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The Dark Half (film)
Encyclopedia
The Dark Half is a 1993 horror film
adaptation of the Stephen King
novel of the same name
. The film was directed by George A. Romero
and stars Timothy Hutton
as Thad Beaumont and George Stark, Amy Madigan
as Liz Beaumont, Michael Rooker
as Sheriff Alan Pangborn
and Royal Dano
in his final film.
Alan Pangborn
of Castle Rock, Maine
is equally suspicious and is asked to investigate the situation.
, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. Notable in the film are the chapel in the Old Main
, seen at the beginning of the film as Beaumont's classroom, and the office of the college chaplain
, used as Beaumont's office. Members of the faculty and student body served as extras in the film.
The film was shot from October 1990 until March 1991 and was in release limbo for several years due to Orion Pictures
' bleak financial situation. The film eventually saw release in April 1993, taking in just over $10 million domestically. Once again, it did no real business and got mixed reviews and Romero, although he was friends with Stephen King, turned to his 'Living Dead' movies.
Critics gave mixed and positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
: the film retrieved an average score of 61% from 18 reviews and earned an average rating of 5.8, though critics praised Timothy Hutton
's performance in the film as well as the screenplay.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
adaptation of the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel of the same name
The Dark Half
The Dark Half is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1989. Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1993.Stephen King wrote several books under a...
. The film was directed by George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
and stars Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Thad Beaumont and George Stark, Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
as Liz Beaumont, Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
as Sheriff Alan Pangborn
Alan Pangborn
Alan Pangborn is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the Sheriff of the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, assisted by deputies Norris Ridgewick, John LaPointe, Andy Clutterbuck, and Seaton Thomas.-Background:...
and Royal Dano
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
in his final film.
Synopsis
The film revolves around the attempts of writer Thad Beaumont to kill off his pseudonym, George Stark. His pseudonym has become a physical entity and is terrorizing Beaumont's family and friends. For some reason, Stark wants to live after he appeared in a set of Beaumont's best selling books. Beaumont writes, but he is not alone in suspecting something strange: SheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Alan Pangborn
Alan Pangborn
Alan Pangborn is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the Sheriff of the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, assisted by deputies Norris Ridgewick, John LaPointe, Andy Clutterbuck, and Seaton Thomas.-Background:...
of Castle Rock, Maine
Castle Rock (Stephen King)
Castle Rock, Maine is part of Stephen King’s fictional Maine topography and provides the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories...
is equally suspicious and is asked to investigate the situation.
Cast
- Timothy HuttonTimothy HuttonTimothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Thad Beaumont and George Stark - Amy MadiganAmy MadiganAmy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
as Liz Beaumont - Julie HarrisJulie HarrisJulia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
as Reggie Delesseps - Robert JoyRobert JoyRobert Joy is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sid Hammerback in CSI: NY and playing Charlie in Land of the Dead.-Early life:...
as Fred Clawson - Chelsea FieldChelsea FieldChelsea Field is an American actress. She played Teela in the 1987 film adaptation of Masters of the Universe. In a break from tradition and He-Man canon, she portrayed Teela as a brunette character wearing a full costume with pants and sleeves.- Personal life :Field has been married to actor...
as Annie Pangborn - Royal DanoRoyal DanoRoyal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
as Digger Holt - Rutanya AldaRutanya Alda-Life:Rutanya Alda was born as Rutanya Alda Skrastiņa in Riga, Latvia, the daughter of Vera , a businesswoman, and Jānis Skrastiņš, a poet...
as Miriam Cowley - Beth GrantBeth GrantBeth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
as Shayla Beaumont - Kent BroadhurstKent BroadhurstKent Broadhurst is an American actor. He is known for his part as the hypnotherapist in Dream Theater's special Scenes from a Memory concert performed at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City and released on DVD as Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York.He was born in St...
as Mike Donaldson - Tom MardirosianTom MardirosianTom Mardirosian is an American actor. He is known for playing Agamemnon Busmalis in the HBO show Oz and Agent Kristos Koutris in the HBO show "The Wire"....
as Rick Crowley - Glenn Colerider as Homer Gamache
- Michael RookerMichael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
as Sheriff Alan Pangborn
Production
The movie was filmed in part at Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Notable in the film are the chapel in the Old Main
Old Main (Washington & Jefferson College)
Old Main is the main academic building at Washington & Jefferson College. It is the predominant building on campus and has served virtually every student since its construction. Its two identical towers, added in 1875, symbolize the union of Washington College and Jefferson College to form...
, seen at the beginning of the film as Beaumont's classroom, and the office of the college chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, used as Beaumont's office. Members of the faculty and student body served as extras in the film.
The film was shot from October 1990 until March 1991 and was in release limbo for several years due to Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
' bleak financial situation. The film eventually saw release in April 1993, taking in just over $10 million domestically. Once again, it did no real business and got mixed reviews and Romero, although he was friends with Stephen King, turned to his 'Living Dead' movies.
Reception
In its opening week The Dark Half ranked in the Box Office charts at number 6, gathering a total of $3,250,883 from 1,563 theatres.Critics gave mixed and positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
: the film retrieved an average score of 61% from 18 reviews and earned an average rating of 5.8, though critics praised Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
's performance in the film as well as the screenplay.
Awards
- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
- Saturn Award Best Director - George A. RomeroGeorge A. RomeroGeorge Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
- Nominated - Saturn Award Best Horror Film - Nominated
- Saturn Award Best Makeup - John Vulich, Everett Burrell - Nominated
- Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress - Julie Harris - Nominated
- Saturn Award Best Director - George A. Romero
- FantafestivalFantafestivalFantafestival is a film festival devoted to fantasy film that is held annually in Italy from 1981....
- Best Actor - Timothy Hutton - Won
- Best Film - George A. Romero - Won
- Best Screenplay - Paul Hunt, Nick McCarthy - Won
External links
.- The Dark Half official site at MGM.