Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Original 1978 theatrical poster
Directed by	George A. Romero
Produced by	Richard P. Rubinstein Claudio Argento
Written by	George A. Romero
Starring	David Emge Ken Foree Scott Reiniger Gaylen Ross
Music by	Stock music
Cinematography	George A. Romero
Editing by	George A. Romero
Distributed by	United Film Distribution Company
Running time	116 minutes (Italy) 127 minutes (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 (estimated)

Dawn of the Dead (also known as Zombi internationally) is a 1978 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. It was the second film made in Romero's Living Dead series, but contains no characters or settings from Night of the Living Dead, and shows in a larger scale the zombie plague's apocalyptic effects on society. In the film, a plague of unknown origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh, which subsequently causes mass hysteria. The cast features David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger and Gaylen Ross as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall.

Dawn of the Dead was shot over approximately four months, from late 1977 to early 1978, in the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh and Monroeville. Its primary filming location was the Monroeville Mall. The film was made on a relatively modest budget estimated at $650,000 US, and was a significant box office success for its time, grossing an estimated $55 million worldwide. Since opening in theaters in 1978, and despite heavy gore content, reviews for the film have been nearly unanimously positive.

In addition to four official sequels, the film has spawned numerous parodies and pop culture references. A remake of the movie premiered in the United States on March 19, 2004. It was labeled a "re-imagining" of the original film's concept. In 2008, Dawn of the Dead was chosen by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, along with Night of the Living Dead.