Dawn of the Dead is a 1978 zombie horror film written, directed, and edited by George A. Romero, and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. An American-Italian international co-production, it is the second film in Romero's series of zombie films, and though it contains no characters or settings from the preceding film Night of the Living Dead (1968), it shows the larger-scale effects of a zombie apocalypse on society. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall during mass hysteria.
Romero waited to make another zombie film after Night of the Living Dead for several years to avoid being stereotyped as a horror director. Upon visiting Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, with a friend whose company managed the complex, he decided to use the location as the basis for the film's story. The project came to the attention of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento who, along with his brother Claudio and producer Alfredo Cuomo, agreed to co-finance the film in exchange for its international distribution rights. Argento also consulted with Romero during the scriptwriting phase. Principal photography on Dawn of the Dead took place between November 1977 and February 1978 on location in Monroeville and Pittsburgh. The special make-up effects were created by Tom Savini, whose work on the film led to an extensive career creating similar effects for other horror films. In post-production, Romero and Argento edited separate versions of the film for their respective markets. Argento's version features a progressive rock score composed and performed by his frequent collaborators Goblin, while Romero's cut primarily favors stock cues from the De Wolfe Music Library.
Following its Italian premiere on September 1, 1978, Dawn of the Dead was released in other markets the following year. Despite facing difficulties with various national censorship boards – in the United States, it was released unrated to improve its commercial prospects after it was given an X by the Motion Picture Association of America, and in Britain it was liable for seizure during the 1980s "video nasties" moral panic – the film proved to be a major success at the box office, grossing $66 million worldwide against its estimated budget of $640,000. Noted for its satirical portrayal of consumerism, Dawn of the Dead has received widespread critical acclaim since its initial release, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made, as well as the greatest zombie film. Like its predecessor, it has garnered a large, international cult following. In 2008, it was chosen by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, along with Night of the Living Dead.
Dawn of the Dead was followed by four official sequels, beginning with 1985's Day of the Dead, and a separate series of unofficial Italian-made sequels, beginning with 1979's Zombi 2. It has also inspired a 2004 remake film directed by Zack Snyder, as well as numerous parodies and pop culture references in other media such as Shaun of the Dead, Dead Rising, and Left 4 Dead.
Plot In the United States an epidemic of a virus has begun, turning the infected into aggressive zombies. At the dawn of the crisis, it has been reported that millions of people have died and reanimated. Despite the government's best efforts, social order is collapsing. While rural communities have natural barriers, such as Johnstown, and the National Guard have been effective in fighting the zombie hordes in open country, urban centers have descended into chaos.
At WGON-TV, a television studio in Philadelphia, traffic reporter Stephen Andrews and his pregnant girlfriend, producer Francine Parker, are planning to steal the station's helicopter to escape the city. Across town, Philadelphia Police Department SWAT officer Roger DeMarco and his team raid a low-income housing project, whose mostly black and Latino tenants are defying the martial law of delivering their dead to the National Guard. The tenants and the officers exchange gunfire as the officers try to gain entry, and indiscriminate attacks by racist officers and the reanimated dead exacerbate the resulting chaos. Roger encounters an officer from another unit, Peter Washington. As the SWAT team successfully dispatch the zombies, a disillusioned Roger suggests that he and Peter desert and join up with Stephen (who is Roger's friend) in escaping the city.
Roger and Peter join Fran and Stephen at a police dock and then leave Philadelphia in a stolen WGON-TV news helicopter. Following some close calls while stopping for fuel, the group comes across a shopping mall, and decide to remain there since there is plenty of food, medicine, and all kinds of consumables. Roger, Peter and Stephen camouflage the entrance to the stairwell leading to their safe room and block the mall entrances with trucks to keep the undead from penetrating. This involves driving through crowds of zombies, who attack the trucks. Roger becomes reckless and is soon bitten by the zombies.
After clearing the mall of zombies, the group builds a hidden safe room as a fallback in case of future attacks, before settling into a hedonistic lifestyle with all the goods available to them. Roger eventually succumbs to his wounds and dies; when he reanimates, Peter shoots him in the head and buries his body in the mall. Months later, all emergency broadcast transmissions cease, suggesting that the government has collapsed. Now isolated, the three load some supplies into the helicopter, in case they might need to leave suddenly. Fran gets Stephen to teach her how to fly in case he is killed or incapacitated.
A nomadic biker gang sees the helicopter in flight and breaks into the mall, destroying the barriers and allowing hundreds of zombies back inside. Despite having a fallback plan should the mall be attacked, Stephen, consumed by territorial rage, takes matters into his own hands by firing on the looters, beginning a protracted battle. On their way out, straggling bikers are overwhelmed and eaten by the zombies. Stephen tries to hide in the elevator shaft, but gets shot and subsequently mauled by roaming zombies. When Stephen reanimates, he instinctively returns to the safe room and leads the undead to Fran and Peter. Peter kills the undead Stephen while Fran escapes to the roof. Peter, not wanting to leave, locks himself in a room and contemplates suicide. When the zombies burst in, he has a change of heart and fights his way up to the roof, where he joins Fran. Having escaped and low on fuel, the two then fly away in the helicopter to an uncertain future.
Cast Ken Foree as Peter Washington Gaylen Ross as Francine "Fran Flygirl" Parker David Emge as Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews Scott Reiniger as Roger "Trooper" DeMarco
Director George A. Romero makes an uncredited appearance as a WGON TV director. Assistant director and Romero's future-wife—Christine Forrest—portrays his assistant. Also featured at the WGON TV station are David Crawford as Dr. James Foster, David Early as commentator Sidney Berman and Daniel Dietrich as station manager Dan Givens. Future Romper Room hostess Molly McClosky makes an uncredited appearance as a station worker. Later sequences depicting an emergency TV network feature Howard Smith as an unnamed commentator and recurring Romero collaborator Richard France as Dr. Millard Rausch, referred to in the credits as "Scientist".
Featured among the motorcycle raiders are Rudy Ricci as their leader, brothers and frequent Romero collaborators Tony and Pasquale Buba, and Taso N. Stavrakis. Tom Savini, the film's make-up artist, also appears as Blades, a machete-wielding raider. Joseph Pilato, who would later be cast in Romero's Day of the Dead (1985), plays the leader of group of police officers evacuating by boat, although most of his performance was cut from the theatrical release. Other police officers in the film include James A. Baffico as Wooley, with his wife Joey Baffico having an uncredited role as a zombie who attacks Roger. Longtime Romero collaborator John Amplas, who also served as the film's casting director, makes an uncredited appearance as one of the apartment tenants who engages in a gunfight with the police.
Production Development The history of Dawn of the Dead began in 1974, when George A. Romero was invited by friend Mark Mason of Oxford Development Company—whom Romero knew from an acquaintance at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon—to visit the Monroeville Mall, which Mason's company managed. After showing Romero hidden parts of the mall, during which Romero noted the bliss of the consumers, Mason jokingly suggested that someone would be able to survive in the mall, should an emergency ever occur. With this inspiration, Romero began to write the screenplay for the film.
Romero and his producer, Richard P. Rubinstein, were unable to procure any domestic investors for the new project. By chance, word of the sequel reached Italian horror director Dario Argento. A fan of Night of the Living Dead and an early critical proponent of the film, Argento was eager to help the horror classic receive a sequel. He met Romero and Rubinstein, helping to secure financing in exchange for international distribution rights. Argento invited Romero to Rome so he would have a change of scenery while writing the screenplay. The two could also discuss plot developments. Romero was able to secure the availability of the Monroeville Mall as well as additional financing through his connections with the mall's owners at Oxford Development. Once the casting was completed, principal shooting was scheduled to begin in Pennsylvania on November 13, 1977.
Filming
Principal photography for Dawn of the Living Dead (its working title at the time) began on November 13, 1977, at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Use of an actual, open shopping mall during the Christmas shopping season caused numerous time constraints. Filming began nightly once the mall closed, starting at 11PM and ending at7 AM, when automated music came on. As December arrived, the production decided against having the crew remove and replace the Christmas decorations—a task that had proved to be too time-consuming. Filming was shut down during the last three weeks of the year to avoid the possible continuity difficulties and lost shooting time. Production would resume on January 3, 1978. During the break in filming, Romero took the opportunity to begin editing his existing footage.Quint interviews FX God Greg Nicotero on LAND OF THE DEAD! Exclusive gore pics, too! on Ain't it Cool News
The airfield scenes were filmed at the Harold W. Brown Memorial Airfield in Monroeville,Trivia for Dawn of the Dead at Turner Classic Movies an airport located about two miles from the mall. The scenes of the group's hideout at the top of the mall were filmed on a set built at Romero's then-production company, The Latent Image.Former Latent Image Office at Dark Destinations The elevator shaft was located there as well, as no such area of the mall actually existed. The gun store was also not located in the mall—for filming, the crew used Firearms Unlimited, a shop that existed in the East Liberty district of Pittsburgh at the time. The police dock scene was filmed in downtown Pittsburgh right next the Monongahela River at 1 S. 6th St. The building, landing pad, and pumps are long gone, and the location is now an outdoor art gallery called The Color Park. The truck yard scene was filmed at the B&P Motor Express Co. which is now a First Student school bus company in Irwin, PA, about 22 minutes from the Monroeville Mall.