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Amazon.co.uk Review
Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half is among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honour the central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticised finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction.
Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable alter ego, George Stark (the bestselling dark half to Thad's light), who then assumes evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to defend lethally his role in Thad's creative endeavours. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies and himself. While Romero skilfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favours a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English\German
English
Region 2
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu Screens
Chapter Selections
Danish\English\Norwegian\Swedish
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English\German
English
Region 2
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu Screens
Chapter Selections
Danish\English\Norwegian\Swedish
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have to disagree with a lot of people who add this adaptation of a stephen king book to the existing badly executed king movies (children of the corn, the mangler, ... the list goes on). About 3 out of 4 King adaptations lack substance, style, performance and are just out to cash in on this writer's succes. This movie however, is a return to the likes of 'the dead zone' and 'misery', a well crafted thriller that has a slow build up, but doesn't undermine the premise of the book. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead trilogy) collaborated with King on this movie (he worked previously with King on Creepshow and Knightriders) and delivers the goods; An intelligent movie that captures the essence of the book, the characters are beautifully outlined and the directing skills of this genre director pay off; Add to that the excellent performances of Timothy Hutton, who plays both Thad Beaumont and his 'dark half' George Stark, next to Michael Rooker as sheriff Alan Pangborn. The musical score by Christopher Young is also pretty amazing, allowing never a dull moment in the movie and keeping it at pace, like the suspence thriller it is. The whole movie is shot in Pittsburgh, hometown of Romero and this adds a nice touch to the scenery. The region 2 (european) dvd has the widescreen version which I prefer over the full screen region 1 (american) dvd. I would have liked a commentary by Romero, since there were some budget problems during last month of shooting, and I would like to have had his take on that. But all in all, this movie keeps amazing me; It's an example of what true horror is about, and that intelligent scripts do have a place in this often commercial genre.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Stephen King..again-this time with a masterpiece!..Orion pictures ran out of money..so the film was delayed..This made me think...so eventually this film arrives..so nearly everyone missed it.. A very dark and brooding film..Two people involved here..two writers one,of which write's horror novels..the imaginative George Stark..there is no George Stark he is a Ghost writer..until the real author kills him off!...Wait for this..George Stark is still living and breathing..and one by one KILLS all his enemys...until the final sequence..the author or Jim Stark and those SPARROWS!..Haunting!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of the better King adaptations with George A Romero, the master behind Night of the Living Dead trilogy directing a fine cast. Thad Beumont(Tim Hutton) has been writng under the name of George Stark but is forced to stop when someone threatens to blackmail him, but George Stark isn't happy and comes back to get revenge. This film has an excellent storyline and doens't slaughter the original book. It manages to scare and a lot of parts make you jump. Their is quite a lot of gore but not to much. The scares are more psychological. I would recommend this to any fan of the horror genre as it is an enjoyable but scary film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Scary film with excellent actor Timothy Hutton
I have read this book years ago and finally I got to watch the film, scary especially the birds...
Timothy is brilliant as the writer and can look really mean as the book... Read more
Timothy is brilliant as the writer and can look really mean as the book... Read more
Published 11 months ago by breizhcopfan
Another good King/Romero movie
In 1982 George A Romero directed Creepshow, written by Stephen King. 9 years later in 1991 Romero took on another King story, The Dark Half. Read more
Published 11 months ago by West25
Average adaptation of a Stephen King book.
This is about an author who 'comes clean' about a pseudonym (as King did with Bachman) and suffers the supernatural consequences. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2001
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