to begin in Pennsylvania on November 13, 1977.
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Principal photography for *Dawn of the Living Dead* (its working title
at the time) began on November 13, 1977, at the Monroeville Mall in
Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Use of an actual, open shopping mall during
the Christmas shopping season caused numerous time constraints. Filming
began nightly once the mall closed, starting at 11 PM and ending at 7
AM, when automated music came on. As December arrived, the production
decided against having the crew remove and replace the Christmas
decorations--- a task that had proved to be too time-consuming. Filming
was shut down during the last three weeks of the year to avoid the
possible continuity difficulties and lost shooting time. Production
would resume on January 3, 1978. During the break in filming, Romero
took the opportunity to begin editing his existing footage.^\[17\]^
The airfield scenes were filmed at the Harold W. Brown Memorial Airfield
in Monroeville,^\[18\]^ an airport located about two miles from the
mall. The scenes of the group\'s hideout at the top of the mall were
filmed on a set built at Romero\'s then-production company, The Latent
Image.^\[19\]^ The elevator shaft was located there as well, as no such
area of the mall actually existed. The gun store was also not located in
the mall---for filming, the crew used Firearms Unlimited, a shop that
existed in the East Liberty district of Pittsburgh at the time. The
police dock scene was filmed in downtown Pittsburgh right next the
Monongahela River at 1 S. 6th St. The building, landing pad, and pumps
are long gone, and the location is now an outdoor art gallery called The
Color Park. The truck yard scene was filmed at the B&P Motor Express Co.
which is now a First Student school bus company in Irwin, PA, about 22
minutes from the Monroeville Mall.
Principal photography on *Dawn of the Dead* ended in February 1978, and
Romero\'s process of editing would begin. By using numerous angles
during the filming, Romero allowed himself an array of possibilities
during editing---choosing from these many shots to reassemble into a
sequence that could dictate any number of responses from the viewer
simply by changing an angle or deleting or extending portions of scenes.
This amount of superfluous footage is evidenced by the numerous
international cuts, which in some cases affects the regional version\'s
tone and flow.
According to the original screenplay, Peter and Francine were to kill
themselves, Peter by shooting himself and Fran by sticking her head into
the path of the rotating main helicopter blades. The ending credits
would run over a shot of the helicopter blades turning until the engine
winds down, implying that the two would not have gotten far if they had
chosen to escape.^\[20\]^ During production, it was decided to change
the ending of the film.
Much of the lead-in to the two suicides remains in the film, as Francine
leans out of the helicopter upon seeing the zombies approach, and Peter
puts a gun to his head, ready to shoot himself. An additional scene,
showing a zombie having the top of its head cut off by the helicopter
blades (thus foreshadowing Francine\'s suicide) was included early in
the film. Romero has stated that the original ending was scrapped before
being shot, although behind-the-scenes photos show the original version
was at least tested. The head appliance made for Francine\'s suicide was
instead used in the opening SWAT raid, made-up to resemble an African
American male and blown apart by a shotgun blast.^\[21\]^
<div>
# # #Make-up and effects {#Make-up_and_effects}
</div>
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<figure>
<figcaption>Special effect of an exploding head during the tenement
building scene</figcaption>
</figure>
Tom Savini, who had been offered the chance to provide special effects
and make-up for Romero\'s first zombie film, *Night of the Living Dead,*
before being drafted into the Vietnam War, made his debut as an effects
artist on *Dawn of the Dead*.^\[22\]^ Savini had been known for his
make-up in horror for some time, prior to *Dawn of the Dead*, and in his
book explaining special effects techniques, *Bizarro*, explains how his
time in Vietnam influenced his craft.^\[23\]^ He had a crew of eight to
assist in applying gray makeup to two to three hundred extras each
weekend during the shoot. One of his assistants during production was
Joseph Pilato, who played a police captain in the film and would go on
to play the lead villain in the film\'s sequel, *Day of the Dead*,
Captain Henry Rhodes.^\[24\]^
The makeup for the multitudes of extras in the film was a basic blue or
gray tinge to the face of each extra. Some featured zombies, who would
be seen close-up or on-screen longer than others, had more time spent on
their look. Many of the featured zombies became part of the fanfare,
with nicknames based upon their look or activity---such as Machete
Zombie, Sweater Zombie, and Nurse Zombie.^\[25\]^ \"Sweater Zombie\"
Clayton Hill was described by a crew member as \"one of the most
convincing zombies of the bunch\" citing his skill at maintaining his
stiff pose and rolling his eyes back into his head, including heading
down the wrong way in an escalator while in character.^\[26\]^
A cast of Ross\' head that was to be used in the original ending of the
film (involving a suicide rather than the escape scene finally used)
ended up as an exploding head during the tenement building scene. The
head, filled with food scraps, was shot with an actual shotgun to get
the head to explode.^\[22\]^ One of the unintentional standout effects
was the bright, fluorescent color of the fake blood that was used in the
film. Savini was an early opponent of the blood, produced by 3M, but
Romero thought it added to the film, claiming it emphasised the comic
book feel of the movie.^\[27\]^
Savini rented a skeleton from Larry Wintersteller, who acquired it in
the early 1970s and knew that it was a real skeleton. Wintersteller sold
the skeleton to Marilynn Wick, who was unaware that it was real. The
skeleton was on display at a costume shop in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, before County Coroner Joshua Perper confiscated it in
1982. Fake flesh from the skeleton\'s use in *Dawn of the Dead* was
still on the skeleton when Perper confiscated it.^\[28\]^ The skeleton
was buried on March 19, 1983, and was reported to have belong to a woman
who died 100 years before at age 35.^\[29\]^
The film\'s music varies with Romero\'s and Argento\'s cuts. For
Romero\'s theatrical version, musical cues and selections were chosen
from the De Wolfe Music Library, a compilation of stock music scores and
cues. In the montage scene featuring the hunters and National Guard, the
song played in the background is \"\'Cause I\'m a Man\" by the Pretty
Things. The song was first released on the group\'s LP *Electric
Banana*.^\[30\]^ The music heard playing in a sequence in the mall and
over the film\'s end credits is an instrumental titled \"The Gonk\"---a
polka style tune from the De Wolfe Music Library written by Herbert
Chappell, with a chorus of zombie moans added by Romero.^\[31\]^
For Argento\'s international cut, the Italian director used the band
Goblin (incorrectly credited as \"The Goblins\") extensively. Goblin is
a four-piece Italian progressive rock band that mostly provides contract
work for film soundtracks. Argento, who received a credit for original
music alongside Goblin, collaborated with the group to get music for his
cut of the film. Romero used three of their pieces in his theatrical
release version. The Goblin score would later find its way onto a *Dawn
of the Dead*-inspired film, *Hell of the Living Dead*. Many tracks would
also appear in the Tsui Hark film *Dangerous Encounters of the First
Kind*. The version of *Dawn* released on video in the mid-nineties under
the label \"Director\'s Cut\" does not use most of the Goblin tracks, as
they had not been completed at the time of that edit.
*Dawn of the Dead* has received a number of re-cuts and re-edits, due
mostly to Argento\'s rights to edit the film for international foreign
language release. Romero controlled the final cut of the film for
English-language territories. In addition, the film was edited further
by censors or distributors in certain countries. Romero, acting as the
editor for his film, completed a hasty 139-minute version of the film
(now known as the Extended, or previously erroneously as Director\'s
Cut) for premiere at the 1978 Cannes Film Market. This was later pared
down to 126 minutes for the US theatrical release. The US theatrical cut
of the film earned the taboo rating of X because of its graphic
violence. Rejecting this rating, Romero and the producers chose to
release the film unrated to help the film\'s commercial success.^\[32\]^
United Film Distribution Company eventually agreed to release it
domestically in the United States. The film was refused classification
in Australia twice: in its theatrical release in 1978 and once again in
1979. The cuts presented to the Australian Classification Board were
Argento\'s cut and Romero\'s cut, respectively. *Dawn of the Dead* was
finally released there by United Artists, with an R18+ rating following
six minutes worth of cuts compared to Romero\'s US version, in February
1980.^\[9\]^
Internationally, Argento controlled the Euro cut for non-English
speaking countries. The version he created clocked in at 119 minutes. It
included changes such as more music from Goblin than the cuts completed
by Romero, removal of some expository scenes, and a faster cutting pace.
There are, however, extra lines of dialogue and gore shots that are not
in either of Romero\'s edits.^\[33\]^ It actually debuted nearly nine
months before the US theatrical cut.^\[34\]^ *Dawn of the Dead* was
released under different names in Europe: in Italy as [*Zombi: L\'alba
dei Morti Viventi (Zombies: Dawn of the Living
Dead)*]{title="Italian-language text"}, followed in March 1979 in France
as [*Zombie: Le Crépuscule des Morts Vivants (Zombie: Twilight of the
Living Dead)*]{title="French-language text"}, in Spain as [*Zombi: El
Regreso de los Muertos Vivientes (Zombie: Return of the Living
Dead)*]{title="Spanish-language text"}, in the Netherlands as [*Zombie:
In De Greep van de Zombies (In the Grip of the
Zombies)*]{title="Dutch-language text"}, in Germany by Constantin Film
as [*Zombie*]{title="German-language text"}, and in Denmark as [*Zombie:
Rædslernes Morgen (Zombie: The Morning of
Horrors)*]{title="Danish-language text"}.^\[35\]^
*Dawn of the Dead* was successful internationally. Its success in
then-West Germany earned it the Golden Screen Award, given to films that
have at least three million admissions within 18 months of
release.^\[36\]^ A majority of these versions were released on DVD in
the 2004 Special Edition, and have previously been released on VHS. The
freelance photographer Richard Burke, working for *Pittsburgh Magazine*,
released in May 2010 the first exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from
the set.^\[37\]\[38\]^
On September 1, 1978, a 119-minute cut of the film created for
non-English speaking countries premiered in Turin, Italy under the title
*Zombi*, with Dario Argento in attendance.^\[39\]\[40\]^ The same cut
would open in Japan the weekend on March 27, 1979, and immediately top
its box office there.^\[41\]^ A 126-minute cut for English-language
speaking territories premiered in the United States on April 7, 1979, at
the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Texas, having been selected for the
event by film critic Roger Ebert.^\[41\]^ The following weekend, United
Film Distribution opened the same cut in seventeen Pittsburgh cinemas,
and continued with a wider rollout over the next month.^\[41\]^ The
picture opened in New York City on April 20,^\[40\]\[42\]^ and in Los
Angeles on May 11.^\[41\]^
In 2004, after numerous VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases of several
different versions of the film from various companies,^\[43\]^ Anchor
Bay Entertainment released a definitive *Ultimate Edition* DVD box set
of *Dawn of the Dead*, following a single-disc U.S. theatrical cut
released earlier in the year. The set features all three widely
available versions of the film, along with different commentary tracks
for each version, documentaries and extras.^\[44\]^ Also re-released
with the DVD set was Roy Frumkes\' *Document of the Dead*, which
chronicled the making of *Dawn of the Dead* and Romero\'s career to that
point.^\[43\]^ The *Ultimate Edition* earned a Saturn Award for Best
Classic Film Release.^\[45\]^
The U.S. theatrical cut of *Dawn of the Dead* was released on Blu-ray by
Anchor Bay on October 7, 2007, in the U.S. It was released on Blu-ray in
the United Kingdom by Arrow Video, which includes the theatrical cut and
two DVDs with the Cannes and Argento cut. An Australian Blu-ray was
released by Umbrella Entertainment.^\[46\]^ Reportedly, the film went
out of print on home media as a result of Rubinstein significantly
increasing its home media licensing fees. Some speculate that this was
due to a desire to recoup the \$6 million he spent producing a 3D
conversion of the film.^\[47\]^
In November 2016, Koch Media, under their Midnight Factory line,
released a six-disc Collector\'s Edition Blu-ray package for the Italian
market. This release includes the Argento cut in 4K Ultra HD format, as
well as both the original 1.85:1 theatrical framing and 1.33:1
full-frame of the Argento cut, as well as the original theatrical cut
and the extended Cannes cut of the film in high definition Blu-ray
format.^\[48\]\[49\]^ Koch also released a four-disc set, omitting the
UHD and 1.33:1 discs, and a single Blu-ray of the European cut.^\[46\]^
In 2018, XT Video released the complete version of the film for Blu-ray,
which is a fusion of the long and Italian versions of the film, plus cut
scenes.
In November 2020, British home media distributor Second Sight Films
released a limited edition box set of the film in separate Blu-ray and
4K Blu-ray formats, featuring the theatrical, Cannes and Argento cuts of
the film. For this release, all three cuts were remastered and restored
in 4K resolution, with the theatrical and Cannes versions presented on
the 4K Blu-ray sets in HDR10+. The theatrical and Cannes cuts were
restored from the original camera negative by Second Sight at Final
Frame New York and London under the supervision and approval of Michael
Gornick, the film\'s cinematographer. The audio, presented in Mono (with
additional Stereo and 5.1 Surround tracks for the theatrical cut), was
restored from the negative\'s optical soundtrack. Scenes exclusive to
the Cannes version were restored using that version\'s color reversal
internegative, while the Argento version, presented in SDR, was restored
from its interpositive, and similarly features Mono, Stereo and 5.1
Surround audio tracks. The box set also contains a Blu-ray disc with a
collection of original and archival bonus features; three CDs featuring
Goblin\'s original soundtrack and a compilation of the De Wolfe Music
cues featured in the theatrical and Cannes cuts; *Dawn of the Dead:
Dissecting the Dead*, a hardcover book containing essays, artwork and
other archival features; and a paperback copy of the film\'s
novelisation.^\[50\]^
Work on a 3D conversion of the film was begun in 2007 under the
supervision of Rubinstein. It was completed in 2013 at a reported cost
of \$6 million. The 3D version had its world premiere in October 2013 at
the Busan International Film Festival.^\[51\]^ In October 2022, it
finally received a wider release, exclusively in 250 Regal Cinemas
theaters.^\[52\]^ It was screened again at five North American theaters
as part of a 45th anniversary re-release of the film in 2024.^\[53\]^
*Dawn of the Dead* performed well thanks both to commercial advertising
and word-of-mouth. Ad campaigns and posters declared the film \"the most
intensely shocking motion picture experience for all times\".^\[54\]^
The film earned \$900,000 on its opening weekend in the United States.
After four weeks it had grossed \$5.1 million in the United States and
Canada,^\[55\]^ and went on to gross \$16 million^\[40\]^ with rentals
of \$6.8 million.^\[56\]^
Internationally it did well too, grossing \$1.5 million in six Japanese
cinemas over a period of 42 days and over \$1 million in Italy,^\[55\]^
and by October 1979 it had grossed \$24 million worldwide.^\[40\]^ *The
Numbers* claims it had an international gross of \$49.9 million, which
with a domestic gross of \$16 million,^\[40\]^ gives a worldwide total
of \$66 million, making it the most profitable film in the *Dead*
series.^\[6\]\[8\]^
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Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 92% of 59 surveyed
critics gave the film a positive review. The average rating is 8.70/10.
The site\'s critical consensus reads: \"One of the most compelling and
entertaining zombie films ever, *Dawn of the Dead* perfectly blends pure
horror and gore with social commentary on material society.\"^\[57\]^
Roger Ebert of the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave it four out of four stars
and proclaimed it \"one of the best horror films ever made.\" While
conceding *Dawn of the Dead* to be \"gruesome, sickening, disgusting,
violent, brutal and appalling,\" Ebert said that \"nobody ever said art
had to be in good taste.\"^\[58\]^ Steve Biodrowski of *Cinefantastique*
praised the film, calling it a \"broader\" version of *Night of the
Living Dead*,^\[54\]^ and gave particular credit to the acting and
themes explored: \"the acting performances are uniformly strong; and the
script develops its themes more explicitly, with obvious satirical jabs
at modern consumer society, as epitomized by the indoor shopping mall
where a small band of human survivors take shelter from the zombie
plague sweeping the country.\" He went on to say that *Dawn of the Dead*
was a \"savage (if tongue-in-cheek) attack on the foibles of modern
society\", showcasing explicit gore and horror and turning them into \"a
form of art\".^\[54\]^ Gene Siskel liked the movie as well, giving it 3
stars in his Chicago Tribune print review and specifically praising
George Romero\'s satirical view of indoor shopping malls relative to a
zombie apocalypse.^\[59\]^
Similar to the preceding *Night of the Living Dead*, some critical
reviewers did not like the gory special effects. Particularly displeased
at the large amount of gore and graphic violence was *The New York
Times* critic Janet Maslin, who claimed she walked out after the first
fifteen minutes due to \"a pet peeve about flesh-eating zombies who
never stop snacking,\"^\[60\]^ and Gene Shalit of NBC\'s *Today* show
dismissed it as \"Yawn of the Living.\" Others, particularly *Variety*,
attacked the film\'s writing, suggesting that the violence and gore
detract from any development of the characters, making them
\"uninteresting\", resulting in a loss of impact. *Variety* wrote:
\"*Dawn* pummels the viewer with a series of ever-more-grisly events ---
shootings, knifings, flesh tearings --- that make Romero\'s special
effects man, Tom Savini, the real \"star\" of the film---the actors are
as woodenly uninteresting as the characters they play.\"^\[61\]^ Pauline
Kael wrote that, in contrast to the \"truly frightening\" *Night of the
Living Dead*, \"you begin to laugh with relief that you\'re not being
emotionally challenged or even affected; \[*Dawn of the Dead* is\] just
a gross-out.\"^\[62\]^ Leslie Halliwell of *Halliwell\'s Film Guide*
stated that the film was \"occasionally laughable, otherwise sickening
or boring.\" Vincent Canby of *The New York Times* dismissed it as
\"fake mayhem and not worth getting exercised about,\" adding: \"Here is
a picture that anyone can walk out of with head held high and a clear
and untroubled conscience.\"^\[63\]^
The film is often cited as being one of the few sequels that are
superior to the original. The film was selected as one of *The 500
Greatest Movies of All Time* by *Empire* magazine in 2008.^\[14\]^ It
was also named as one of *The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made*, a list
published by *The New York Times*.^\[64\]^ In 2016, James Charisma of
*Playboy* ranked the film #10 on a list of *15 Sequels That Are Way
Better Than The Originals*.^\[65\]^ The 25th anniversary issue of
*Fangoria* named it the best horror film of 1979 (although it was
released a year earlier),^\[66\]^ and *Entertainment Weekly* ranked it
# 27 on a list of \"The Top 50 Cult Films.\"^\[67\]^ Film.com and
Filmsite.org rated it as one of the best films of 1978.^\[68\]\[69\]^ In
2024, Paste Magazine ranked *Dawn of the Dead* number 8 on its list of
the 100 greatest horror movies.^\[70\]^ Rotten Tomatoes lists the film
on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.^\[71\]^
Released in 2004, the remake of *Dawn of the Dead* was directed by Zack
Snyder (in his directorial debut) and written by James Gunn. It stars
Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber with cameos from original cast
members Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Tom Savini.
George Romero and Susanna Sparrow\'s paperback book based on the film
was released in 1978. It was reissued, with a new introduction by Simon
Pegg, on May 26, 2015, by Gallery Books.^\[72\]^ It was reissued again
in November 2020, with Pegg\'s introduction and new artwork, as part of
Second Sight Films\' limited edition Blu-ray release of the
film.^\[50\]^
- List of American films of 1978
- List of cult films
- List of Italian films of 1978
- List of zombie films
- Shaun of the Dead
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