| | | With Option of Audio in Spanish.
Features: DVD, Spanish, English, French
Heart-pounding action and bone-chilling thrills power this edgy, electrifying fright-fest starring Mekhi Phifer (8 Mile), Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) and Sarah Polley (Go)!When a mysterious virus turns people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies, a handful of survivors wage a desperate, last-stand battle to stay alive...and human! Exploding with terrifying surprises and nerve-shredding fun, Dawn of the Dead is an edge-of-your-seat thrill-ride that FOX-TV calls "one of the best horror flicks in years."
"...the best zombie movie since George A. Romero's still-bracing Dawn of the Dead." Adam Nayman, Eye Weekly
"...a rather terrifying yet thrilling little ride." Annette Cardwell, FilmCritic.com
"The action is relentless, and the body count formidable..." Philip French, The Observer
Editor's Note
First-time director Zack Snyder remakes zombie master George A. Romero's classic 1978 gore-fest DAWN OF THE DEAD, wisely replicating only the basic elements of Romero's movie, instead sticking to his own vision of a world overrun by undead flesh-eating creatures. The action begins with nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) waking up to discover her boyfriend has become a tasty midnight snack for a formerly cute neighboring kid. To her horror, she realizes that the whole town is in a similar state of ghoulishness, until she runs into still-alive cop Kenneth (Ving Rhames); the levelheaded Michael (Jack Weber); and Andre (Mekhi Phifer), a rebel with a pregnant wife in tow. As in Romero's original, the group heads for the local mall where they barricade themselves inside. More survivors surface, while in the outside world the zombies go about their day by slowly taking over the planet. Undeterred by the odds against them, the survivors plot, scheme, and enjoy their mall paradise. As they plan their escape, some incredibly gruesome special effects are deployed, often with a dash of wry humor added for light relief. Placing the messages from Romero's version--a funny, scary look at consumerist society--on the back burner, the 2004 version of DAWN OF THE DEAD instead concentrates on delivering a witty blood-fest. The zombies appear to have taken their cues from the fast-moving corpses of Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER, and are generally much more agile than their 1978 counterparts. Director Snyder gets the balance between humorous set-pieces and plot development exactly right throughout, producing an enjoyable remake that can easily hold its own alongside the deservedly hailed original film.
| Features | Audio: English, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 9/9/2008 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2004 | | Catalog ID: 61102618 | | UPC: 00025195020268 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew | Jake Weber | | Mekhi Phifer | | Sarah Polley | | Ving Rhames | | Armyan Bernstein - Executive Producer | | Arvinder Grewal - Art Director | | George A. Romero - Based On Screenplay By | | James Gunn - Screenplay | | Matthew F. Leonetti - Cinematographer | | Niven Howie - Editor | | Richard P. Rubinstein - Producer | | Tyler Bates - Original Music By | | Zack Snyder - Director |
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"Good zombie fun, the remake of George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD is the best proof in ages that cannibalizing old material sometimes works fiendishly well." 03/19/2004 p.E11Entertainment Weekly
"Snyder, making a killer feature debut, trades home-made cheesiness for knowing style, revels in the sophistication of modern special effects, and stomps off with the best remake...of a horror classic in memory." 03/26/2004 p.51-2 Chicago Sun-Times
"From a technical point of view, the new DAWN is slicker and more polished, and the acting is better, too." 03/19/2004 p.30 USA Today
"Snyder comes up with some 'wow' shots....[T]his DEAD is zippier than 1995's retake on VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED." 03/19/2004 p.5E Box Office
"[The film] still delivers a pretty mean bite as a gross-out/action shockfest." 05/01/2004 p.31 Premiere
"[A] reasonably enjoyable shock machine thanks to state-of-the-art effects and an appealing cast..." 11/01/2004 p.102 Rolling Stone
"It's good, thrilling fun." 11/11/2004 p.118 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "A slick remake....Synder delivers a movie energy and vision that never dilutes the power of the original." 12/01/2007 p.89 Reel.com 8 of 10
...it is with a heavy sigh of relief and a great deal of surprise that yet another re-make, the zombie-fest Dawn of the Dead, based on George A. Romero's 1979 masterful, clever, and socially satirical cult classic, is actually impressive. Incredibly impressive. So much so that this critic places it above Danny Boyle's much lauded zombie art-house picture 28 Days Later...Wonderfully directed with zombies both hysterical and horrifying, and with a fast paced, jump-out-of-your-seat tension, the carnage adds some additional depth that's surprisingly real and even touching at times...The acting is excellent across the board and the music, from the hilarious elevator mall music (instrumental versions of "Don't Worry Be Happy" and "You Light up My Life") to Johnny Cash, to The Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died," work seamlessly in this end-of-the-world universe. - Kim Morgan
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The contrast between this new version of "Dawn of the Dead" and the 1979 George Romero original is instructive in the ways that Hollywood has grown more skillful and less daring over the years. From a technical point of view, the new "Dawn" is slicker and more polished, and the acting is better, too...Of gore and blood there is a sufficiency. When the survivors devise a risky way to escape from the mall (which I will not reveal), a chainsaw plays a key role...So, yes, "Dawn of the Dead" works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ticket. My only complaint is that its plot flatlines compared to the 1979 version, which was trickier, wittier and smarter. Romero was not above finding parallels between zombies and mall shoppers; in the new version, the mall is just a useful location, although at least there are still a few jokes about the Muzak. - Roger Ebert
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