The Dead Zone (1983)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Jeffrey Boam (screenplay)
Stephen King (novel)

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

In his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands, he has the power to change it.

Plot:

A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic detective ability.

Plot Keywords:

Coma | Psychic | Car Accident | Flashback | Psychic Power

Awards:

7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
Géza Kovács	...	Sonny Elliman (as Geza Kovacs)
Roberta Weiss	...	Alma Frechette
Simon Craig	...	Chris Stuart
Peter Dvorsky	...	Dardis
Julie-Ann Heathwood	...	Amy
Barry Flatman	...	Walt
Raffi Tchalikian	...	Denny #1
Ken Pogue	...	Vice President
Gordon Jocelyn	...	Five-Star General
Bill Copeland	...	Secretary of State
Jack Messinger	...	Therapist
Chapelle Jaffe	...	Nurse
Cindy Hinds	...	Natalie (as Cindy Hines)
Helene Udy	...	Weizak's Mother
Ramon Estevez	...	Teenage Boy with Camera
Joseph Domenchini	...	Young Weizak
Roger Dunn	...	Reporters
Wally Bondarenko	...	Reporters
Claude Rae	...	Reporters
John Koensgen	...	T.V. Anchorman
Leslie Carlson	...	Brenner (as Les Carlson)
James Bearden	...	Deputy #1 (as Jim Bearden)
Hardee T. Lineham	...	Deputy #2 (as Hardee Lineham)
William B. Davis	...	Ambulance Driver (as William Davis)
Seirge LeBlanc	...	Denny #2 (as Sierge LeBlanc)
Vera Winiauski	...	Polish Peasants
Joe Kapnaiko	...	Polish Peasants
David Rigby	...	Truck Driver (as Dave Rigby)

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits
Jeffrey Boam		(screenplay)
Stephen King		(novel)

Produced by
Jeffrey Chernov	....	associate producer
Debra Hill	....	producer
Dino De Laurentiis	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Michael Kamen

Cinematography by
Mark Irwin

Film Editing by
Ronald Sanders

Casting by
Deirdre Bowen
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
Carol Spier

Art Direction by
Barbara Dunphy

Set Decoration by
Tom Coulter

Costume Design by
Olga Dimitrov

Makeup Department
Jenny Arbour	....	hair stylist
Shonagh Jabour	....	makeup artist
Maureen Mestan	....	hair assistant (uncredited)

Production Management
John M. Eckert	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Board	....	first assistant director
Otta Hanus	....	second assistant director
Lydia Wazana	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Alfred	....	draftsman
Jon Bankson	....	head carpenter (as John Bankson)
Kirk Cheney	....	head carpenter
Janet Cormack	....	scenic painter
Jim Craig	....	storyboard artist
Joe Curtin	....	construction manager
Dan Davis	....	assistant art director
Gary Jack	....	set dresser
Nick Kosonic	....	scenic painter
Jo-Ann Ladenheim	....	trainee art director
Peter Lauterman	....	property master
Steve Meil	....	scenic painter (as Steven Meil)
Don Miloyevich	....	assistant props
Harry Pavelson	....	scenic painter
Tom Reid	....	set dresser
Myles Roth	....	carpenter
Robert Wiens	....	carpenter
Gareth Wilson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Bryan Day	....	sound mixer
Michael C. Gutierrez	....	sound editor (as Michael Gutierrez)
Duane Hartzell	....	sound editor
Devon Heffley Curry	....	sound editorial coordinator (as Devon Heffley)
Michael LaCroix	....	boom operator (as Michael Lacroix)
Gregg Landaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
David E. Stone	....	sound editor (as David Stone)
Kendrick Sweet	....	sound editor (as Ken Sweet)
Eric Tomlinson	....	sound recording engineer
Bill Varney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Caryl Wickman	....	sound editor
David Lewis Yewdall	....	supervising sound editor (as David Yewdall)
Don White	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Calvin Joe Acord	....	special effects foreman (as Calvin Acord)
Jon G. Belyeu	....	special effects coordinator (as Jon Belyeu)
Derek Howard	....	special effects
Clark Johnson	....	special effects
Michael Kavanagh	....	special effects
Laird McMurray	....	special effects
Mark Molin	....	special effects
Michael Neumann	....	special effects
D. Harry Persad	....	special effects
Gianico Pretto	....	special effects
Sonan Sookad	....	special effects
David Zimmerman	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Michael Lennick	....	video electronic effects

Stunts
Shane Cardwell	....	stunts
Peter Cox	....	stunts
Rick Forsayeth	....	stunts (as Dick Forsayeth)
Loren Janes	....	stunts
Carey Loftin	....	stunt coordinator: milk truck stunt
Dwayne McLean	....	stunts
Leslie Munro	....	stunts
David Rigby	....	stunts
Jérôme Tiberghien	....	stunts (as Jerome Tiberghien)
Greg Walker	....	stunts
Dick Warlock	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Scotty Allan	....	best boy (as Scotty Allen)
Jock Brandis	....	gaffer
Ira Cohen	....	electrician
Christopher Dean	....	grip
John Herzog	....	electrician
David Hynes	....	grip
Maris H. Jansons	....	key grip (as Maris Jansons)
Robin Miller	....	first assistant camera
Donna Mobbs	....	second assistant camera
Gary Phipps	....	generator operator
Rick Porter	....	still photographer
Steve Shapiro	....	photographer: Stillson
Mark Silver	....	grip
John Stoneman	....	underwater camera operator
David J. Woods	....	camera trainee (as David Woods)
Christophe Bonnière	....	focus puller: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Peter Lavender	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Denise Cronenberg	....	wardrobe mistress (as Denise Woodley)
Maureen Gurney	....	wardrobe assistant
Arthur Rowsell	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Tim Dunphy	....	editor trainee
Elaine Foreman	....	assistant editor
Michael Rea	....	assistant editor

Music Department
James Guthrie	....	musical effects engineer
Michael Kamen	....	music arranger
Michael Kamen	....	conductor (uncredited)
Michael Kamen	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
John McClure	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Sidney Sax	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Eric Tomlinson	....	music mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
David Brown	....	driver
David Chudnovsky	....	driver (as David Chud)
Michael Curran	....	transportation coordinator
Alex Dawes	....	driver
Allen Kosonic	....	driver captain (as Al Kosonic)
Jerome McCann	....	driver
Izidore K. Musallam	....	driver (as Izidore Musallam)
Cactus Simser	....	driver (as Cactus)

Other crew
Andreas Blackwell	....	production assistant
Randi Chernov	....	assistant: Ms. Hill
David Coatsworth	....	location manager
Jesse Cohoon	....	craft service
Richard Cosgrave	....	horse wrangler (as Richard Cosgrove)
Dino De Laurentiis	....	presenter
Prudence Emery	....	publicist
Tom Glass	....	horse wrangler
Jeremy F. Keable	....	biomedical advisor
Philippa King	....	production coordinator
Lyn Lucibello	....	assistant accountant
Carol McBride	....	assistant: Mr. Cronenberg
Heather McIntosh	....	production accountant
Carolyn McKenzie	....	office assistant
Susan Starre McKibbin	....	assistant accountant (as Susan McKibbin)
Andrea Poulis	....	office assistant
Gillian Richardson	....	script supervisor
John Scott	....	horse wrangler
Simon Clery	....	security officer (uncredited)
Richard Cornblum	....	weapons handler (uncredited)
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Lorimar Film Entertainment

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• AMLF (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• Eurospace (1987) (Japan) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1987) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Herald Film Company (1996) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Bandai Visual Company (1996) (Japan) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• H.O.M. Vision (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special collector's edition)
• Succéfilm AB (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cannon Screen Entertainment (198?) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Castle Filmes (Brazil) (VHS) (as "A Hora da Zona Morta")
• Editora Europa (Brazil) (DVD) (as "Na Hora da Zona Morta")
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• VTI Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS) (as "Na Hora da Zona Morta")
• Video Classics (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company  copyright
• EMI / Abbey Studios  music recording
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Goldwyn Sound Facility  sound re-recording
• Harbor Castle Hilton Hotel  hotel accommodations
• National Philharmonic Orchestra  music performed by
• Panavision  Panaflex camera and lenses by
• R/Greenberg Associates  titles
• Special Missions Group  weapons
• Technicolor  color and prints

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:18 | Italy:T | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1984) | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Three people were involved in the James Bond franchise. Anthony Zerbe (Roger Stuart) would later appear in Licence to Kill (1989), while Christopher Walken (Johnny Smith) would later appear in A View to a Kill (1985). Michael Kamen, who did the music for this film, would later do the music for Licence to Kill (1989).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Shape of a blood bag clearly visible under Henrietta Dodd's sweater when she is shot by the sheriff.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnny Smith:[Johnny is reading "The Raven" to his class] And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting, on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, and the lamp light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor, and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be lifted... nevermore.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Samantha Who?: The Family Vacation (#2.9)" (2008)

Dead Zone is Perfection.

At this point in his career, Stephen King had the miraculous, almost Hitchcockian ability to allow a story to proceed from the most believable of circumstances, trickle like water delicately over tiny steps which, taken alone, did not seem too out of the ordinary, and then coalesce magnificently into masterpieces that defy categorization – not horror, not science fiction, but truly something magical, if unnameable. Dead Zone is such a masterpiece.

Owing in no small part to the subtle yet compelling performance of Christopher Walken, who in the same year would star in one of my most beloved films of the genre, Brainstorm, Dead Zone may well be one of King's best. Almost certainly based to some extent on real-life psychic Peter Hurkos, Dead Zone shows the master, King, taking an already well known premise to a new and thrilling conclusion.

The theme developed here is a common one for King. An innocent victim, through no fault of his own, is thrown into a paranormal world that will lead to an ultimate test. The idea is classic literary tragedy at its best, and is represented with equal aplomb in King's contemporaneous work such as Firestarter and Christine.

Director David Cronenberg, smoking hot at the time with masterpieces of his own – Scanners and Videodrome, delivers a film that resonates perfectly with King's book, with pacing and tone that capture what was best about King in this period. King himself was experiencing his golden age, with Cujo, Firestarter, Carrie and The Shining rounding out his catalog within a few years. In other words, this is the best of the best for some people who gave us some pretty good stuff.

The supporting cast is brilliant. Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt, Anthony Zerbe, and the lovely Brooke Adams are all exceptional. Screenwriter Jeffrey Boam, who also penned such classics as Lost Boys, Lethal Weapon 2 and 3, and the Witches of Eastwick, crafted a brilliant treatment that works absolutely perfectly from start to finish. Michael Kamen's brilliant score is but one jewel in the crown of his many achievements, and was said to be so disturbing that overhearing him practicing it gave his neighbors nightmares.

I suppose I could try to think of more ways to say it, but there is no need. It can be summed up once and for all in a single sentence. Dead Zone is perfection.