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The Dead Zone [DVD] [1983]
 
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The Dead Zone [DVD] [1983]

DVD ~ Christopher Walken
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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The Dead Zone [DVD] [1983]
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Product details

  • Actors: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe
  • Directors: David Cronenberg
  • Writers: Jeffrey Boam, Stephen King
  • Producers: Debra Hill, Dino De Laurentiis, Jeffrey Chernov
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English, Russian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Prism Leisure
  • DVD Release Date: 30 Aug 2004
  • Run Time: 104 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005V8UW
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,070 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

One of the very best Stephen King film adaptations, The Dead Zone is imbued with an ever-present atmosphere of dread. Shot in a permanently wintry Canada (standing in for New England), the icy backdrops are subtly employed by director David Cronenberg to accentuate the story’s fatalistic tone. Cronenberg’s welcome emphasis for the most part on psychological terror over physical shocks (something of a change of direction for him after The Brood and Scanners) is further enhanced by composer Michael Kamen’s marvellously chilly music score and Christopher Walken’s understated yet dominating central performance as high school teacher Johnny Smith, who wakes from a coma following a car crash to learn that he has been cursed with the gift of second sight. That his uncanny ability is indeed a curse and definitely not a blessing is made abundantly clear: even when Johnny is able to save people’s lives, there is always a price to pay. The cosmic law of Karma is grimly unforgiving. Herbert Lom, as Johnny’s sympathetic doctor, sums up the character’s plight, "Some things just weren’t meant to be." And even when Johnny learns the terrible secret of future Presidential candidate Greg Stillson (a villainous Martin Sheen), he knows he cannot act without accepting the fatal consequences. Brooke Adams, as the love of Johnny’s life, and Tom Skerrit, as the quietly desperate sheriff on the trail of a serial killer, are excellent in support.

On the DVD: this disc comes with a chunky accompanying booklet with background notes on the film, cast and director, as well as a script excerpt for the originally planned pre-credits sequence (in the finished film we assume Johnny’s second sight is a result of the car accident--this earlier screenplay follows the book more closely). The movie itself--which features the "scissor-suicide" scene uncut--is accompanied by a chatty and informative commentary from film critics Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (a regular Amazon.co.uk contributor). Both the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture and the Dolby 5.1 sound are adequate if unexceptional. --Mark Walker

Synopsis

Based on a Stephen King novel 'The Dead Zone' tells of a man who emerges from a five year coma to find he has developed psychic powers to 'see' past and future events.

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
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 (7)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Best Stephen King adaption, 1 April 2004
By R Jess "Raymond Jess" (Limerick, Ireland.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Dead Zone [VHS] [1983] (VHS Tape)
When it was released in 1983, many people thought 'The Dead Zone' was a sell-out for director David Cronenberg. Up until that point Cronenberg had stayed faithful to his auteur vision, writing and directing all his own films in Canada, each one with a strong concentration on original and spectacular special effects (usually based around the body). 'The Dead Zone' proved to be unusual for Cronenberg in that he didn't write the script, it was made in the U.S. with mostly American money and it doesn't feature his trademark gorey effects. In fact this film is the inverse of the usual Cronenbergian theme of the body rebelling against the mind. As Christopher Walken's visions become more and more intense, his body ages faster and he moves closer and closer to death.

Instead of spine-chilling special effects, most of the terror here is realized through the stength of the actors' performances. Compared to previous Cronenberg movies the acting here is more interior, more emotional and a deep sense of melancholia prevades throughout.

This may have been a conscious choice on behalf of the director whose previous movie 'Videodrome' wasn't such a success at the box office. He wanted to stay within the horror genre he knew but wished to reach a wider audience. What better way to do that than to adapt a story by the self-styled 'Big Mac of literature', Stephen King. Many regard 'The Dead Zone' as the finest cinematic adaption of a Stephen King story.

Oh and by the way, did anyone notice that at the beginning of the movie when Walken is teaching his English class he asks them to read 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow'? He would eventually play the headless horseman in Tim Burton's version of the tale.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant, underappreciated adaptation of King's novel, 30 Nov 2003
By Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
For some reason, The Dead Zone has always been one of my least favorite Stephen King novels, but I have to say this movie adaptation of the novel is first-rate indeed, one of the most underappreciated of all the movies based on the work of the king of horror. The film's success is due in large part to Christopher Walken; with a less capable actor filling the role of Johnny Smith, this movie could have turned out as flat as a pancake. Walken, the consummate actor, is mesmerizing here. It's a complex role to play, as Johnny Smith has not exactly been blessed by the kind hands of fate. When we first meet him, he is a happy English teacher preparing to marry the woman he loves; a stormy night and a runaway milk tanker later, he wakes up to find that five years have passed, his girl has married someone else, and he is all but incapable of even walking. If you think this is a film about eliminating a politician of great and destructive evil, you're not even half-right. While that is of course the focus of the concluding minutes, the movie itself is all about Johnny's struggles to come to terms with his new life, a new life which includes a frightening power to see into the past and future of those whom he physically touches. The first manifestation comes in handy, as he helps save a nurse's little girl from dying in a fire, but traumatic, soul-draining visions of horror take a lot out of a guy as time moves on.

Johnny first comes to terms with his power when he agrees to help the police discover the identity of an elusive serial killer walking the streets of Castle Rock (which, for some strange reason, is supposedly located in New Hampshire rather than Maine). This experience only makes him retreat farther into himself, compelling him to move to another town and try to begin a new life within the comfort of his own protective walls. A traumatic vision concerning one of the students he is tutoring leads him to discover a new aspect of his power, and this discovery comes just in time for him to make a difficult decision as to whether or not to sacrifice his own life in order to prevent a truly cataclysmic event from taking place in the future.

David Cronenberg directs this bleak but absorbing film, but don't expect the kind of gore Cronenberg is famous for, as this is not a gore-mired film by any means (although the deaths we do witness are pretty satisfyingly presented). The Dead Zone is a psychological study of human nature and a suspenseful thriller, not a horror movie per se. Martin Sheen leaves an unforgettable mark on the film with his portrayal of as slimy and dangerous a politician as you would ever want to meet (and, as a side note, impersonating Elvis Presley's voice apparently goes over big among New England voters for some reason).

A lot of care and detail went into the making of The Dead Zone, and it shows. The atmosphere is dark and palpable from start to finish, and Christopher Walken commands the viewer's rapt attention at all times. There are a number of very moving scenes, particularly in relation to Johnny's new relationship with his former fiancée, so don't be surprised if Walken coaxes a tear or two out of the corners of your eyes. Many of the early movies based on King novels did not translate to the big screen very effectively, but The Dead Zone is an often overlooked and very impressive exception.

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Dead Zone....."My Destiny", 11 Jan 2002
By A Customer
Surely the most satisfying of all Stephen King's film adaptations, The Dead Zone finds both writer(King) and Director David Cronenberg in excellent form. Johnny Smith(Chris Walken) wakes up from a 5 year coma to find that by touching someone he can see visions of their past, present and future.
Hounded by the press and forced into hiding, he finds himself thrown into the path of Greg Stilson(Marty Sheen) who is running for president. Smith's vision of Stilson's and the world's future, as he gets to shake his hand at a political rally, provokes the life changing question for us all; "if you lived in Germany in 1939 and knowing what you know now of what Hitler would become, what would you do... would you kill him?"
This tense and beautifully acted forgotten masterpiece is worthy of anyone's collection and warrants repeated viewing in an attempt to unravel the many inter-woven texts.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Great film, great extras, shame no Cronenberg commentary and that this SE is R1 only.
Published 1 month ago by nicky

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Better Stephen King Screen Adaptations
David Cronenberg directs the Stephen King novel about a man who awakes from a coma with a life draining ability to see future tragedies when making contact with people. Read more
Published on 16 July 2007 by Kasey Driscoll

1.0 out of 5 stars BAD
This is one of the poorest films I have EVER watched.
There's very limited story, and what little there is is highly rushed. Read more
Published on 9 May 2007 by D. S. Sears

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Stephen King film
In my view, Stephen King's early works have always been his best.And yet, most of them have suffered from poor translations to film. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2007 by Mr. S. W. Steel

4.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric Psychological Thriller
I consider this to be the best of any Stephen King adaptation. The tale is most effectively set against a chilly, winter, almost monochrome backdrop, which cleverly matches the... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2007 by Mike Mac

4.0 out of 5 stars Watch this film
It's been a while since I saw this last but I agree it is one of Kings best adaptations along with Misery - so often he gets a raw deal TV movie slant or a moment of fame in... Read more
Published on 15 May 2006 by duirsgrove

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull, Boring, Dissapointing
Let me start by saying that im a huge Stephen King fan and am usual the first to praise the book to film transfers but i have to say this one was terrible! Read more
Published on 6 May 2006 by R. Wells

1.0 out of 5 stars Umm...what's all the fuss about?
Ok, I bought this film a few days ago and was expecting a good film, since it's based on the Stephen King novel and never have I been disappointed with a King film in the past... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2005 by RM

4.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting casting decisions for this King adaptation
The 1983 theatrical version of "The Dead Zone" directed by David Cronenberg is probably the most disappointing film adaptation of a Stephen King novel that I have seen, mainly... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2004 by Lawrance M. Bernabo

4.0 out of 5 stars A real treat
If you liked this fairly obscure S/King adaptation first time around, then you're in for a treat. A uncut widescreen version, with a great informative commentary from Jones &... Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2003 by least toughest in the infants

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