Product Description

Christopher Walken wakes from a coma due to a car accident only to find he has lost five years of his life and yet gained psychic powers. Foreseeing the future appears to be a 'gift' at first but ends up causing problems...System Requirements:Running Time: 103 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 097361183541 Manufacturer No: 118354

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8490 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Russian
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.com
The Dead Zone is based on a novel by Stephen King, directed by David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly) and produced by Debra Hill (Halloween, The Fog). Such a trio of horror vets would be expected to come up with an evening of shocks and gore, but The Dead Zone is a surprise. While it has great atmospheric eeriness and undeniably scary moments, The Dead Zone is at heart a sensitive and thoughtful portrayal of main character Johnny Smith's dilemma. Christopher Walken, king of the vaguely creepy, plays Smith, a man who awakens from a five-year coma with the very mixed blessing of second sight. At the mere touch of a hand, Smith is unwillingly launched into scenes of past and future terror. (Director Cronenberg is said to have fired blanks from a .357 Magnum just out of camera range to keep Walken's flinching spontaneous.) The Dead Zone wisely takes its time telling the story, and thus allows for some great performances. Walken gives a rich portrayal of the conflicted Smith, and Colleen Dewhurst and Tom Skerritt both do welcome turns in smaller roles. The most fun of all, though, is clearly being had by Martin Sheen, who gives a spirited performance as a complete sleazebag. --Ali Davis

On the DVD
A ho-hum 45 minutes of features are added to this new edition. Created by the popular DVD-extras producer Laurent Bouzereau, the four-part feature gives a good history of how the popular novel became a film. It holds interest just because director David Cronenberg is generous in his praise and insight. The only other new interviews are from a critic, the editor, the director of photography, and actress Brooke Adams. Best tidbit: Christopher Walken asked Cronenberg to fire a handgun off-camera to get his jerk reaction to the visions. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

A Quirky Part for an Actor Who Is Willing to Gamble
Christopher Walken has made a career out of taking those oddball, quirky, edgy roles. Never satisfied with the easy path, he, like Harvey Keitel, takes the tricky, adventurous over the safe and sometimes more profitable parts. He often plays the role of a strange, eerie, kind of nutcase character. Always he seems to be stretching his acting muscles and evolving as an actor.
The book is part of the prolific Stephen King's franchise. In "The Dead Zone," The lead character, Walken as Johnny, spends five years in a coma, and comes out of it with psychic powers. Because he can see into the past and future, and see events taking place elsewhere in the present, he is able to save lives, snare a serial killer, smoke our evildoers, and prevent catastrophes. He learns that he can not only foretell the future but change it. Almost like a comic book super hero.
Herbert Lom is very good as Johnny's doctor. Walken gives an intense performance. Somehow the movie has a low budget feel to it, or could it be downscale production values? The movie is not from one of King's horror books and benefits from this fact. It deals not so much with the supernatural but the paranormal powers of a sad, believable, realistic person. It's a movie to while away some time with. There is nothing brain-wrenching here.
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THE DEAD ZONE
A special collector's edition, The Dead Zone is well worth purchasing. Based on one of Stephen King's earlier novels, it is excitingly fast-paced and entertaining. Christopher Walken is outstanding in the starring role of the psychic who has a gift he would not have asked for, one that in the end proves life-saving on a grand scale. Buy the movie! You won't be sorry.

The Dead Zone lives...
I saw the Dead Zone many years ago and was a movie I wanted in my collection. The movie, an early David Cronenberg venture, is one of those that makes you think, what would I do if I was in the same situation? A moderately strong story with good acting especially by Christopher Walken in the lead role. Throughly enjoyable and one you should see at least once if not twice.