by Marq Mosier

Created on: December 10, 2006   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

George A. Romero's 1978 film Dawn of the Dead is widely considered to be not only a feat of makeup and special effects, but also a celluloid commentary on social issues of the time. In 2004 the film was remade by first-time director Zack Snyder, however, it bore little resemblance to its inspirational predecessor. Snyder's vision of the film was not only different from a cinematic standpoint, but from a narrative one as well. The films are separated by a gap of 25 years, so naturally there are technical advancements in the remade film that were not within the scope of possibility when the original was made, yet the differences are so much broader than that. While the Hollywood remake was obviously produced with large box office receipts in mind, Romero's 1978 version was more of an auteur's journey into the evolution of an event that he had introduced to popular culture 11 years earlier. While the films share a common title, that is the only thread that binds them loosely together.

The most glaring differences between the films are in the narrative aspects. While Romero tackles numerous social issues in the original Dawn of the Dead, Snyder concentrated on making a knockdown, drag-out action/horror film that would be more palatable to casual moviegoers. While genre fans tend to over-analyze Romero's film, Snyder's is almost never referenced as anything other than a run-of-the-mill Hollywood cash-in. While this may or may not have been the original intent for Snyder's film, it does appear to be the final picture that is painted on the canvas. Romero's film discusses issues that range from consumerism to theology, and even subconsciously addresses racial issues that had been introduced in Romero's previous genre film, Night of the Living Dead. While there may be some minor addressing of social concepts in Snyder's version of Dawn of the Dead, they are incidental pieces to a larger puzzle that remains focused on flashy visuals and Hollywood theatrics.

While the narrative themes are drastically different, they are not the only aspects of the films that are immediately distinct to the viewer. The plot and dialogue used in both films are also unique, in comparison to each other, so much so that viewers might be prompted to question whether or not Snyder's interpretation was even inspired by Romero's source material at all. Barring the brief cameos from Ken Foree, Tom Savini, and Scott Reiniger, it is easy to forget that Snyder's film is in fact taken from another movie.

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