Comparing the original Dawn Of The Dead with the 2004 remake (Dawn of the Dead: Classic 1978 Versus 2004)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Dawn of the Dead: Classic 1978 Versus 2004
Date:	13/11/07 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Both films have their plus points.

Disadvantages: If you're not a fan of a good zombie film then neither will appeal.

'Dawn Of The Dead' is a zombie film centred around a shopping mall. Whilst George A. Romero's 1978 original is more of a social satire than anything else, Zack Snyder's 2004 version was much more of an intense action horror. To compare the two different versions is to be a difficult task as I enjoyed both of the two films but for different reasons. The original film was the first zombie film I ever witnessed and for that reason will always hold a special place in my heart, however the remake was also a film I found to be greatly appealing.

What I love about the original is that not only is it a great social satire, but is also an excellent zombie film in itself. There is a great element of gore in this film and suspense is built up throughout the film right up until its climax. I found the storyline to be greatly entertaining, and the mall location that had been chosen as the setting greatly appealing. What stood out about this film more so than in the remake was the characterisation of our main protagonists here. Whereas in the remake there are quite a large amount of characters to take in, the original has only four that we follow throughout much of the film. As there are less characters to focus on; I feel that we get to know the four more so than we get to know the characters we are introduced to in the remake. There is always much debate when films are remade, and people tend to side with the original and before the remake was released I was gearing myself up to do just that. I love the original 'Dawn Of The Dead' and was disgusted when I heard news that it was to be remade as I envisaged my favourite zombie flick of all time being ruined.

In a sense however it could perhaps be seen that the 2004 remake of 'Dawn Of The Dead' was 'better' than the original in that it had strong production values, a cracking cast, and fast moving and therefore more entertaining to watch zombies. The original film was a sequel to 'Night of the Living Dead' and therefore it followed on that the zombies moved slowly like in the first film, however the remake chose to break away from this and in some ways I feel it benefited from doing so as fast zombies are far more entertaining to watch than slow moving in the way that they are far more unpredictable. The casting for the remake I feel was extremely well chosen as all those involved put in great performances in their roles, whereas in the original watching the film back today I feel that some of the performances were somewhat cardboard. Production values of course helped with the remake as strong special effects allowed for increased realism when compared to the original film. All this said about the remake then, one should not take from this that I enjoyed the remake more than I enjoyed the original as I feel that this would be extremely unfair to say. The two versions of the film differ to a large degree, and if anything I like the two films in equal amounts.

Comparing the 1978 version of the film with its 2004 remake is extremely difficult to do as the two differ to such a large degree. There are great differences in terms of plot, dialogue and also in narrative structure. Of course the 2004 Hollywood remake does indeed include that special line of "when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth", however for the most part the scripting of the two films is entirely separate. Both films definitely have their merits and I for one enjoyed to a large degree not only the original film but also its remake. Much like Rob Zombie has done this year with his adaptation of John Carpenter's 'Halloween', Zack Snyder's 'Dawn Of The Dead' although drawing on the original film for the basis of its plot and ideas is entirely separate to the original and offers up a whole new perspective on the films events. Both the original and the remake are great films and although extremely different are entirely enjoyable and I would without a doubt recommend both to anyone.

Summary: It's a difficult task to compare the two films, but both are definitely worth watching.