The Dead Zone (film)
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| The Dead Zone | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | David Cronenberg |
| Produced by | Debra Hill |
| Written by | Novel: Stephen King Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam |
| Starring | Christopher Walken Brooke Adams Tom Skerritt Martin Sheen |
| Music by | Michael Kamen |
| Cinematography | Mark Irwin |
| Editing by | Ronald Sanders |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (USA) Dino De Laurentiis Productions (non-USA) |
| Release date(s) | October 21, 1983 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 103 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $20,766,616 Domestic |
The Dead Zone is a 1983 science fiction-thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by David Cronenberg, the film stars Christopher Walken, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen, Herbert Lom, Brooke Adams, Anthony Zerbe, Ken Pogue, and Colleen Dewhurst. The plot revolves around a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith (Walken), who awakens from a coma to find he has psychic powers.
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[edit] Plot
Johnny Smith (Walken) is a young New England schoolteacher in love with his colleague Sarah (Adams) when he is involved in a serious car accident that sends him into a coma. He awakes under the care of neurologist Dr. Weizak (Lom) and counts himself fortunate when he notes no casts, bandages or visible signs of injuries on his body. However, the awakening turns rude when he is told that five years have passed since he last knew consciousness: his girlfriend has long since married and had a child. Johnny's transition back to life is made rougher when he discovers that he has the ability to learn a person's secrets (past, present, future) through making physical contact with the person. This ability, however, leaves him an outcast in his hometown despite helping the citizens. Later Johnny discovers through a handshake that US Senatorial Candidate, Greg Stillson (Sheen) will later become President of the United States, and through the handshake sees Stillson ordering a nuclear strike against Russia, thus presumably bringing on a nuclear holocaust. Johnny feels it to be his duty to assassinate Stillson and attempts to do so at a rally in a church. Johnny attempts to shoot Stillson but misses and is soon shot by Stillson's security detail. However, after Johnny's first shot Stillson grabs Sarah's baby and holds him up in the air to shield himself. This act is heavily photographed and becomes instant political suicide. As Johnny is shot and falls from the balcony, he is confronted by an angered Stillson. Johnny grabs him and foresees Stillson looking at a Newsweek magazine with the picture of him shielding himself with Sarah's baby and then proceeds to shoot and kill himself. Johnny then says to Stillson "It's over." A now satisfied Johnny then dies with Sarah by his side.
[edit] Background and history
The film was shot in the Greater Toronto Area and Regional Municipality of Niagara of Cronenberg's native Ontario, Canada where some temporary props and structures built for the film are still in place, such as the gazebo which still stands in the small town of Niagara-On-The-Lake, where most of the in-town shots were filmed. The so called Screaming Tunnel, located in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario, was also utilized as the backdrop for one scene. According to a David Cronenberg interview on the DVD, The Dead Zone was filmed during a relentless deep freeze in Southern Ontario which lasted for weeks, creating an authentic atmosphere of subzero temperature and hard icy snow packed surfaces, which made for great natural shooting locations in spite of it being almost too cold for cast and crew to tolerate at times. Canada's Wonderland (Canada's premier amusement park, formerly owned by Taft Broadcasting, and Dead Zone film distributor Paramount) which is 30 km north of Toronto's city limits was also used as a filming location.
The music soundtrack, composed by Michael Kamen, was recorded by The National Philharmonic Orchestra, London at the famous EMI Abbey Road Studios. Michael Kamen conducted the recording sessions; the orchestra was contracted and led by Sidney Sax. This is the only Cronenberg film since The Brood (1979) for which Howard Shore did not serve as composer.
[edit] See also
- List of American films of 1983
- The Dead Zone (TV series), a television series also based on the novel.
[edit] External links
- The Dead Zone at the Internet Movie Database
- The Dead Zone at Allmovie
- The Dead Zone at Rotten Tomatoes
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