A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 4 nominations
Géza Kovács
- Sonny Elliman
- (as Geza Kovacs)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector David Cronenberg fired a .357 Magnum loaded with blanks just off camera to make Smith's flinches seem more involuntary; this was Christopher Walken's own idea.
- GoofsAll the lights on the tanker stay lit even though it completely detaches from the rig.
- Quotes
Johnny Smith: The ICE... is gonna BREAK!
- Crazy creditsAs the opening titles roll, certain parts (or "dead zones") of the screen become blocked out, until the part of the screen you can see spell out the title "The Dead Zone."
- Alternate versionsAlthough the UK cinema version was 18-rated and intact in 1986 Thorn-EMI released a British home video version with 13 seconds cut to obtain a 15 certificate rating from the BBFC. A scissor suicide sequence was re-edited to remove shots of the preparation and aftermath, and shots of topless nudity and the descending scissors were removed from the gazebo murder. Later 18-rated releases feature the full uncut print.
- SoundtracksThe Yankee Doodle Boy
(a.k.a., "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy") (uncredited)
Written by George M. Cohan
(Cohan included a snippet of "Yankee Doodle" (traditional) in his own composition)
Performed by Traditional
Featured review
Underrated King Adaptation
For some reason I'm experiencing a resurgence in my love for Stephen King, having dedicated most of my late teens and twenties to his books before falling off for several years. Not that there's ever a bad time to get (back) into King, but it feels just a bit random. Then again, so is life, which is probably how we got the most normal film David Cronenberg ever made until he went more or less mainstream with A History of Violence. While there's very little of his penchant for body horror here, it maintains that distinctly Cronenbergian chill of otherworldliness.
As with most feature-length King adaptations it's forced to greatly streamline the plot and characters, which results in a lot of scenes feeling rushed and dialogue that's clearly doing the work. But what Cronenberg, of all people, really captures is the pervasive sadness and tragedy of Johnny Smith's life. It's there each time Christopher Walken monologues about how his so-called "gift" has cost him any chance at happiness - even in hammier moments, one of Walken's best, most restrained performances. It's in every note of Michael Kamen's haunting score, infusing the snowy landscapes with looming dread. It's there in the episodic nature of the plot, one bad turn after another until Johnny's inevitable meeting with a fate even he can't accurately predict.
While dated in some ways (others, sadly, rather prescient), this continues to stand as one of the best big-screen adaptations of King not made by Frank Darabont or Rob Reiner. You'd think with so many stories to adapt, and so many talents trying their hand at it, the batting average would be a lot higher. But I guess the secret to finding that sweet spot is somewhere in...well, you know where.
As with most feature-length King adaptations it's forced to greatly streamline the plot and characters, which results in a lot of scenes feeling rushed and dialogue that's clearly doing the work. But what Cronenberg, of all people, really captures is the pervasive sadness and tragedy of Johnny Smith's life. It's there each time Christopher Walken monologues about how his so-called "gift" has cost him any chance at happiness - even in hammier moments, one of Walken's best, most restrained performances. It's in every note of Michael Kamen's haunting score, infusing the snowy landscapes with looming dread. It's there in the episodic nature of the plot, one bad turn after another until Johnny's inevitable meeting with a fate even he can't accurately predict.
While dated in some ways (others, sadly, rather prescient), this continues to stand as one of the best big-screen adaptations of King not made by Frank Darabont or Rob Reiner. You'd think with so many stories to adapt, and so many talents trying their hand at it, the batting average would be a lot higher. But I guess the secret to finding that sweet spot is somewhere in...well, you know where.
- jfictitional
- Apr 6, 2023
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Stephen King's The Dead Zone
- Filming locations
- Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada(Downtown and gazebo scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,766,616
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,556,083
- Oct 23, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $20,766,616
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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