Dead Zone

( 4 )

Overview

Christopher Walken plays a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith, who awakens from a five-year coma. He discovers that he has acquired the ability to foretell a person's future simply by touching his or her hand. After seeing several examples, Smith's doctor Herbert Lom becomes convinced that Smith can not only predict the future, but also has the power to change it. This ability is given its severest test when Smith shakes the hand of ruthless political candidate Greg Stillson Martin Sheen -- and suddenly has a ...
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More About This Product

Overview

Christopher Walken plays a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith, who awakens from a five-year coma. He discovers that he has acquired the ability to foretell a person's future simply by touching his or her hand. After seeing several examples, Smith's doctor Herbert Lom becomes convinced that Smith can not only predict the future, but also has the power to change it. This ability is given its severest test when Smith shakes the hand of ruthless political candidate Greg Stillson Martin Sheen -- and suddenly has a flash-forward to a nuclear holocaust. The Dead Zone is not only one of the best-ever Stephen King adaptations, but also one of the most consistently successful and least gory efforts of director David Cronenberg.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert
David Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone succeeds in fusing the distinct vision of two very different approaches to horror. Where King's books succeed at revealing the horrific and mysterious in a seemingly ordinary world (The Green Mile, Christine, It), Cronenberg has always been intrigued by the fragility of the human body. The movie version of The Dead Zone triumphantly coalesces these two themes into a highly emotional and simultaneously chilling tale. In Christopher Walken, the filmmakers found an ideal actor to dramatize these two themes. Walken's Johnny Smith (a most ordinary name for this most ordinary man) is a decent, quiet English teacher who wants nothing more than to be with his fiancée, Sarah (Brooke Adams). When his powers emerge after a horrific car accident, Johnny still wishes to be ordinary. However, each time he touches someone and sees the future his body reacts violently. As more and more people want to utilize his strange powers, Johnny's body grows weaker and weaker. While Cronenberg has used makeup to effectively show bodily degeneration in other films (The Brood, They Came From Within, The Fly), here he allows Walken to show the physical exhaustion in how he carries himself and in his interaction with the other characters. By the time Johnny takes heroic action, the audience feels both the triumph of so average a man making such a noble decision, and the physical deterioration that makes that decision a little easier. Fine performances by Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, and Martin Sheen help to keep this supernatural tale grounded in an authentic reality. The Dead Zone is very much greater than the sum of its already impressive parts.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/1/2013
  • UPC: 883929303649
  • Original Release: 1983
  • Source: Paramount Catalog
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 5,911

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Christopher Walken Johnny Smith
Brooke Adams Sarah Bracknell
Tom Skerritt Sheriff Bannerman
Herbert Lom Dr. Sam Weizak
Anthony Zerbe Roger Stuart
Colleen Dewhurst Henrietta Dodd
Martin Sheen Greg Stillson
Nicholas Campbell Frank Dodd
Sean Sullivan Herb Smith
Jackie Burroughs Vera Smith
Geza Kovacs Sonny Elliman
Roberta Weiss Alma Frechette
Simon Craig Chris Stuart
Jim Bearden Deputy #1
Wally Bondarenko Reporter
Deirdre Bowen
Les Carlson Brenner
Bill Copeland Secretary of State
Wee Willie Davis Ambulance Driver
Roger Dunn Reporter
Peter Dvorsky Dardis
Ramon Estevez Teenage Boy with Camera
Barry Flatman Walter Bracknell
Janet Hirshenson
Chapelle Jaffe Nurse
Jane Jenkins
Jack Messinger Therapist
Ken Pogue Vice President
Claude Rae Reporter
Helene Udy Weizaks Mother
Technical Credits
David Cronenberg Director, Screenwriter
Jon G. Belyeu Special Effects
Jeffrey Boam Screenwriter
John Board Asst. Director
Deirdre Bowen Casting
Shane Cardwell Stunts
Jeffrey Chernov Associate Producer
David Coatsworth Set Decoration/Design
Peter Cox Stunts
Bryan Day Sound/Sound Designer
Olga Dimitrov Costumes/Costume Designer
Barbara Dunphy Art Director
John M. Eckert Production Manager
Debra Hill Producer
Janet Hirshenson Casting
Mark Irwin Cinematographer
Shonagh Jabour Makeup
Loren Jones Stunts
Michael Kamen Score Composer
Carey Loftin Stunts
Steve Maslow Sound/Sound Designer
Dwayne McLean Stunts
David Rigby Stunts
Ronald Sanders Editor
Carol Spier Production Designer
Jerome Tiberghien Stunts
Greg Walker Stunts
Richard Warlock Stunts
Stephen King Source Author
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 4 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    nothing dead about this zone

    I read the book first, and when the movie was released, I was in line to see it. Afterward, I realized that it was the best adaptation of a King story ever. None of his other books had translated well to film in my opinion. But this one was right on. Since that time, I have seen several King books-to-film projects, and the Green Mile is another book that translated well to the movies. But there is something about The Dead Zone that keeps drawing me back. It's even a TV series now. Not nearly as well-done, but nonetheless, it keeps Johnny alive for a little while longer.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    The Dark Half

    The dead zone

    This is quite old,but real good-----not gory or scary,but just a strange story.To see walken and sheen when they were younger is worth it in itself.If you like s.k.,then add to your shelf............keep on creeping.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    the best king story into a tv series

    when i heard that this show was coming out i knew it was a must see and have for everyone who likes the storys that king writes.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 5, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews