The Dead Zone

Rating:
Summary: "Haunting" sounds so cliche, "poignant" so mushy...
Review: As a fan of S. King, I feel I often must defend myself to people who don't like "THOSE" kinds of stories. I always delight in the reaction people give who adore "Shawshank Redemption" or "Stand by Me" and are stunned by the identity of their author. "The Dead Zone" is definitely in this same category. There are enough goosebump-inducing scenes to justify the dark title. However, it is truly a story of profound loss and sacrifice. No parent can completely erase the look of the wealthy father following the incident on the ice. No woman can imagine the emotions of Sarah when her love who has been, for all intents and purposes, dead to her for five years, is alive and has picked up just where he was the day she lost him. This is a beautiful story and while Christopher Walken can be the scariest man on a movie screen, you just want to take him and hug him for all the pain he expresses throughout this film. Of course, you might be a little afraid of what he might see...

Rating:
Summary: I thought "Oh, no, not another lousy Stephen King movie"
Review: I do not like most Stephen King movies--but I will have to say this movie is in every way superior to the book. I first viewed this film about fifteen years ago--I have watched it endless times and always have tears left for the ending. It is one of my favorite movies and I'm a littlle surprised at that because I tend to like "larger than life" films like Schindler's List, The Godfather, Ben Hur, etc. It is a subtle masterpiece--about an extraordinary man with an ordinary name (John Smith). I have loved Christopher Walken since I first saw this film--he IS John Smith and he makes you feel every emotion of his character. Please, give this gem a chance. It WILL haunt you all your days......................

Rating:
Summary: a poem of winter,cold with awareness
Review: The most humble character ever portrayed in film.This film really leaves you feeling crippled by the materialism of life.Something about Walken's performance makes you want to start believing in miracles again not just for your own sake but for every lost soul you will ever meet.The best films are the ones that leave you uneasy in life and this one certainly does just that.

Rating:
Summary: Who cares about the extras?
Review: I have seen The Dead Zone countless times, and each time is doesn't cease to move me. It's truly a great story converted beautifully to the screen by David Cronenberg. Christopher Walkens performance is amazing, and undoubtedly he would have picked up numerous awards had it been made today. I've been checking for quite some time for it's DVD release, and at last it's here. For once I'm not really concerned with the extras the disc contains, surely that is the sign of a great film?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Thriller
Review: This is one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King novel. Christopher Walken brings just the right amount of strangeness to this role without going over the top. The premise is well-conceived and believable. One of my favorite sci-fi movies.

Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: This film, which I saw when it came out, I have seen countless times since. Having read the glowing reviews below, I really can't add much other than to emphasize the haunting beauty of the music by Michael Kamen which adds so much to the emotive power of the film. Like many of the great films in movie history which when released didn't recieve the acclaim they now do, this film will surely go down in movie history as one of the greats.

It is a journey of the quiet loner with a gift, a soul who sees truth, suffers repeatedly and pays the ultimate price to benefit others -- beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: The Dead Zone is one frighteing & unforgettable jouney
Review: A unforgettable film next to CARRIE & SALEM`S LOT this is another of Stephen King`s mesmerizing novels adapted to the screen thanks mostley to the landmark performance of Christopher Walken. His chracter Johnny Smith,a school teacher who after survivng a fatal car crash inherits the ability to foresee the future. Outstanding performence from Walken Along with THE DEER HUNTER & THE DOGS OF WAR this is another classic from Christopher Walken. A horror film with this magnitude and the abillty to place a chill in your soul is something of a lost art nowadays with today`s unappealing and unoriginal Horror films.

Rating:
Summary: very upset
Review: i was very upset with this movie. If you have read this book... dont watch the movie. There are so many different scenes that were switched around from the book. for example in the book johnny tutored a highschool kid not a elementery kid. there was a fire at a graduation party not a drowning. this movie swayed from the book big time!

Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the Rye as told by Stephen King
Review: "When it happens, when the spells come...I feel like -- I'm dyin'...inside." Do I have to say more about this masterpiece from David Cronenberg? This moody, thought-provoking, tragic love story will leave you chilled, hollow, and starngely fulfilled... Somewhere between the best and worst of humanity lies a place where one can change the world -- the dead zone.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, sophisticated and Heart-breaking Adaptation
Review: This has to be one of the most over-looked adaptations of any Stephen King book ( And there have been a few stinkers!) Told at a leisurely pace initially, the film allows the tension to build, and features one of the best performances of Christopher Walken's career. He plays the central character in the story, with a haunted and understated performance that allows you to empathise with, and pity the agonies his character has to endure. There are strong performances all round, with director Cronenberg keeping a close rein on all his performers, with the exception of Martin Sheen who has to play his character as 'barking' in a few key scenes. The film is shot with a minimalist style right through, and even the music beautifully evokes the impending sense of tragedy that we can all feel coming. I remember seeing the film for the first time nearly fifteen years ago, and I hadn't read the book. Today, shock endings are almost expected, with 'The Sixth Sense' being one of the most notable examples. The ending to this film still leaves me tingling, as it did when I first saw it all those years ago. I just didn't see it coming, and it remains to me one of the most poignant bittersweet endings in cinema. I was delighted when this film was released onto DVD, as my old VHS copy was getting a tad grainy. Now I can watch one of my favourite all-time movies over and over with no deterioration in picture or sound quality. This film is one of those little gems that tend to lie undiscovered in the video store, with most patrons passing it over as 'just another Stephen King movie.' It isn't. This is probably cleverer than 'The Sixth Sense' ( Where I always felt the ending owed more to the ending in James Herbert's 'The Survivor' than anything else - I actually guessed the ending before seeing the film!) and definitely more heart-breaking. If the climax of this film doesn't leave you moved, then you have no soul! Rent it, buy it or borrow it, but see it you must!